buster Keaton -- required viewing

[Matt Deckard]

From the General to Sherlock Jr. College to Steam Boat Bill Jr. and all the other shorts and silent features... Buster is my favorite of all the silent comedians.

I was originally pulled into the Buster fetish about 3 years ago when My friend Lisa and I went to the Silent Movie theater in Hollywoo. At the time it was just reopened by a man named Charlie. The theater had pianists and organist on hand an every single movie was a delight to behold... especially with live music. The audience would always make noise good or bad depending on what was happening on the screen.

One of my favorite movies of thetime period, and still is was Wings.

I still go back now and again tocatch some Buster Keaton shorts.. he is my favorite comedian.
Check them out.

Old Stone Face!

 

[Doctor Strange]

I've been a Keaton fanatic for many years... I first saw nearly all of his films in the summer of 1975, when the late lamented Elgin Theater on 8th Avenue (now the Joyce Dance Theater) ran double features plus a couple of shorts each Wednesday night!

Now understand, I love Chaplin, Lloyd, Charlie Chase, Laurel & Hardy, etc., too... But Keaton's films have an outstandingly modern POV and lack of sentiment that put him above the rest. As somebody once said, "With Keaton's films, you forget that they didn't have color stock or synchronized sound when they were made: the films seem *perfect* in b/w silence, like it was a creative choice!"

Favorite short: The Goat; favorite feature: Sherlock, Jr. (But there are loads of great ones!)

Gotta plug The Damfinos site: http://www.busterkeaton.com/

 

[Doh!]

Agreed -- Keaton is king!

In college, I was fortunate enough to see several of his films on the Big Screen, including a pristine print of "The General." Honestly, it looked like it was shot only the day before. Great movie, too.

 

[jake_fink]

I love Keaton too. He made a very late and very funny short right here in Canada - right across Canada in fact. Here's a link to that:

http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=10467&v=h&lg=en&exp= (info on the film, not the film itself)

The Art of Buster Keaton is available again on Kino - but for who knows how long. It's dear, but worth every penny.

I wish the Silent Movie theatre hadn't been mysteriously closed during my brief time at work in L.A. It sounds like it did finally reopen... is it as good as it ever was?

 

[Fu Manchu]

Best X-Mas Present Ever!

This year, my girlfriend bought me the complete works of Buster Keaton. It doesn't include the short that you mention above, but it has other late commercials and even a few talkies. I think, however, that his later, silent stuff is the best.

"The General" is absolutely wonderful, perhaps my favorite. On my DVD, there's an introduction to this film by Orson Welles. According to Welles, they worked together at a restaurant when Buster's career had faded.

As a side note, I'm wondering if I could freeze-frame some shots of Keaton in his wonderful suits and have a tailor make some for me!

Fu Manchu

 

[Naama]

Last year or so, I saw a documentary about him, he was quite a genuise! In the films everything looks so easy, if I hadn't seen this film about him, I'd never knew how much (hard) work that all was! Just great! But I think Chaplin was a little, little bit better, he gets an extra point for shooting the great imperator


Naama