he General (U.)
Directed by Buster Keaton, Cylde Bruckman. 1926.
Starring Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender and Jim Farley. 75 mins. Silent, Black and White.
A story once overheard. Gilbert Adair, not a critic who could be easily top in a how-high-can-your-brow-go contest, was at a screening of Buster Keaton's most celebrated film, The General, at the National Film Theatre. Naturally enough he found himself frequently laughing uproariously. Less naturally, he found each burst of laughter being accompanied by a bout of Shhhing from behind him. Eventually, he turned to confront the complainant. "It's a comedy," he protested.
“No,” came the reply, “it’s a classic.”
Well, you can't argue with that. The General is made up of an extended train chase set in the American Civil War. (It is basically what Johnny Depp was trying to emulate at the end of the Lone Ranger.) A group of Northern Union spies sneak South into enemy territory and steal Keaton's choo choo, The General, to steam back to their side, torching all the bridges on their way and sabotaging the Confederate supply line. They also steal, inadvertently, Buster's girl and he sets out to get her and his train back. It is the best part of nine decades old but can be enjoyed today without any allowances: it is fast, funny, thrilling and touching.
That said, it's not quite as funny as I remember it. There are some classic moments but possibly less than in the other discs in this collection. Though his comedy is wild and destructive, Keaton is actually a rather conventional figure. He is always righteous, always the one picked on by the bigger boys, always heroic and he always gets the girl. That face is almost as po as it is stony.
Which is fine, except in the General, he is doing this for the glory of the Confederate South. (To continue the theme, Steamboat Bill senior's steamboat is called Stonewall Jackson.) But the worst scene comes near the beginning when Keaton, at the prompting of his sweetheart, tries to enlist in the army but is repeatedly turned down, because his work as a train engineer is more important to the cause. Such gung-ho militarism is a little hard to take in a comic lead, who are traditionally meant to be cowardly, and if they aren't cowardly, they aren't meant to side with slave owners.
Directed by Buster Keaton, Cylde Bruckman. 1926.
Starring Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender and Jim Farley. 75 mins. Silent, Black and White.
A story once overheard. Gilbert Adair, not a critic who could be easily top in a how-high-can-your-brow-go contest, was at a screening of Buster Keaton's most celebrated film, The General, at the National Film Theatre. Naturally enough he found himself frequently laughing uproariously. Less naturally, he found each burst of laughter being accompanied by a bout of Shhhing from behind him. Eventually, he turned to confront the complainant. "It's a comedy," he protested.
“No,” came the reply, “it’s a classic.”
Well, you can't argue with that. The General is made up of an extended train chase set in the American Civil War. (It is basically what Johnny Depp was trying to emulate at the end of the Lone Ranger.) A group of Northern Union spies sneak South into enemy territory and steal Keaton's choo choo, The General, to steam back to their side, torching all the bridges on their way and sabotaging the Confederate supply line. They also steal, inadvertently, Buster's girl and he sets out to get her and his train back. It is the best part of nine decades old but can be enjoyed today without any allowances: it is fast, funny, thrilling and touching.
That said, it's not quite as funny as I remember it. There are some classic moments but possibly less than in the other discs in this collection. Though his comedy is wild and destructive, Keaton is actually a rather conventional figure. He is always righteous, always the one picked on by the bigger boys, always heroic and he always gets the girl. That face is almost as po as it is stony.
Which is fine, except in the General, he is doing this for the glory of the Confederate South. (To continue the theme, Steamboat Bill senior's steamboat is called Stonewall Jackson.) But the worst scene comes near the beginning when Keaton, at the prompting of his sweetheart, tries to enlist in the army but is repeatedly turned down, because his work as a train engineer is more important to the cause. Such gung-ho militarism is a little hard to take in a comic lead, who are traditionally meant to be cowardly, and if they aren't cowardly, they aren't meant to side with slave owners.
