MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Buster Keaton was one of the greatest film comedians, from his start in movies as a supporting player in 1917 through to the jet age of the 1960s. "The Great Stone Face," as he was called, was known for his amazing athletic ability and inventiveness of his gags ranging from broad slapstick to sly satire. Here is a collection of his work that spans much of his career, from offering comic support to Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, through his own comedy shorts and feature films in the 1920s & 1930s. The comedy legend of Buster Keaton lives on in his most hilarious work!

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 5
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Black and White

AWARDS

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1988

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2003

• Toronto International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2004

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Buster Keaton
       Buster Keaton - Mechanic/Fireman
       Glen Cavender - Capt. Anderson
       Dorothy Christy - Angelica Embrey
       Dan Crimmins
       James Duffy
       Cliff Edwards - Bellhop
       Joe Keaton - Union General
       Edward S. Brophy - Detective
       Edward S. Brophy - Reno
       Sidney Bracey - Butler
       Anthony Harvey - Raider

• Director:

  Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, Malcolm St. Clair, Clyde Bruckman, Edward Sedgwick

• Producer:

  Joseph M. Schenck, Lawrence Weingarten, Buster Keaton

• Screenwriter:

  Jean Havez, Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, Malcolm St. Clair, Charles Smith, Clyde Bruckman, Al Boasberg

• Book Author:

  William Pittinger

• Screenwriter:

  Laurence E. Johnson, Ralph Spence, Robert Hopkins, Richard Schayer

• Play Author:

  Mark Swan, Charles W. Bell

• Cinematographer:

  Elgin Lessley, Devereaux Jennings, Bert Haines, Harold Wenstrom, Leonard Smith

• Composer (Music Score):

  Lee Erwin

• Musical Arrangement:

  Robert Israel

• Editor:

  Buster Keaton, J. Sherman Kell, William Le Vanway

• Art Director:

  Cedric Gibbons

• Costume Designer:

  Arthur Appell

• Makeup:

  Fred C. Ryle

• Technical Director:

  Fred Gabourie

• Additional Editing:

  Harry Barnes

• Short Story Author:

  Clarence Budington Kelland

REVIEWS:

• Buster Keaton perfectly balanced romance, action and comedy in his most admired film and personal favorite, a Civil War story about an engineer and his eponymous locomotive. Based on a true incident involving a hijacked Confederate train, Keaton strove to make the film as authentic as possible, shooting on location in Oregon to get the proper track gauge and sinking an actual locomotive engine at the film's climax (in reportedly the most expensive single take for a silent film). The lighting and composition recall Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs, while tracking shots following Keaton's locomotive adventures further displayed his technical expertise. The train became Keaton's supreme comic prop in the two intricately devised, and narratively mirrored, chase sequences involving his efforts to elude Union pursuers; the humorous business accompanying Keaton's retrieval of the General, and girlfriend, sent up romantic fantasies and war heroics. The effort seemed to be for naught when The General received negative reviews in 1927 and failed to make a profit. The General's reputation, along with Keaton's, however, was resuscitated in the 1950s; The General became Keaton's masterpiece, joining Charles Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) as one of the greatest silent comedies ever made. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
• Buster Keaton's first solo two-reel short revealed the technical precision and near-surreal flair with large props that would distinguish Keaton's greatest features. Deriving physically precarious slapstick comedy from the mis-numbered construction of a do-it-yourself house, Keaton created a dwelling worthy of Salvador Dali, with a second floor front door and walls and roof akimbo. A house-spinning storm seems a worthy denouement, but the climactic train crash tops it as a technical sight gag. After editing makes it seem as if Keaton's beloved house is stuck in the path of an oncoming train, he cuts back to reveal the train passing on a harmless parallel track -- only to have another train appear from the opposite direction. Deemed a "sensation" on its release, One Week heralded the arrival of a new comic master, mining the logical yet outrageous comedy of extreme everyday circumstances. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
• Speak Easily is noted today primarily because of the presence of Buster Keaton and fans of the incredible silent era clown will want to seek it out; however, they should be warned that, as with all of the talkies he made in which he starred, Easily is a big disappointment. That's not to say that it is bad or totally without merit. Granted, its plot is entirely too typical, the kind of misunderstanding-as-set-up-for-comedy that was ground out frequently but which, when not given an inspired treatment, usually came across as ridiculous; nevertheless, it does provide Keaton with a few opportunities to demonstrate his unique talent, most notably in a delectable drunk scene in which Thelma Todd also gets to show that she too knew her way around physical comedy. But most of Easily doesn't take advantage of the qualities that made Keaton a silent star; for the most part, it's the kind of role that any number of performers could have played. Easily is one of three pairings of Keaton and Jimmy Durante, and while it should be a match made in heaven -- Keaton's stoniness and Durante's exuberance being theoretically perfect foils for each other -- the two don't create sparks here. As an average comedy of the period, Easily is quite watchable; as a Keaton vehicle, however, it's a letdown. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• The Paleface was one of the transitional films in Buster Keaton's career, made just before he switched from two-reel comedies to features. It displays Keaton's trademark intricate physical comedy -- for example, Keaton's hopping around while tied to a stake. From a cultural standpoint, it's notable among films of the early 1920s for presenting its Indian characters with some sympathy; the white oil barons are clearly the bad guys. Everyone, however, gets treated as a comic foil, sometimes in ways that might not appeal to current-day audiences. This is one of several highly regarded comedy collaborations between Keaton and writer/director Eddie Cline. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, when Keaton's career was in decline, Cline would go on to direct W. C. Fields in some of his best films, including The Bank Dick. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi