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Seven Chances

Seven Chances

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hilariously bizarre climax highlight of near-great comedy
Review: Seven Chances was an old warhorse of a stage play, and at first that fact is a little too obvious. Stick with it, though, because the climax is pure Keatonian surrealism, and as falldown funny as anything he ever did-- Buster pursued for two reels by two equally terrifying forces of nature, an army of angry would-be brides and an avalanche of enormous boulders. Includes one of his more pointed shorts, Neighbors, in which love struggles to overcome the animosity of two sets of families. Any comment on his own marriage into the Talmadge family is surely coincidental.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Buster Keaton is a genius
Review: The long sequence which ends SEVEN CHANCES, in which Buster Keaton is chased by boulders and hundreds of jilted brides, is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen on film. The inventiveness, the magnificent physical dexterity, the rolling, relentless pacing which matches the rolling, relentless boulders, make this film a gem despite a rather so-so first half (hence the 4 stars rather than 5). The two shorts on the disc also include some brilliant, hilarious stunts. For some reason I had not paid much attention to Keaton before seeing this disc recently. I'm glad to have "discovered" this irresistible, enormous talent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolute quality!
Review: This DVD is a treasure. I belive it is impossible to find a silent flick presented in a better picture quality than "Seven Chances". If you are a collector of early technicolor, then you might be bit disappointed: the "technicolor opening sequence" is a mere 3 minute bit (incuding the opening titles). Nevertheless, the movie is great fun, well constructed and acted, the camera works well plus there are a lot of pretty girls and posh clothes if you are interested. The soundtrack is a gem; it's a small movie orchestra (probably an octet) in the main feature, piano and violin in "Neighbors" and movie organ in "Balloonatic". The other two short features are OK as well, especially "Neighbors", which features some really clever (and dangerous) choreography. The picture quality of these two is quite good too. Overall, a wonderful package, although there are no extra features.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: buster the genius
Review: to anyone who loves comedy you must check out any buster keaton short or film . your library is not complete until youve got some buster(joe keaton, jr.). he is one of the classic comedy geniuses. chaplin had nothin on buster. check him out and enjoy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funny, exciting classic
Review: Watching Seven Chances, it's easy to see why Buster Keaton was considered one of the greatest comics of the silent era (although I still prefer Harold Lloyd). The basic premise is that Buster learns that he'll inherit a fortune if he is married by 7 p.m. What follows is a non-stop riot. This has some of the funniest sequences ever filmed, and the final race to the church is so funny that it's almost painful to watch. This is easily one of the top four or five silent comedies, and a great film for introducing people to silent cinema.

Kino's DVD looks great, and features two Keaton shorts, Balloonatics and Neighbors. I highly recommend this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An example of Buster's genuis
Review: When it comes to silent comedy, I'm a Harold Lloyd/Our Gang man, but this film has increased my appreciation of Buster keaton.

The man was a comic genius. Although the story is wildly improabable, you wind up caring about what happens to Buster and his finacee.' The mad chase scene, while a bit drawn-out, shows remarkable comic timing and while it may not make you laugh out loud, you have to admire the work that went into this.

The only drawbacks are the elements of the racism of the era. The finacee's handyman is clearly a White actor in blackface (an odd choice, since there are a couple of other actual Black actors in the film). One rather crude scene has Buster approaching a possible "wife" on a park bench. He retreats when she opens up a newspaper written in Hebrew. A short while later, he admires a young lady from behind and tries to talk to her, only to "hit the road" when she turns to reveal she is Black. But being a film purist, I would not recommend that these offensive scenes be removed from current prints. They should stand to show the mentality of that era.

That aside, it's a great film.


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