Rating: 
Summary: Buster at his Best!
Review: A collection of some of Buster Keaton's best short films, including the ELECTRIC HOUSE. In this film, Buster is mistaken for a professor of electricity and rewires a house with some very funny effects and amazing results. In THE BOAT Buster builds a boat to take his family out in, until a storm occurs which almost ruins the event! THE PALEFACE contains some super stunts, all done by the man himself, who gets caught up with some indians who try to kill him! FROZEN NORTH is one of my personal favorites, with Buster totally out of character imitating William S Hart filled with crazy sight gags and unexpected twists. In THE PLAYHOUSE, Buster plays most of the characters showing off his talents as a film maker in an amazing short where he works in a theatre. COPS is one of his best remembered because of the hundreds of police who chase the poor Buster after he accidently bombs a parade of cops! The difinitive collection for those who are devoted to Buster Keaton, or those who have never heard of him. A great value pack which shows the silents accompanied by music as they should be in perfect condition, a valuable part of my collection, make it part of yours and have a good laugh at the Great Stone Face....
Rating: 
Summary: This 2-video set contains 6 of Buster Keaton's two-reelers.
Review: A great sample of one of the greatest comic genius's of all-time. This is a 2 video set containing: The Electric House; The Boat; The Paleface; The Frozen North; The Playhouse; Cops. It was delightful. I showed some of these to my 13 year old son and made a new Buster Keaton fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful transfer of a great film!
Review: Many silent films have lived past their copyright expiration and are now in public domain. This allows any hack with enough will to put out old films on DVD and charge what the market will pay. Fortunately, Kino International has provided us some excellent transfers of the Buster Keaton film library to enjoy.'The Navigator' is a film that uses a large ship as it main prop. Keaton plays the naive son of a wealthy family who wrongly gets on a ship that is about to be destroyed, He spends the rest of the movie barely dodging disaster after disaster while keeping his famous dead-pan facial expression. 'The Navigator' also includes some of the earliest underwater movie photography. Included with this DVD are 2 extra 20 minute films: 'The Boat' and 'The Love Nest'. Both are excellent transfers and fun to watch. The DVD also has a theme, since all included movies have to do with sailing and the ocean. The musical scores are excellent and compliment the movie very well. If you are new to Buster Keaton's work, I would also recommend 'The General' and 'Sherlock Jr'.
Rating:
Summary: How funny can one movie be?
Review: No other movie I've ever seen - with the possible exceptoin of the first Richard Pryor concert film, which isn't quite the same thing - has ever made me laugh as much, or as hard, as this. That the gags are peerlessly set up and flawlessly executed is to be expected with Keaton, and he made better films than this ("The General" comes to mind, of course) but for sheer, painful belly-laughs, none of Buster's work, for me, comes close. A few moments of many: Buster's idiot girlfriend making coffee; their eerily hilarious meeting on the drifting boat, so perfectly timed and played it should a) serve as a model for all physical comedians and b) never be done again; and Keaton's underwater duel with a swordfish. Just don't watch it while you're eating, and keep a pillow by the couch for falling on.
Rating:
Summary: Buster's Maritime 3
Review: THE NAVIGATOR (1924): One of Buster's best features. A fast-paced fun collection of classic gags, Buster filmed on top of "The Buford", a ship that was actually used by the U.S. govt. to dump alleged Bolsheviks out of the USA and into Russia in 1919. The film begins with Buster proposing marriage to his gal, who turns him down. The two mistakenly wind up on the ship, called The Navigator, which happens to be deserted and floundering at sea. They make do the best they can, and eventually must deal with cannibals on a tropical island. One of the funniest Buster gags I've ever seen is in this movie - while he's trying to go to sleep in his cabin, his gal throws a snarly-looking portrait of a swabo out of her cabin and it lands on a nail outside the porthole window of Buster's cabin. It swings from side-to-side, giving Buster the illusion that The Navigator is haunted. More haunted-ship gags follow (spook gags show up in other Buster films), which makes me wonder if Buster was influenced by something he saw not-of-this-world in the 1000 or more boarding houses and hotels he stayed in during those previous 20 years in vaudeville. THE BOAT (1921): In this 2-reeler, Buster builds a boat, called The Damfino, in the basement of his home. Since the garage doors are only meant for something like a Model T, Buster idiotically collapses his house as he forces The Damfino through this small opening. No one in the family seems to be bothered that their home now looks as if it was hit by a tornado, as they proceed to drive off to launch The Damfino. "The Boat" was thought to be one of Buster's lost films. It miraculously got pieced together recently, and that is what you'll find on this DVD. There are some scenes that have a curious blue tint that alternate with b&w scenes, and a few scenes have chemical decomposition, but none of these shots lasts more than a few seconds. Watching "The Boat" sometimes gives me motion sickness because of the somersaulting camerawork in a scene near the end. If my head is not spinning from this, I'll move on to.... THE LOVE NEST (1923): Buster's had a spat with his gal, and writes her a letter that happens to end with "write me if you don't get this letter". He sets sail in a crippled boat that is stocked with junk like hard tack and zerolene. Evidence of the passage of time is shown by the fake beard painted on his face that makes him look like a half-minstrel. Desperately, he climbs aboard a boat called The Love Nest that ironically is run by a sinister captain who throws his crew overboard if they should make the slightest mistake. One of the funniest gags in this 2-reeler shows Buster standing in front of a navy target range, then grainy stock footage of active naval destroyers is shown, which blow him sky-high.
Rating:
Summary: Buster's Maritime 3
Review: THE NAVIGATOR (1924): One of Buster's best features. A fast-paced fun collection of classic gags, Buster filmed on top of "The Buford", a ship that was actually used by the U.S. govt. to dump alleged Bolsheviks out of the USA and into Russia in 1919. The film begins with Buster proposing marriage to his gal, who turns him down. The two mistakenly wind up on the ship, called The Navigator, which happens to be deserted and floundering at sea. They make do the best they can, and eventually must deal with cannibals on a tropical island. One of the funniest Buster gags I've ever seen is in this movie - while he's trying to go to sleep in his cabin, his gal throws a snarly-looking portrait of a swabo out of her cabin and it lands on a nail outside the porthole window of Buster's cabin. It swings from side-to-side, giving Buster the illusion that The Navigator is haunted. More haunted-ship gags follow (spook gags show up in other Buster films), which makes me wonder if Buster was influenced by something he saw not-of-this-world in the 1000 or more boarding houses and hotels he stayed in during those previous 20 years in vaudeville. THE BOAT (1921): In this 2-reeler, Buster builds a boat, called The Damfino, in the basement of his home. Since the garage doors are only meant for something like a Model T, Buster idiotically collapses his house as he forces The Damfino through this small opening. No one in the family seems to be bothered that their home now looks as if it was hit by a tornado, as they proceed to drive off to launch The Damfino. "The Boat" was thought to be one of Buster's lost films. It miraculously got pieced together recently, and that is what you'll find on this DVD. There are some scenes that have a curious blue tint that alternate with b&w scenes, and a few scenes have chemical decomposition, but none of these shots lasts more than a few seconds. Watching "The Boat" sometimes gives me motion sickness because of the somersaulting camerawork in a scene near the end. If my head is not spinning from this, I'll move on to.... THE LOVE NEST (1923): Buster's had a spat with his gal, and writes her a letter that happens to end with "write me if you don't get this letter". He sets sail in a crippled boat that is stocked with junk like hard tack and zerolene. Evidence of the passage of time is shown by the fake beard painted on his face that makes him look like a half-minstrel. Desperately, he climbs aboard a boat called The Love Nest that ironically is run by a sinister captain who throws his crew overboard if they should make the slightest mistake. One of the funniest gags in this 2-reeler shows Buster standing in front of a navy target range, then grainy stock footage of active naval destroyers is shown, which blow him sky-high.
Rating:
Summary: Boating With Buster
Review: The Navigator -- a luxury liner set adrift with no crew apart from Buster Keaton and his would-be fiancé. After eventually finding each other aboard the giant craft, they must work together to survive. Totally cut off from civilization their needs are the most basic: they must use all their wits to survive hunger, thirst, and ghosts. Falling under the "not so basic necessities" category, they must also repel an invasion from a group of unfortunately characterized islanders. This film clocks in at just about an hour. And like many the Keaton films of this length, this is very much a collection of related set pieces, only loosely connected by plot. Fortunately, the sequences here are very funny. The breakfast scene is quite amusing, with the two trying to prepare food in a kitchen that is well stocked in some things, but lacking in other, necessary items (i.e. lots of cans, no can-opener in sight). Naturally, as with any Buster Keaton movie, confusions abound; the hapless pair mistakes fireworks for candles, and a photograph for a poltergeist. As with most of Keaton's better films, several elements all come together to create something worthy. The slapstick comedy is present, of course. But the action sequences are epic and give the store a real feeling of adventure. In addition to the main feature, included on this disc are two of Buster's short films that also deal with nautical adventures. First up is THE BOAT, in which Buster Keaton, devoted father and husband has a dream of building and captaining a sailing ship of his own. He ultimately realizes his goal, but the opening scene shows us the first of what will become many miscalculations; he's constructed a boat in a basement, and doesn't realize that he has no way of fitting it through the door. But sacrificing everything that he has, up to (and almost including) members of his family, he eventually finds himself, his loved ones, and, indeed, his homemade boat happily floating on the ocean surface. The little scenes and short gags that make up this film are really well done. The props they built are impressive; from the outside of the boat, to its interior which rotates on its horizontal axis a full 360 degrees, making the ceiling quickly become the floor (Keaton dealing with an barrel-rolling boat is simply hilarious). THE LOVE NEST is another of those films where a standard Silent Movie Heavy throws little guys around like rag dolls. In this case, it's Joe Roberts as the gruff captain of a whaling ship who throws his minions overboard when they displease him in the slightest (he's not totally without heart; he throws wreaths to mark his underling's watery graves). Even though all three of the films on this disc involve seafaring, there is no real repetition. No jokes are recycled. A lot of Buster's gags involved water in some way; he was constantly falling into it, or having it dumped on him, or dropping it on his adversaries. It just goes to show you how creative Keaton was when he can take what are essentially cheap laughs and turn them into something so ticklish. Give him one simple premise (himself on a boat), and he can spin off a hundred different jokes. This disc definitely shows Buster Keaton at his comic best. (Some of these prints are showing their age, but since that age is about eighty, that is only to be expected. I hope I'm as well preserved when I'm that old.)
Rating:
Summary: Boating With Buster
Review: The Navigator -- a luxury liner set adrift with no crew apart from Buster Keaton and his would-be fiancé. After eventually finding each other aboard the giant craft, they must work together to survive. Totally cut off from civilization their needs are the most basic: they must use all their wits to survive hunger, thirst, and ghosts. Falling under the "not so basic necessities" category, they must also repel an invasion from a group of unfortunately characterized islanders. This film clocks in at just about an hour. And like many the Keaton films of this length, this is very much a collection of related set pieces, only loosely connected by plot. Fortunately, the sequences here are very funny. The breakfast scene is quite amusing, with the two trying to prepare food in a kitchen that is well stocked in some things, but lacking in other, necessary items (i.e. lots of cans, no can-opener in sight). Naturally, as with any Buster Keaton movie, confusions abound; the hapless pair mistakes fireworks for candles, and a photograph for a poltergeist. As with most of Keaton's better films, several elements all come together to create something worthy. The slapstick comedy is present, of course. But the action sequences are epic and give the store a real feeling of adventure. In addition to the main feature, included on this disc are two of Buster's short films that also deal with nautical adventures. First up is THE BOAT, in which Buster Keaton, devoted father and husband has a dream of building and captaining a sailing ship of his own. He ultimately realizes his goal, but the opening scene shows us the first of what will become many miscalculations; he's constructed a boat in a basement, and doesn't realize that he has no way of fitting it through the door. But sacrificing everything that he has, up to (and almost including) members of his family, he eventually finds himself, his loved ones, and, indeed, his homemade boat happily floating on the ocean surface. The little scenes and short gags that make up this film are really well done. The props they built are impressive; from the outside of the boat, to its interior which rotates on its horizontal axis a full 360 degrees, making the ceiling quickly become the floor (Keaton dealing with an barrel-rolling boat is simply hilarious). THE LOVE NEST is another of those films where a standard Silent Movie Heavy throws little guys around like rag dolls. In this case, it's Joe Roberts as the gruff captain of a whaling ship who throws his minions overboard when they displease him in the slightest (he's not totally without heart; he throws wreaths to mark his underling's watery graves). Even though all three of the films on this disc involve seafaring, there is no real repetition. No jokes are recycled. A lot of Buster's gags involved water in some way; he was constantly falling into it, or having it dumped on him, or dropping it on his adversaries. It just goes to show you how creative Keaton was when he can take what are essentially cheap laughs and turn them into something so ticklish. Give him one simple premise (himself on a boat), and he can spin off a hundred different jokes. This disc definitely shows Buster Keaton at his comic best. (Some of these prints are showing their age, but since that age is about eighty, that is only to be expected. I hope I'm as well preserved when I'm that old.)
Rating:
Summary: Boating With Buster
Review: The Navigator -- a luxury liner set adrift with no crew apart from Buster Keaton and his would-be fiancé. After eventually finding each other aboard the giant craft, they must work together to survive. Totally cut off from civilization their needs are the most basic: they must use all their wits to survive hunger, thirst, and ghosts. Falling under the "not so basic necessities" category, they must also repel an invasion from a group of unfortunately characterized islanders. This film clocks in at just about an hour. And like many the Keaton films of this length, this is very much a collection of related set pieces, only loosely connected by plot. Fortunately, the sequences here are very funny. The breakfast scene is quite amusing, with the two trying to prepare food in a kitchen that is well stocked in some things, but lacking in other, necessary items (i.e. lots of cans, no can-opener in sight). Naturally, as with any Buster Keaton movie, confusions abound; the hapless pair mistakes fireworks for candles, and a photograph for a poltergeist. As with most of Keaton's better films, several elements all come together to create something worthy. The slapstick comedy is present, of course. But the action sequences are epic and give the store a real feeling of adventure. In addition to the main feature, included on this disc are two of Buster's short films that also deal with nautical adventures. First up is THE BOAT, in which Buster Keaton, devoted father and husband has a dream of building and captaining a sailing ship of his own. He ultimately realizes his goal, but the opening scene shows us the first of what will become many miscalculations; he's constructed a boat in a basement, and doesn't realize that he has no way of fitting it through the door. But sacrificing everything that he has, up to (and almost including) members of his family, he eventually finds himself, his loved ones, and, indeed, his homemade boat happily floating on the ocean surface. The little scenes and short gags that make up this film are really well done. The props they built are impressive; from the outside of the boat, to its interior which rotates on its horizontal axis a full 360 degrees, making the ceiling quickly become the floor (Keaton dealing with an barrel-rolling boat is simply hilarious). THE LOVE NEST is another of those films where a standard Silent Movie Heavy throws little guys around like rag dolls. In this case, it's Joe Roberts as the gruff captain of a whaling ship who throws his minions overboard when they displease him in the slightest (he's not totally without heart; he throws wreaths to mark his underling's watery graves). Even though all three of the films on this disc involve seafaring, there is no real repetition. No jokes are recycled. A lot of Buster's gags involved water in some way; he was constantly falling into it, or having it dumped on him, or dropping it on his adversaries. It just goes to show you how creative Keaton was when he can take what are essentially cheap laughs and turn them into something so ticklish. Give him one simple premise (himself on a boat), and he can spin off a hundred different jokes. This disc definitely shows Buster Keaton at his comic best. (Some of these prints are showing their age, but since that age is about eighty, that is only to be expected. I hope I'm as well preserved when I'm that old.)
Rating:
Summary: A treat for all Buster Keaton fans
Review: This collection contains six enjoyable shorts of Buster Keaton's work. Great fun for silent-film fans!
|
