Amazon.com
Buster Keaton was arguably the cinema's first modernist, an old-fashioned romantic with a 20th-century mind behind a deadpan visage. His films brim with some of the most breathtaking stunts and ingenious gags ever put on film, all perfectly engineered to look effortless. And, as Kino's magnificent 11-disc boxed set The Art of Buster Keaton conclusively shows, they are among the funniest ever made. Keaton warped gags until they left the plane of reality in such shorts as The Playhouse (1921) and The Frozen North (1922), and takes a logic-defying leap into the very nature of cinema itself in his hilarious Sherlock Jr. (1924). He takes on the mechanical world with Rube Golberg ingenuity in The Navigator (1924) and perfects his match between man and massive machine in Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), which features the funniest hurricane scene ever put to film, and The General (1927), one of the greatest comedies of all time.
In addition to the previously released 11 features and 19 shorts from the peak of Keaton's career, this set boasts the exclusive Keaton Plus, a collection of rarities and tributes. The greatest find is the long-lost ending to Hard Luck (1921), now restored to complete the film's final inspired gag. Other highlights include newly discovered scenes from Daydreams (1922) and The Love Nest (1923), entertaining excerpts from Keaton's 1951 TV show Life with Buster Keaton (he's still got it!), and his rare dramatic turn in the 1954 television play The Awakening. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
At long last - all the goodies in one spot.......2007-09-16
Those of us who bought The Art of Buster Keaton on VHS back in the mid-90s ended up having to buy it all over again when the DVD revolution hit. That's okay, though, because Buster is always worth it. The fun of the boxed set is the extra disk full of rarities and tidbits (the best being John Bengtson's offerings). All of Buster's features and most of his shorts are here, though there are missteps here and there. The music offered on Sherlock Jr. is atrocious, and the lack of commentaries or other offerings on the films themselves make this collection pale somewhat in comparison with the Harold Lloyd extravaganza that followed in 2005.
Other DVD collections have been released in the interim, but my heart has a special place for this one, because it was the first after a long, dry spell. I may add to my Buster Keaton film sets, in order to provide myself with better versions of certain films, but I'll never replace this one.
Best Collection of Keaton Silent Films.......2007-09-11
I think that this is the best collection of Keaton's Slient Films that I have seen. I was not sure at first if I should or should not buy this product. My husband is a huge fan and the few movies that I had seen of Busters on the AMC channel I had liked. However, this collection far exceeded my expectations. For this review I have decieded to list out all of the titles in the collection which is something that Amazon doesn't do.
1. Our Hospitality
2. Sherlock, Jr.
3. College
4. Hard Luck
5. The Electric House
6. The Blacksmith
7. The Navigator
8. The Boat
9. The Love Nest
10. Steamboat Bill, Jr.
11. Covict 13
12. Daydreams
13. Three Ages
14. The Goat
15. My Wife's Relations
16. Battling Butler
17. The Haunted House
18. The Frozen North
19. Seven Chances
20. Neighbors
21. The Balloonatic
22. The Saphead
23. The High Sign
24. One Week
25. The General
26. The Playhouse
27. Cops
28. Go West
29. The Scarecrow
30. The Paleface
Besides these movies there is a bonus disc which shows Buster Keaton playing a serious role. Overall I thought that this was one of the best collection of silent films that I have bought recently.
"This fellow Keaton appears to be the whole show.".......2007-07-15
Thus utters a confused patron of a vaudeville house who is confronted by Buster Keaton and his minstrels accompanied by a conductor and his orchestra, all clones of Buster Keaton in the classic short "The Playhouse". He really was the whole show during his independent years - writer, director, star. This collection consists of Keaton's surviving work from the years he was an independent film maker from the year 1920 when he struck out on his own after partnering with Roscoe Arbuckle for two years, and before he made the tragic decision to sign with MGM in 1928. It seems there are as many opinions on which of Keaton's features and shorts during his silent years are his finest and which are merely good as there are viewers of his films. To me, Buster's best work was when he was in a role in which there was an urgent matter of the heart involved - whether the object of his affection was a locomotive, a girl, or in the case of "Go West", a cow by the name of "Old Brown Eyes". Buster usually played a shy sincere fellow, often thrown into adverse circumstances he did not fully comprehend. However, he was resourceful and courageous in a pinch and always found a way to triumph in the end. When he first decided to go into the film industry he took a camera apart and put it back together just to see how it worked, and his love of the camera and what it could do showed in films like "The Playhouse" and "Sherlock Jr." where, in addition to Buster's usual stunts and displays of physical agility, he made use of special effects that were definitely way ahead of their time. There is an extra disc in this set entitled "Keaton Plus" which mainly consists of Keaton's work after his time at MGM. There are two of his better Educational Pictures shorts, "Aleez Oop" (1934) and "Jail Bait" (1937). There are also several TV appearances, including a purely dramatic role Buster took in a segment of "Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents" entitled "The Awakening" from 1954. Also included are various tributes, a couple of commercials Buster starred in, and a rather extensive photo gallery.
No doubt this set is a large financial investment. If you are unfamiliar with Keaton's work and would like a "test drive", try either "Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face of Comedy" or the three disc set "The Buster Keaton Collection" by St. Clair Vision. Both sets are only ten dollars and both include "The General" and quite a few of his silent era shorts. Then you can make an informed decision about this set.
Genius.......2007-05-18
SO glad I spent literally half a paycheck on this collection . Keaton was , quite simply , brilliant . His amazing stunts and incredible agility put so many present-day actors to shame . As for that signature "stone face"....The man could say so much more with his eyes than any spoken words could ever express . Truly unsurpassed talent .
Buying Asian versions.......2007-01-10
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.
Customer Reviews:
So that you know..........2005-09-25
Since nobody took the trouble of listing WHAT is inside of this edition, I bought one just to check it out. This DVD brings two of Buster Keaton's masterpieces: The General & Steamboat Bill Jr. Both transfers are worse than the Kino edition (which is the standard for Keaton's films). Even so, Steamboat... is not bad and the music is (if I remember well) the same as in Kino's edition. The General looks a bit fuzzier, the music is old jazz and not really related to the action, but not bad. If you take in consideration that this DVD is being sold for around a dollar... I think it's worth it. Still... to appreciate Keaton at his best, buy the Kino editions.
6-15-06 P.S.: Well, I see they finally put the title to this DVD. Mission accomplished... ¿¿¿???? I also see that the price went up a little... so beware...
Amazon.com
Buster Keaton's career reached its creative apex with the rousing comic adventure The General. Not merely one of the finest silent films, this remains one of the great film comedies of all time. The Great Stone Face stars as Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray, a man with only two loves: the sweet Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) and his trustworthy engine, the eponymous General. When Fort Sumner is fired upon he's one of the first to enlist, but when the war office rejects him (he's too valuable as a trained engineer) his sweetie rejects him as a coward. Johnny has the opportunity to prove his bravery when Yankee spies steal his engine and inadvertently kidnap Annabelle, and Johnny pursues with all the resources at his disposal: handcar, bicycle, and finally railroad engine. Keaton's love/hate relationship with technology and machinery shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and wrestles with a finicky cannon that threatens to blow his engine off the tracks; with tremendous dexterity, he nails the humor with inimitably deadpan takes. Spunky Marion Mack makes a perfect partner for Keaton, not merely a foil but a gifted comedienne in her own right. Other Keaton films contain more laughs and inspired comic stunts, but none combines romance, adventure, and comedy into a solid story as seamlessly as this silent masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker
In Steamboat Bill Jr., Keaton stars in the story of a college-educated young man who comes home to help his father work on his Mississippi River steamboat and immediately demonstrates just what a landlubber he is. What's worse, the woman he falls for is the daughter of his father's worst rival, a bullying rich guy who wants to drive Buster's boat out of business. Keaton's slapstick is inspired and precise, particularly during an amazing sequence in which he tries to walk across town during a tornado. Watch in amazement as the front of a building falls on Keaton and he walks away without a scratch. --Marshall Fine
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful.......2007-01-06
Both movies are really, realy side splitting funny. Buster Keaton was great physical comic genius. I love to watch him run!
Great print.Great music.
Great movie/terrible music.......2005-06-15
I was very disappointed when I watched this dvd. I had seen "The General" for the first time at an outdoor theatre last summer in Greece. I was absolutely blown away by Keaton's genius. I, along with a international audience were entertained, moved, and inspired by this film. I did a bit of research as to what dvd edition to purchase and took a chance on this one. Wrong choice. In my opinion the music here just doesn't "feel" right. And, at times even becomes a bit irritating. It really is too bad because the visuals of this eition are superb. Shame on Roger Ebert for saying The Alloy Orchestra is "the best in the world at accompanying silent films." I highly recommend this film but not this dvd.
Music Kills It.......2005-03-24
The picture is perfect. Why can't the Laurel and Hardy series be so good, especially their silents, which look just hideous, even in the Hallmark releases. BUT, the music for the General is SO BAD I can't get through it. I don't know what kind of organ or synthesizer they use, but the new-age sound certainly does NOT suit the 1920s. The music just plods along without humour, and very little contrast. I have seen these films with live accompaniment, and with great music, the comedy just comes alive; but with anything less than great, the film falls flat and seems at best droll, at worst just kind of stupid. Very, VERY BAD. But one thing this proves, movies even back to the middle 1920s are clean, clear, and sharp. Never accept less than that in your collection! And send companies letters demanding it!
Great films ruined by hideous musical scores.......2005-03-08
Two Buster Keaton classics, "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." are two of my most favorite films in the world. My viewing experience for both were shell-shocked by the wacked out scores by the Alloy Orchestra on this DVD. The experience was like having a hammer being repeatedly smashed into my brain. There are several GOOD versions of these two masterpieces out there, and I hope everyone buys one. But these disgraceful versions are not among them.
FINEST TRANSFERS.......2005-03-04
These are two of the greatest silent comedies and the finest of Buster`s meticulous `stone faced` work. An Image DVD is usually a guarantee of highest quality material and these transfers are absolutely are no exception.
Taken from the highest quality 35mm material itself drawn from restored original nitrate negatives, the image quality is unbelievable for films almost 80 years old.
These prints really highlight what excellent films these are and with detail so crisp and sharp it is like watching a new version.
Now the soundtrack: They are presented with a new stereo soundtrack composed and performed by the Alloy Orchestra which is actually incredible. It has a beautifully synchronised music and effects track using instrumentation that would make even Buster`s stone face crack. It has a quirkyness and originality that is so fitting with the two films. It really breathes new life into these movies.
The Alloy orchestra, 3 brilliant musicians from Boston, make their living creating modern soundtracks for restored silent classics. They make watching silent movies a new experience.
Overall this is the finest presentation I have seen of two of the greatest silent films of all time!
Average customer rating:
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The General / Steamboat Bill Jr.
Starring:
General , and
Steamboat Bill Jr.
Manufacturer: Miracle Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
 General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Classic Comedies
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
( G )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 Comedy
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
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The Birth of a Nation
ASIN: B0009JFOE4
Release Date: 2002-02-02 |
Product Description
Double-feature of Buster Keaton classics, including:
THE GENERAL - The two things engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) loves most in the world are his Southern belle sweetheart and his locomotive. When Northern spies steal the latter, the intrepid Confederate single-handedly takes on the entire Union army in order to get it back. Against a backdrop of magnificently photographed Civil War battle scenes unfolds one of the great chases in movie history. Set almost entirely aboard moving trains, Keaton's THE GENERAL is physical comedy refined to elegant perfection and widely considered to be the actor-director's greatest film.
STEAMBOAT BILL JR. - In STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., Buster Keaton plays the mild-mannered son of a steamboat captain caught in the middle of the bitter rivalry between his father and another Mississippi riverboat owner. This silent classic contains the famous stunt in which a cyclone blows down a two-story wall over Keaton who passes unharmed through an open window.
Customer Reviews:
The General/Steamboat Bill Jr........2006-07-09
I assume if you're looking at this, you already know about the films and their production, star, etc. In short, Keaton is hilarious!!!
I bought this to see what was on it since there weren't any reviews.
This is a release by Movie Ventures. It's a double-sided disc with one of the films on each side. There is no inside case insert. The transfer is fairly good. Some sound effects have been added (such as guns and cannons firing), and others have been incorporated into the music (such as the trains' distinctive sound, as well as their speeding up and slowing down, and people falling).
The music itself is not 1920s music at all. It's all synthesized, and most of the train stuff is "drumset" (etc.) material. It definately sounds like MIDI. It's all very well synchronized with what's happening on the screen, but I don't think it does anything to make the film better. I was expecting old jazz on solo piano etc.
The case says that "Steamboat Bill Jr." runs 111 minutes, but it's actually only 79 minutes (or 1 hour and 9 minutes). I don't know what's up with that. It doesn't say "The End" or anything.
Despite the musical shortcoming, this is definately worth the $3.30 that I paid for it!
God bless,
Alex
Average customer rating:
- extraordinary
- Very bad picture quality
- Buy the Image/Kino/Warner DVD's
- Charlie vs. Buster
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Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplin
Starring:
Keaton , and
Chaplin
Manufacturer: Direct Source Special Products
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Comedy
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Comedy
| Silent Films
| Classics
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( B )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 Comedy
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
ASIN: B00022Q1SQ
Release Date: 2005-02-01 |
Product Description
Four movies on 2 Discs, old time silent comedies. The Kid, Tillie's Punctured Romance, The General, & Steamboat Bill Jr
Customer Reviews:
extraordinary.......2005-01-27
I had to watch all four films from these dvds in my film class, and I loved them. Yes, the film quality is lacking, but you have to remember just how old these films are. Charlie Chaplin's The Kid is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made. And of course, Buster Keaton keeps you laughing. I've been looking for this specific collection at walmart (my teacher told us thats where he got it from) with no success, so I'm very excited to find it here. If you can convince yourself to sit and watch the movies, then you'll soon be sucked in, and fall in love with them too.
Very bad picture quality.......2004-06-25
Watching these DVDs is like watching a tiny mpeg blown up to fill the screen. The compression artifacts are annoyingly apparent and it's like watching the video through a curtain of debris.
"The Kid" isn't as bad in quality as the other three shorts are, but the picture is still a bit blurred nonetheless.
I'm going to take pjmccart's advice and get the Warner/MK2 copy of "The Kid" ... or maybe even the 2-disc Special Edition version.
Buy the Image/Kino/Warner DVD's.......2004-05-12
I knew that the "Legends of the Silver Screen" DVD's would be awful, but what's worse is that they simply stole transfers from other companies. "The Kid" is from the old CBS-FOX laserdisc (later a DVD from Image Entertainment). While the great transfer is obvious, the nearly 2.1 mbs bitrate makes the image totally blurry. The General and Steamboat Bill Jr. appear to be from Killiam prints released by Republic on laserdisc (both are very blurry). Tillie's Punctured Romance isn't terrible, but it too is obviously from another company's laserdisc.
AVOID this 2-disc set. Get the Image Entertainment DVD for The General and Steamboat Bill Jr and the Warner/MK2 DVD for The Kid. I think Image Entertainment has a DVD of Tillie, but I'm not sure. If they do, it'll at least have something better than 2.1 mbs!
Charlie vs. Buster.......2004-04-30
In one of my college classes recently we watched a Charlie Chaplin film, so when I saw this box set at WalMart (for $5.50) I knew it was too good to be true. These four movies are absolute classics; they can never be replaced by the movies of this day and age. If you're the type who can sit through a silent movie... this is definitely for you.
Product Description
CLASSIC BLACK & WHITE, DIGITALLY REMASTERED, ENHANCED 5.1 AUDIO, CHAPTER SELECTIONS
Product Description
DVD FEATURES: digitally remastered, interactive menus, chapter selections, enhanced audio 5.1
Product Description
Country Gentlement, Freckles Comes Home, The Town Went Wild, Steamboat Bill, Jr., College and the General. Each a little over 1 hour long.
DVD:
- The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection
- The Best of the Abbott & Costello Comedy Hour, Volumes 1 & 2
- The Bicycle Thief
- The Birth of a Nation
- The Birth of a Nation & The Civil War Films of D.W. Griffith
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- The Cartoons That Time Forgot - The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1
- The Douglas Fairbanks Collection (The Thief of Bagdad/The Mark of Zorro/The Three Musketeers/Robin Hood/The Black Pirate/Don Q, The Son of Zorro)
- The Fall of the House of Usher /The Pit and the Pendulum
DVD
DVD
The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Vols. 1-3
Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)
The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)
The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin)
Buster Keaton - 65th Anniversary Collection (General Nuisance / His Ex Marks the Spot / Mooching Through Georgia / Nothing but Pleasure / Pardon My Berth Marks / Pest From the West / So You Won't Squawk / The Spook Speaks / The Taming of the Snood / She's Oil Mine)
![[6 Comedy Movies "Plus" 5 Red Skelton Episodes] Steamboat Bill Jr. / Country Gentlemen / the General / College / Freckles Comes Home / the Town Went Wild {Red Skelton - Clem the Dentist, Clem the Painter, Deadeye & the Indians, Look Awards Show, Freddie & the Spies}](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21RZ0826DML.jpg)
