Rating: 
Summary: Snooze! Keaton is as Disappointing as Chaplin
Review: After being thoroughly disappointed by Charlie Chaplin's sad brand of humor, I was led to Buster Keaton, whose adherents assure us that he was the real funny man of the 1920s. This is supposed to be perhaps Keaton's best work. On the positive side, I must say that the cinematography and production were first-rate for the day. Sadly, however, this film quite frankly isn't funny. Keaton's brand of humor seems to be simply a milder form of the same lame procedure as that followed by Chaplin. But whereas Chaplin wears you down with overkill, Keaton underwhelms you to sleep. Both of these silent comedy "masterpieces" (The General and City Lights) are both dim bulbs, in my humble opinion. At least City Lights has a good ending to make up for the lame humor. The General has no such saving grace. For the disappointed like myself, there is one only one famous 1920s comic actor, Harold Lloyd, whose work really stands the test of time. Check out "The Kid Brother", "Speedy" (with Babe Ruth), and the hair-raising "Safety Last". And there is also value in silent romantic comedy, both "It" and "My Best Girl" immediately come to mind. The General, however, certainly doesn't have "It. The good stunts and high production values do not make up for the fact that this film just isn't funny.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, imaginative, and energetic.
Review: This is one of those movies that deserves its 5-star rating. I'm not a connoisseur of silent films, but I don't think you have to be to enjoy this film. The action is fast-moving, as is the plot. The visual gags are first-class, and re-watchable even in this day and age of computer-generated special effects. Some of the stunts (which of course Buster Keaton did himself) are amazing to watch, mostly to figure out how they did it all in one take with a film camera.One of the other reviewers mentioned that their DVD was missing the two other advertised short films--they *were* present on my DVD. I suspect that reviewer received the wrong DVD (I got mine from a marketplace seller on Amazon with no problems).
Rating: 
Summary: The 2 shorts are missing!
Review: The General is a great film, of course, and highly recommended.
But if what you are interested in is the 2 advertised shorts, you should know that they don't exist on this DVD.
The description says "Contains [...The General...] as well as two Keaton shorts: The Playhouse (1921, B&W, 23 min., Mono) and Cops (1922, B&W, 18 min., Mono)". The DVD jacket also features them, but they ARE NOT on the DVD itself, which has "only" The General and it's chapter selection menu.
Rating:
Summary: Two great silent classics on one DVD
Review: Until the past fifteen or twenty years, Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL was almost universally regarded as one of the top ten films ever made. When Orson Welles was asked to compile a list of his favorite films, he named it his number one film. On the other hand, when THE GENERAL was first released, it barely managed to make back the money spent in making it, and was considered a bit of a box office disappointment, leading to Keaton not being given full control of a film again. With the advent of sound, the film was forgotten, only to be revived in the 1950s, first in France and then in the United States. "The General" is the name of the Confederate engineer Buster Keaton's train engine, but it also refers to the role that Keaton assumes in his encounter with the Union army. Early in the film Keaton tries to enlist in the Confederate army, but is turned down because he is too valuable as an engineer, a fact they fail to communicate to Keaton, who is viewed with shame by his girl and her family for failing to become a soldier. Much of the action takes place some time later, as Keaton manages to recover his train, which had been stolen by Northern troops, and returns it to the South. The plot, however, is unimportant. The story is just an excuse to let Keaton devise one utterly stupendous stunt after another, using trains as props in some of the most brilliant scenes ever staged. Jackie Chan probably has undertaken the greatest stunts of any star ever, but Keaton is probably second. And no one was better with large machines than Keaton, who relies on actually stunts with the trains, and never on mere special effects. But it isn't just a bunch of clever scenes that makes this film special: more than any other film comedian, including Chaplain, Keaton understood the nature of the film medium. He was able to do things with the camera and block shots in a way that far surpassed virtually every other director of the silent era. It was his mastery of film technique, and not merely his comic gifts, that led to his adulation by the French and later the rest of the world during his rediscovery in the 1950s. One aspect of this film should be especially stressed: never has a more convincing depiction of the Civil War ever appeared on celluloid. Keaton intentionally modeled the battle shots on "Matthew Brady" photographs (I place quotations around the name because we now know that most Matthew Brady photographs were actually taken by assistants, especially Alexander Gardner). The DVD also comes with THE PLAYHOUSE, which is fun though not near Keaton's best, and the extraordinary COPS, which is without question Keaton's best short film, and as great as anything he made. Most view the film today as a commentary on the plight of Keaton's friend Fatty Arbuckle, who was facing a trial on manslaughter charges, a trial that today is seen as unjustified persecution. Keaton in the film accidentally gets on the wrong side of the police, and disrupts a police parade, and the ensuing chase as hundreds of cops chase him is one of the finest in silent cinema. Many of the gags and shots in this short have been imitated countless times. THE GENERAL by itself would justify the purchase of this disc, but including COPS makes it priceless.
Rating:
Summary: One of the ten best films of all time
Review: The best silent film ever, and definitely one of the ten best of all time. No serious fan of cinema should be without this movie. For those who say they don't like silent movies, I urge you to try this one. You'll be watching for 30 minutes before you realize there's no sound dialogue! The creativity, visual effects, story, comedy, and acting are outstanding not just by the standards of the silent era, but by any era. I often wonder what Keaton could have accomplished with today's technology.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This is a masterpiece of film and story telling. It is almost unbelievable how well the story is put together and carried out. Buster Keaton's timing is unparalleled, even today! The stunts were get it right the first time, which they did, because you wouldn't get a second chance. Action and comedy rolled into one, with wonderful (large scale) sets, and a bit of history to boot! They don't get any better...
Rating:
Summary: The Keaton Classic.
Review: The debate concerning who was the better comedian; Keaton or Chaplin, will always go on. However, I would say Keaton was because Keaton was the better overall actor of the two. Chaplin was funny because he tried to be funny, but Keaton was funny because he never really looked like he was trying to be funny. No where is this more apparent than in THE GENERAL. It is one of, if not the, best Keaton movies ever made. Not much needs to be said about the plot because that's talked to death elsewhere. However, it should be noted that even today film makers borrow scenes from this movie and it has one of the best train chase sequences in movie history. This is a great movie for any Keaton or silent movie fan to own and is a good way to introduce newcomers to good silent pictures.
Rating: 
Summary: A major Buster Keaton opus
Review: One of Buster Keaton's most classic comedies, a full-length story of a train engineer who, although turned down for military service, becomes a hero in the Civil War. A long-haired, youthful Keaton performs athletically throughout -- jumping from car to car on his fast-moving train and taking numerous pratfalls, although this film relies more on its dramatic aspects than on humor. Seeing it on TV is okay -- the print of this film is great -- but to really get Keaton's comedic appeal you need to see his films in an actual movie theatre, with other people, to let the comic intensity and laughter build the way Keaton originally intended. Watching it in the privacy of your own home simply won't achieve the same effect.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Movie...
Review: This was good, though many of the comedy bits have gotten so old since they were used in this film, there is some amount of film history and American history present, it's all very entertaining, but don't expect the world from it. Get this as part of Total Movie's 40 Free DVD Subscription: insidedvd.com
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious - a must-see!
Review: Quite simply, The General is HILARIOUS! Although I am generally not a huge fan of silent movies (I prefer the classic sound films), The General is an exception. Way ahead of its time, this film was not initially well recieved and was a big flop, but it is now considered by many to be Buster Keaton's finest film. Overall, the General is truly a showcase of Keaton's brilliance as a comedian and stuntman. The General is set in the Civil War. Basically, it is the story of an engineer named Johnny Gray who, after being rejected from serving in the Southern army and consequently not being able to marry his sweetheart (she will only have him if he is in the army), finds himself engaged in a huge chase to get his train back after it is stolen from him by a small group of Northerers. The chase is hilarious - it has often been imitated, but nothing can compare to the original - and Keaton's expressions, especially his famous deadpan expression, are hysterical. Anyhow, this classic comedy is a must-see. Keaton's antics are great, and it is amazing to think that he did all his daredevil stunts in an era where special effects were nonexistent (if you wanted to crash a train off a bridge, you actually had to do it)! The General is perfect for the whole family (this is my 11 year old brother's favorite movie, he has seen it at least 100 times) and is a real treat to watch. I don't know how else to recommend this - get it and enjoy!
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