Customer Reviews


2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review
 
 
Only search this product's reviews

The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review


11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Film analysis at its best.
Between 1920 and 1923 Buster Keaton wrote, directed, and starred in nineteen independent short films which are some of the funniest ever made.
In this scholarly yet readable analysis, Oldham, an unabashed fan of the "great stone face", devotes a chapter to each of these classic shorts, closely describing each scene with attention to visual composition,...
Published on November 16, 1997

versus
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Overdone and Dry.
A long, over-written unfunny book about some very funny films. See Keaton's movies instead.
Published on January 6, 2000


Most Helpful First | Newest First

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Film analysis at its best., November 16, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Keaton's Silent Shorts: Beyond the Laughter (Paperback)
Between 1920 and 1923 Buster Keaton wrote, directed, and starred in nineteen independent short films which are some of the funniest ever made.
In this scholarly yet readable analysis, Oldham, an unabashed fan of the "great stone face", devotes a chapter to each of these classic shorts, closely describing each scene with attention to visual composition, symmetry, repetition, and other cinematic techniques, as well as the critical element of the extraordinary funnyman himself.
We can be thankful that Oldham not only avoids killing the subject in the process of dissection, an all-too- common fault in film criticism, but actually adds a richness of understanding to the Keaton legacy. In her words, "Beyond the comedy is film, lovingly and dexterously crafted in its comic visions. Within these visions are starkly familiar themes and paradoxes. We begin to realize that Buster - exaggerated or simple, funny or serious - resembles each one of us..."

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of this page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Overdone and Dry., January 6, 2000
By A Customer
A long, over-written unfunny book about some very funny films. See Keaton's movies instead.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


Most Helpful First | Newest First

This product

Keaton's Silent Shorts: Beyond the Laughter
Keaton's Silent Shorts: Beyond the Laughter by Gabriella Oldham (Paperback - March 1, 1996)
Used & New from: $6.19
Add to wishlist See buying options