Customer Reviews

The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The Navigator / Steamboat Bill Jr. / College / Three Ages / Battling Butler / Go West / The Saphead / Seven Chances / 21 Short Films)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had only seen a handful of Buster Keaton's films before deciding to take the plunge and buy the mammoth "Art Of Buster Keaton" DVD box set. I'm glad I threw the dice and ordered this. Here is silent filmmaking at its finest, with great attention to detail given to both short and feature films. The films are good and, although some of them are showing their age, I expect these are the best prints possible. You can't ask for anything more.

This is a huge collection of films (11 features and 19 shorts), so reviewing individual items is not going to be beneficiary. These discs have also been released individually, and I've already written many words on each of them. But in general terms, I did find that I preferred his short films to his longer works. The feature films don't quite have the frantic pace to them that made the shorter films so memorable and enjoyable. Of course, comparisons to his short movies a little unfair, as those shorts are rightly praised as some of the funniest sequences ever filmed. But there are some incredible moments in his features as well as some strong movies.

But those shorts. Wow. Here are some of the most memorable movie scenes I have ever viewed. Once seen, who can forget the literally hundreds of angry police officers chasing Keaton in COPS, or the prisoner bungee jumping from the end of a noose in CONVICT 13, or the DIY house being demolished by a train in ONE WEEK? These films are fast-paced, surreal, bizarre and hilarious. I loved them to pieces.

Prop comedy is something that is now horrifyingly associated with such painfully annoying clowns as Carrot Top (Lord help us). But in the slapstick era, this was something that was not only funny, it could be downright diabolical. I can only imagine how long it must have taken to construct the trap doors and false walls and other goodies that cropped up again and again. Clever, inventive and strangely sophisticated, these physical implements, when combined with Keaton's formidable athletic abilities, produced some amazing and breathtaking scenes.

One of the things I would wonder to myself was not simply "How on Earth did Keaton do that stunt?", but "How on Earth did Keaton survive that stunt?" His accomplishments are made all the more impressive given that he was performing all of these aerobatics himself with little in the way of trick photography (decades later, Jackie Chan would work in much the same way to similar acclaim).

The major bonus in this set is the final DVD, KEATON PLUS, which contains all sorts of rarities and extras. While the films here show Keaton in the 1920s, these extras focus on Keaton later in his career. It's somewhat sad to see the great man reduced to doing cheesy commercials, but he's always at least watchable. A few short excerpts from his 1950s TV series are included, and while it's fun to see that he could still take a pratfall thirty years on, I suspect that the thrust behind his return was the opportunity to make out with the incredibly tall and gorgeous model who appeared in virtually every clip. Lucky old Buster; though after being teamed up with Jimmy Durante, that's the least that karma owed him.

I noticed that some reviewers have had negative things to say about the musical selections used as the soundtrack to these silent pictures. My experience was quite different, as overall I enjoyed the music and was only occasionally annoyed by it. On the other hand, you may wish to take what I say with a grain of salt, as I thought the James Bond musical riff in SHERLOCK, JR. was absolutely wonderful.

This was a great purchase, and during the perusal of this set, I felt I was not only seeing some great filmmaking, but a real splice of cinema history. It's really a shame that Keaton's career went down the tubes after the 1920s, as I felt his features were gradually improving as he gained more experience. His shorts (from the early part of the decade) were uniformly excellent, but I got the impression that he was gaining more useful experience in feature-length movies and developing as filmmaker. It may be a bit depressing to know what happened after signing to MGM, but at least here we can enjoy the good times while they lasted. And they certainly were good times and great films.

Before anything else, I agree with those who say that Keaton's shorts are all good; but I strongly disagree with those who say that they are better than his better features. What usually happens with comedy is that people sit down before the screen and just say: OK, make me laugh. Keaton's features are funny -but they are also, and more important, beautifully shot, superbly acted and perfectly structured -which is something only the best actors/directors can put all together. There are no cheap sets like in most movies of the 20's. Keaton's characters move in the real world, with real things, and that's part of what makes them lasting and unique.

In your shelves, Keaton shouldn't share his place with the Marx Brothers, but with Orson Welles (who called The General the best movie ever made about the Civil War) and Martin Scorsese (who said he watched over and over the final fight in Battling Butter -which, by the way, is not supposed to make you laugh, but to surprise you with it's realism)

Now, this are the complete contents of this DVD set. Aside from it, you should check out The Buster Keaton Collection, which includes THE CAMERAMAN, SPITE MARRIAGE and FREE AND EASY - and then you are done. Well, you could also read the only book he wrote -My Wonderful World of Slapstick. (June '06 Update: "Industrial Strength Keaton"(DVD) just came out. The set includes rare industrial films, promotional films, commercials, TV appearances and outtakes.)

The Saphead: 1920
Includes the shorts ONE WEEK (1920) and THE HIGH SIGN (1920)

The Three Ages
Year: 1923
Including THE GOAT (1921) and MY WIFE'S RELATION (1922).

Our Hospitality / Sherlock, Jr.
Year: 1923/1924

The Navigator
Year: 1924
Includes shorts The Boat (1921) and The Love Nest (1923).

Go West
Year: 1925
Includes THE SCARECROW (1920) and THE PALEFACE (1921).

Seven Chances
Year: 1925
Shorts: Neighbors (1920) & The Balloonatic (1923)

Battling Butler
Year: 1926
Includes THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1921) and FROZEN NORTH (1922).

The General
Year: 1926
shorts: The Playhouse (1921) and Cops (1922)

College
Year: 1927
Includes THE ELECTRIC HOUSE (1922), HARD LUCK (in this version the ending is missing; but the complete version is found in the disc called Keaton Plus) (1921) and THE BLACKSMITH (1922).

Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Year: 1928
shorts: Convict 13 (1920) and Daydreams (1922)

Keaton Plus
Year: 1920-2001
Color home movies, complete short HARD LUCK, two Shorts from the 30's, commercials, TV shows and appearances. But best of all, Orson Welles talking about Keaton and The General.

The 11-disc set of Buster Keaton's work is, of course, a must-have for Mr. Keaton's fans in particular and silent film fans in general (sorry..). Having all these wonderful films on DVD is truly a dream come true.
That being said, I must point out one or two things with which I was disappointed. The set is said to be "digitally mastered from archival prints". Then why are there so many sections of film that are in such poor condition? While digital technology cannot replace lost film, even on my home computer I can touch-up photographs; surely a film restoration company should have better and more extensive resources at its disposal. Another sore spot is the scoring. I have been spoiled by a brilliant musician who plays at the Silent Movie Theatre here in Los Angeles, Dean Mora. He is the perfect accompanist for silent films. Some of the scoring for the DVD set is, forgive me, atrocious. The worst offense is the use of the James Bond theme for one part of SHERLOCK, JR. Of only slightly less heinous nature is the use of thematic elements from other (read "future") time periods. I may sound like an old fogey (I'm 43), but I think that a piano is fine, a violin and maybe one or two other chamber pieces sufficient. I am not averse to full orchestration, but music choice and coordination with the film is paramount. Musical cues should reflect on-screen action. One last point; sound effects are not needed.
Even with the flaws, I say: buy this set. It's wonderful to have Mr. Keaton in your home.

The problem Jerry Kokich (previous reviewer) found with the music is a problem for me too. The scoring for these wonderful Keaton films ranges from irritating to atrocious to absolutely unbearable. It completely misses the subtleties in Keaton, the softer moods, the very art of Keaton. Everything seems to be ha-ha-ha to these folks; music for silent movies is supposed to enhance, accent, etc.---not draw attention to itself over the film. Carl Davis's scoring for the version of The General and Our Hospitality that appeared on PBS in the late 1980s shows great sensitivity to this material and sometimes can even be rather euphoric; however, it never "intrudes" on Keaton. Unfortunately, those versions don't appear to be on DVD yet. Keaton was a genius, and at least we have him on Kino. But why do all this, and then use such irritating music? The films themselves are terrific and the DVDs good (not great). But these are indeed silent movies, and it is a truly lamentable shame that the folks at Kino don't themselves seem to respect the level of genius they're dealing with.

I don't disagree with the minor complaints of some of the other reviews of this Kino set of Buster Keaton's 1920s films. The music isn't always at the highest level. But generally its quite good, especially considering that most DVD reissues of silents are backed with a soundtrack performed on a synthesizer. I prefer a slightly out-of-tune but bona fide violin to a digital imitation of an orchestra. Also, these transfers have been around for a few years. Perhaps some of them could be improved upon. I noticed that the more recent Image DVD issue of "The General" has a better image. Perhaps someday we'll get a new Keaton set with transfers to match the quality of Image Entertainment's the General. But overall the image quality of the current Kino set is very good to excellent.

Those caveats aside, I would put this collection (along with Image's box of the Chaplin Mutuals and Essanays) in the 'essential' category for silent movie fans. Considering that a lot of movie classics are yet to see DVD issue, we are fortunate that Kino has put together such a comprehensive collection of Keaton's pre-MGM movies. Bogart fans will have to wait for the African Queen, but Keaton fans can enjoy these films right now. And unlike the Chaplin boxed set mentioned above, there's hardly a dud in the Keaton collection. Pretty much everything here will bring enjoyment over repeated viewings. With Image Entertainment's wonderful Arbuckle/Keaton issue now readily available, all we need is The Cameraman and Spite Marriage! I'd love to see these films make it to DVD...

If you are reading this, then you are probably already a Keaton fan. I don't need to tell you about the constant innovation, the incredible stunts, the bizarre sight gags, and the invariable dream sequences that are a part of Keaton's work.

This set is quite nice. The bonus disc has some interesting material in it, though I wonder if it is worth buying the set for it.

There are occasional moments of digital artifacting, mostly noticable on the title cards, which are varying shades of gray, which seems to be the easiest way to guarantee artifacting.

The copies of almost all the films are superb, and the newly discovered ending to Hard Luck is a riot.

But, of course, any Keaton fan will buy this set. If you are not a Keaton fan, well, try renting a film of his first before you take the plunge. Try SHerlock Jr., One Week, The General, Steamboat Bill Jr., or even The Navigator.

First off, Keaton is one of the great artists of all times, and it's a joy to have such a complete collection of his silent work. (His last few silents, The Cameraman and Spite Marriage, and his sound films are a far cry from Keaton's best, and I suggest leaving them alone unless you're the absolute completist.) Kino has done a superb job on the features, restoring them to the best they've looked in decades and adding funny, unobtrusive musical scores. A perfect 5 here.

So what's not to like? I am saddened by the treatment of the shorts on these discs. They have *not* been restored, and my impression is that they were taken from 16mm prints with wildly variable (and often quite poor) soundtracks. Keaton's shorts are every bit as wonderful and fascinating as his features, and for Kino to foist these second-rate prints off on us makes me sad.

If I could, I'd give 4.5 stars for this collection. Be prepared for a bit of a disappointment when running the shorts.

This is a very good collection of the "essentials" of Keaton. One problem I have is that the bonus disk includes the complete "Hard Luck" (it adds back in the heretofore misplaced final gag), but the unrestored "Hard Luck" is on another disk. While interesting to see how Kino overcame the problem of the unfound film (it describes the gag and shows a still), I would rather have had the restored "Hard Luck" on one disk and had some bonus disk space freed up for the entire "This is Your Life" program (which sounds interesting in Keaton bios).

The Thames TV/HBO Video three-parter "A Hard Act to Follow" has a better variety of rarities, including samplings of Keaton's final works (including Samuel Beckett's "Film", an industrial safety film, "The Railrodder", and some decent interviews and behind the scenes).

On the picky side, one of my brand new DVDs had a scuff on it. I contacted Kino and they offered a replacement in return for the damaged disc, which I appreciate. Many of the discs also had fingerprints on them, which they will contact their manufacturer about. A small matter, perhaps, but the relatively high cost of this set and the reputation of Kino as a premier film reissue company means to me that such sloppiness should not be an issue.

I know spending $100 seems expensive when you can buy an Asian copy on eBay for $30 or $40. But when you do that, nothing is going to David Shepard to compensate him for acquiring these films, transfering them to video, doing some restoration, and adding a sound track. Even if these films are in the public domain, they don't save themselves. It takes time and money to do that. Please help preserve our rapidly disintegrating silent film heritage and buy the DVDs produced by the people doing the work of preservation.

Prices for this set vary (and even the lowest asking price isn't cheap), but any way it's a major bargain, considering how many discs and how much material you're getting out of it. You get 11 feature-length films (although some of the features, like 'Sherlock, Jr.,' are under an hour long), 19 shorts, and an awesome bonus disc featuring commercials, later (sound) short films, a few introductions to some of his films from when they were aired on various television programs dedicated to silents, some of the silent shorts that were on the other discs but in more complete versions (thanks to missing footage that was discovered after they were initially reissued!), home movies (unfortunately the two sound-era ones have the audio cut off), photo galleries, and a whole lot more, adding up to over 3 hours total. It's certainly saving money in the long run, given how much more expensive it would be to acquire all of these discs separately (though I do sympathise with those who are upset they paid the regular price for them only to later have this boxed set come out).

For the most parts, the prints used are great, although there are moments I noticed on some of the shorts where there were some frames of less-than-stellar quality. However, given the age of the films involved, even if a first-class remastering team had worked with them, there's only so much they can do, and wouldn't you rather see some frames of sub-par pictorial quality than have these films lost like too many other films of this era are? I also agree that some of the musical scores weren't the most ideal (particularly the ones that made liberal use of annoying sound effects), but it was nothing unlistenable or that wildly inappropriate. I had only seen a few of Buster's features and shorts before buying this set, and made the plunge because the more I had seen of him, the more I'd liked and loved him. I love and relate to all of the major silent clowns (and some of the silent clowns who are no longer as well-known as they once were, like Max Linder and Charley Chase) in different ways, but if I had to pick a special favorite, the one I loved most, I would certainly pick Buster.