February 5 . .
The greatest film comedy ever? That’s like Sophie’s Choice – an impossible conundrum to resolve. Somebody’s going to get the short end.
But if I had to choose one film comedy over all others – the one I’d most like to have on my desert island DVD player – it would be ‘The General’ (1927).
On this day in 1927, silent film clown and genius Buster Keaton released his masterpiece, ‘The General’, possibly the greatest silent comedy of all time – and it sank at the box office like a lead pellet down a bottle of Prell.
During the Civil War, young Southerner Johnny Gray (Keaton) risks his life as he pursues his beloved railway engine, stolen by Northern spies. ‘The General’ has it all – brilliant comedy, suspense, action, unbelievably enveloping period detail, a love story, and the single longest sustained chase ever put on film. It also has the single most expensive visual joke in the history of movies – a steam locomotive crossing a wooden bridge and collapsing into the river below.
Seen today, ‘The General’ is still brilliantly inventive. The period detail is faithfully recreated – you’d swear it was literally filmed during the Civil War. The images look like Mathew Brady daguerreotypes come to life.
Sadly, not long after the failure of this movie, Keaton’s career began its long decline; by the 1930s, he was an alcoholic, confined for a time to a sanitarium, and had lost creative control of his movies. His marriage collapsed, his children were taken from him (and their names changed), and he was reduced to playing second banana to Jimmy Durante. Keaton did live long enough to see a revival of interest and appreciation of his work throughout the 60s, up until his death in 1966.
He often cited ‘The General’ as his favorite among his movies. Unfortunately, this masterpiece fell into the public domain many years ago and has been dubbed many times. Catch the digitally remastered Kino Film version if you possibly can – the images are jaw-droppingly vivid and alive.
Here's a short clip from 'Buster Keaton Rides Again', which features footage from ‘The General’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3xh108cLbo
The greatest film comedy ever? That’s like Sophie’s Choice – an impossible conundrum to resolve. Somebody’s going to get the short end.
But if I had to choose one film comedy over all others – the one I’d most like to have on my desert island DVD player – it would be ‘The General’ (1927).
On this day in 1927, silent film clown and genius Buster Keaton released his masterpiece, ‘The General’, possibly the greatest silent comedy of all time – and it sank at the box office like a lead pellet down a bottle of Prell.
During the Civil War, young Southerner Johnny Gray (Keaton) risks his life as he pursues his beloved railway engine, stolen by Northern spies. ‘The General’ has it all – brilliant comedy, suspense, action, unbelievably enveloping period detail, a love story, and the single longest sustained chase ever put on film. It also has the single most expensive visual joke in the history of movies – a steam locomotive crossing a wooden bridge and collapsing into the river below.
Seen today, ‘The General’ is still brilliantly inventive. The period detail is faithfully recreated – you’d swear it was literally filmed during the Civil War. The images look like Mathew Brady daguerreotypes come to life.
Sadly, not long after the failure of this movie, Keaton’s career began its long decline; by the 1930s, he was an alcoholic, confined for a time to a sanitarium, and had lost creative control of his movies. His marriage collapsed, his children were taken from him (and their names changed), and he was reduced to playing second banana to Jimmy Durante. Keaton did live long enough to see a revival of interest and appreciation of his work throughout the 60s, up until his death in 1966.
He often cited ‘The General’ as his favorite among his movies. Unfortunately, this masterpiece fell into the public domain many years ago and has been dubbed many times. Catch the digitally remastered Kino Film version if you possibly can – the images are jaw-droppingly vivid and alive.
Here's a short clip from 'Buster Keaton Rides Again', which features footage from ‘The General’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3xh108cLbo
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