Rating: 
Summary: Massive, must-have treasure trove
Review: After spending years trying to catch up with Buster Keaton's various films from the 1920s, and often winding up with terrible picture quality, it almost seemed miraculous to view Kino's 11-disc dvd collection. Many fine observations have already been made by other reviewers so I'll add something original. One of the delights in viewing this collection [containing ALL his 1920s films except his last two features for MGM, The Cameraman (1928) and Spite Marriage (1929)] is comparing Keaton's own comments from various published biographies.For my tastes, the films I liked best, such as SEVEN CHANCES, were those that Keaton seemed to like the least. On the other hand, the ones Keaton remembered most fondly, such as THE NAVIGATOR, were a mixed bag to me. I had seen THE GENERAL many times over the years, including on the big screen, but I think that Kino's version is the best looking of them all. Keaton led a charmed life as an independent filmmaker throughout most of the 1920s. Unlike Chaplin or Harold Lloyd who risked their own money in producing their films, Keaton never put up a dime to make his films. A sympathetic producer, Joseph Schenck, who eventually became his father-in-law, financed Keaton's films until circumstances prevented him from doing so. Then Keaton went to MGM - which is another controversy to be saved for the time, if ever, when the Buster Keaton MGM collection is issued. The bonus disc is interesting for a number of reasons. For me, it was curious to see Keaton's girlfriend from 1929's SPITE MARRIAGE play his leading lady in a 1934 short film for a small studio. Apparently, they had both come a long way down by then.
Rating:
Summary: THE LUSTRE OF BUSTER
Review: Brilliant. Timeless. Sublime. Beautiful. Hilarious. Indispensable. Classic...
Where to begin discussing the great Buster Keaton?
Well, how about here for starters:
YOUR FILM LIBRARY IS INCOMPLETE IF YOU DON'T ALREADY OWN THIS ESSENTIAL BOX SET!
And, due to the culturally vacuous nature of the general public, I can promise you these discs will not stay in print forever. So what are you waiting for?
The good folks at Kino have provided this historic collection, a virtually complete silent filmography of one of the worlds' greatest filmmakers - it would be a bargain at twice the price, really.
While it's true that home video is emphatically not the best medium to enjoy silent movies, with their many variables ( such as being at the mercy of a modern score by the tone-deaf Club Foot Orchestra, appropriately named and very much in evidence here, ) it's still vastly preferable to the alternative: i.e. never seeing these comic gems at all, in any capacity.
One viewing of SHERLOCK, JR., after all, is usually enough to make the average person a Keaton fan for life, ( try it yourself with your girlfriend if you don't believe me - it never fails! ) despite the occasionally bad modern soundtrack. And the prints are gorgeous, for the most part. ( Some of the films are so rare that only one original print is known to exist. In all cases, the best available source was utilized. )
If you don't happen to live around the corner from a silent movie revival theatre, this is the next best thing. A virtual how-to lesson in visual storytelling by one of cinema's undisputed geniuses.
So drop whatever you're doing and buy it now - before it's too late. You can thank me later.
Rating: 
Summary: The Legend lives on!!
Review: Buster Keatons' talents as a performer,gagman,writer,director,et al are in evidence here to their fullest and greatest degree.
This DVD set of all of his works as an independant film maker during the 1920s are here for all of us to enjoy and to marvel at once more or for the first time.
Stan Laurel,another one of the true comedic geniuses of the cinema and his contemporary, once said of Buster:
"Another 'great'.....One of the reasons why I love Buster so much is because he lives comedy as well as practices it.Some of his things are better than Chaplins'"(from 'Mr.Laurel & Mr.Hardy'-John McCabe).
Truer words never spoken and this set proves Stans' words in spades.
Instead of getting into a detailed analysis of each film on technical/restoration and artistic merits(which considering the amount of films to review would take up more space than is available!),I will just give you a brief overview of the set.
As already stated the set contains ALL of his shorts AND his features from the 20s.
Now one must realize and be forewarned that the quality of these prints run from excellent to poor.A good portion fall somewhere between them.
The reasons for this are that some of these films I don't doubt strictly speaking from an age and condition standpoint are probably the best that are currently available and that could be obtained for this release.
Some I suspect were not the best obtainable prints available and /or were not restored to their fullest potential.
Some also may be a combination of poor prints and lacklustre restoration work.
However when you view a top notch print it is a revelation.My vote for best film in this set is Seven Chances.It has the original two tint opening and I have never ever seen such a clear and crisp print of this film anywhere.
And as if getting ALL of Busters' features wasn't enough to satisfy even the most dedicated of Keaton-philes,Kino has inserted an extra DVD with some rare and hard to come by features on it.There are clips from his early 50s TV show,TV commercials,a couple of 30s shorts,The Awakening, a dramatic play aired on Douglas Fairbanks Jr.s' show(which I never tire of watching!),an interactive tour of Busters' film locations prepared by the author of Silent Echoes,John Bengston,and much more.
When it came to purchasing this set I was probably like many of you and balked when looking at the price tag.I finally took a deep breath and took the plunge and I'm SO glad I did and I know you won't be disappointed.The most important thing to remember when deciding is just think about the amount of material here and all in one place,at your finger tips.That finally decided it for me.
I hope it decides it for you too.And enjoy Buster at his finest!!
Rating: 
Summary: Whaddya do if you already bought the individual DVD's?
Review: First things first: I am a huge fan of Keaton, and every film student should have his films in their collection. UNFORTUNATELY, my praise is far from effusive for Kino. The movies in this box set have been available individually for well over a year. I was reticent to get the DVD's in the first place since I ponied up the big bucks when it first came out on Laserdisc many years ago. Last summer, I caved in and started buying the individual DVD's, which cost over $25 brand new per DVD. While this box set will be of financial comfort to those who decided to wait, it's just thumbscrews to the fans who already plunked down their hard cash for it. Yes, they do include a bonus disk that every Keatonphile craves, but all the true Keatonphiles already have the other DVD's. Why make the loyal purchasers pay through the nose again? Kino should offer the bonus disc individually, so everybody can get a taste of its masterworks. Will I give in again to Kino, and buy this set? Don't bet on it. I've shown my fandom by paying big for Keaton discs twice in my life already. Paying for the same stuff a third time would be irrational, and I believe there's a difference between fandom and fanaticism.
Rating:
Summary: a treasure...
Review: I don't disagree with the minor complaints of some of the other reviews of this Kino set of Buster Keaton's 1920s films. The music isn't always at the highest level. But generally its quite good, especially considering that most DVD reissues of silents are backed with a soundtrack performed on a synthesizer. I prefer a slightly out-of-tune but bona fide violin to a digital imitation of an orchestra. Also, these transfers have been around for a few years. Perhaps some of them could be improved upon. I noticed that the more recent Image DVD issue of "The General" has a better image. Perhaps someday we'll get a new Keaton set with transfers to match the quality of Image Entertainment's the General. But overall the image quality of the current Kino set is very good to excellent. Those caveats aside, I would put this collection (along with Image's box of the Chaplin Mutuals and Essanays) in the 'essential' category for silent movie fans. Considering that a lot of movie classics are yet to see DVD issue, we are fortunate that Kino has put together such a comprehensive collection of Keaton's pre-MGM movies. Bogart fans will have to wait for the African Queen, but Keaton fans can enjoy these films right now. And unlike the Chaplin boxed set mentioned above, there's hardly a dud in the Keaton collection. Pretty much everything here will bring enjoyment over repeated viewings. With Image Entertainment's wonderful Arbuckle/Keaton issue now readily available, all we need is The Cameraman and Spite Marriage! I'd love to see these films make it to DVD...
Rating:
Summary: "Mister, we could use a man like Buster Keaton again..."
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: "Mister, we could use a man like Buster Keaton again..."
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: "Mister, we could use a man like Buster Keaton again..."
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great Set
Review: I have seen all these films in VHS format. Anyone who watches them can tell that Keaton was a genius as well as a great entertainer. Others have found fault with the musical scores, especially the one that accompanies Sherlock Jr. In my opinion, this score is wonderful. It adds an additional layer of fun to the film. The Club Foot Orchestra, which performs the score, should be applauded. Silent Films should get modern scores even if it ruffles the feathers of some purists.
Rating:
Summary: Of course, you probably already like Keaton...
Review: If you are reading this, then you are probably already a Keaton fan. I don't need to tell you about the constant innovation, the incredible stunts, the bizarre sight gags, and the invariable dream sequences that are a part of Keaton's work. This set is quite nice. The bonus disc has some interesting material in it, though I wonder if it is worth buying the set for it. There are occasional moments of digital artifacting, mostly noticable on the title cards, which are varying shades of gray, which seems to be the easiest way to guarantee artifacting. The copies of almost all the films are superb, and the newly discovered ending to Hard Luck is a riot. But, of course, any Keaton fan will buy this set. If you are not a Keaton fan, well, try renting a film of his first before you take the plunge. Try SHerlock Jr., One Week, The General, Steamboat Bill Jr., or even The Navigator.
|
