6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An athletic Keaton playing a collegiate nerd, March 24, 1999
For some reason College provokes the most extreme reaction of any Keaton film-- I've seen it called both his best and his worst by critics. It is undoubtedly a lightweight work, and marred by some racial stereotyping, but the main setpieces, in which Buster runs through gags on all the major collegiate athletic activities, show off his physical dexterity at its best and are as close to pure Keaton as it comes. (The idea of him playing a weakling is pretty quickly belied by the sight of his muscles in athletic clothes.) The tape includes three shorts that also fall pretty much in the middle of the pack, although Hard Luck is worth noting both as one of the last lost Keaton films to be rediscovered and as one of the blacker comedies he ever did.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lost in the VHS Transfer, August 31, 2000
This review is from: Hollywood Classics Collectors Edition - College [VHS] (VHS Tape)
While this VHS format of "College" may be considered a "Hollywood Classics Collector Edition" by some critics, it is certainly that, and something else; irritating to watch.
The story and the acting aside, the main problem is the substandard transfer from film to video. The result is a poor quality picture with loss of detail, poor focus, and exaggerated and disturbing contrasts of black and white. This is due, no doubt, to the poor decision by someone to transfer the video using the slowest speed possible of EP/SLP. The low cost of this video reflects it's inferior picture quality. The video may have been of better quality if recorded on the standard speed (SP).
The secondary problem is the ridiculous sound track which has been added to the video with absolutely no regard for the story or the action. It is merely "elevator music" and would better have been used in a circus. In addition, the style of the music is not of the same era as the story, and therefore doesn't match.
The movie itself, although not the best of Keaton's, is entertaining and worth having in your "Muster, Buster" video library. Just not this taped version! The poor quality of this video interfers greatly with the enjoyment of the comedy - at least for this viewer.
There has to be a "College" out there with a far better image.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
College*, November 23, 2001
(*Kino tape) COLLEGE is one of Buster's weaker silent features (it's still very good). He made College right after The General and was on a tight budget. College revolves around Buster's attempts to become an athlete to impress a girl. The best scenes are when Buster is a "colored" waiter. However, it is unfortunate that Buster used blackface because just about every laugh could have been realized without it. This tape also includes three shorts: THE ELECTRIC HOUSE, HARD LUCK and THE BLACKSMITH. Buster broke his leg while making first version of The Electric House (which was destroyed). The Electric House contains a variety of electric inventions. Hard luck is very good, but parts are missing (it was considered lost until recently). The Blacksmith is also very good with Buster and Joe Roberts running a blacksmith shop.
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