silentfilm

Image ~ ~ Mark

brightwalldarkroom:

“It’s said that Chaplin wanted you to like him, but Keaton didn’t care. I think he cared, but was too proud to ask. His films avoid the pathos and sentiment of the Chaplin pictures, and usually feature a jaunty young man who sees an objective and goes for it in the face of the most daunting obstacles. Buster survives tornados, waterfalls, avalanches of boulders, and falls from great heights, and never pauses to take a bow: He has his eye on his goal. And his movies, seen as a group, are like a sustained act of optimism in the face of adversity; surprising, how without asking, he earns our admiration and tenderness.”

—Roger Ebert

~ Mark

thedissolve:

“Comedy thrives inside a fixed frame. It’s not an essential element, but as with dancing and magic tricks, it’s always more impressive if the viewer can see the performer’s hands and feet at all times. In Sherlock, Jr, Keaton moves the camera when he has to, during all of the movie’s crazy chases. But even then, the motion is limited: Keaton tracks alongside the actors, or he attaches the camera to the front of one of the moving vehicles so that he can keep all the action inside the rectangle.Sherlock, Jr. is at its funniest, though, when the camera stays still, and the characters move in and out, like figures in a side-scrolling platform videogame. Maybe that’s because the fixed frame emphasizes the characters as characters, arriving into the picture exactly when needed for the plot—and sometimes remaining stuck there, like the projectionist, never confident that he can find a way to break out of the box.”

Noel Murray kicks off our Movie Of The Week discussion of the 1924 classic Sherlock, Jr. with an examination of how Buster Keaton’s physical comedy thrived in a fixed environment of boxes and lines. [Read more…]

Buster Keaton insta-reblog rule in effect.

The Crowd

Image ~ ~ Mark

The Crowd. It took a while for the talkies to catch up with the camerawork in this 1928 film. Nicely done. And as I find with many silent films, it was much funnier than I expected. The work scenes anticipate Il Posto (one of my favorite movies) in some ways. Technically, it’s supposed to be one of the pinnacles of silent film. One early long zoom moment reminded me of Hitchcock’s famous zoom-in in Notorious, 20 years later. Themes include changing social mores in relationships, expectations about masculinity, the arrival of modernity, self-realization, practicality. Probably hard to find on DVD, I lucked out with a live screening and piano accompaniment. Looking forward to the rest of Emory Film Department’s spring 2012 series.

Metropolis

Image ~ ~ Mark

Metropolis. Amazing. I was pumped-up to see this latest restoration and it did not disappoint. Fritz Lang went big with this one. So good. So many themes. Solid, archetypal characters (tycoon/forbidding father, sketchy henchman, mad scientist, romantic hero, maiden/whore/messiah, trusty sidekick, etc.) all with their own clear relationships to each other. A pretty amazing soundtrack (with cameos of the Dies Irae and La Marseillaise). Many of the sets would still look incredible today. It’s old enough to bring out some unintended laughter here and there, but I thought it was pretty gripping most of the way.

The Cameraman

Image ~ ~ Mark

The Cameraman. Keaton’s first film with MGM, whereupon he lost creative control and began his decline. In other words, the last of the good ones. Generally, if your movie introduces a monkey companion part of the way through, you are probably not in top form. That said, the best parts are very good: the dressing room scene and the scene at Yankee stadium (love his pitcher’s mannerisms, also check out the base-running and perfectly-timed slide into home at 2:35). It’s fun at times, but doesn’t compare with The General, Sherlock, Jr., or Our Hospitality.

Our Hospitality

Image ~ ~ Mark

Our Hospitality. Starts pretty slow, but it has good moments. The waterfall scene near the end [9 minutes into the clip] is genuinely amazing. At the core is a family fued: Canfields vs. McKays. McKay falls in love with the Canfield daughter. Daughter invites him over for supper. Southern code of honor means Canfields can’t kill him inside the house. Comedy ensues.

The General

Image ~ ~ Mark

The General. I’ve grown to love me some Buster Keaton. Seems like every scene in this movie has a laugh built-in. But it’s not just a gag to hold you over until something happens. They’re all connected with the chase or to at least show you what the hero is like. And I love the efficiency of the stunts. Everything seems so cleanly done. Great stuff. Roger Ebert on The General.

Update: This movie is also set in my home state of Georgia. Just sayin’…