Search - 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) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 2/4/2024...

The General - Black and White Silent movie classics for those who like those. The rest of us only have a certain level of pain tolerance of watching these.

College - A classic silent black and white film! WARNING: Blackface is used in one of the scenes!

"Mister, we could use a man like Buster Keaton again..."

Andrew McCaffrey | Satellite of Love, Maryland | 05/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

The music is the problem here ...

Jerry Kokich | 03/10/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Keaton DVD Collection- Almost Perfect

Jerry Kokich | Van Nuys, CA United States | 12/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."