Buster Keaton

[Kalinychta]

I’m starting a Buster Keaton thread which will likely get no posts initially, but…for those of you who are as mesmerized and dazzled by Keaton’s silent films as I am, please post your comments here.

 

[Forest Cat]

The first time I saw this I was holding my breath. This is a pretty dangerous stunt, if he had slipped and stuck a foot underneath that thing...

 

[Kalinychta]

Oh my god I know, it’s one of the most intensley suspenseful moments in The General or any of Keaton’s pictures. My whole body tenses when I watch it! Every time. Even though I know it’s going to be alright.

 

[Forest Cat]

And I don't think they had the same level of stunt safety and protection in the 1920s as they have now. I'm pretty sure he would have been squished if he made one little mistake.

This is also very good I think, he's good at running.

 

[Kalinychta]

Yes! I’ve never seen anyone who was so captivating at just running. I could watch him run for hours and be entertained.

But one of the best sequences in his pictures, and in my favorite film of his, the dream sequence in Sherlock Jr.:

 

[Kalinychta]

And no, there was no stunt safety or protection in the 1920s at all. Keaton just did it. He was an amazing athlete and visual mathematician.

 

[Kalinychta]

And I don't think they had the same level of stunt safety and protection in the 1920s as they have now. I'm pretty sure he would have been squished if he made one little mistake.

This is also very good I think, he's good at running.

I love this scene in Seven Chances, though. Keaton said it saved the film (which it didn’t; it was just the most redeeming scene in it).

 

[Forest Cat]

Did you see the footage of Keaton at a film festival in Venice in 1965? The one in Italy, not Los Angeles. A room full of people gave him a 10 minute long standing ovation. And he was so surprised that he didn't know what to say or do. That was a very touching moment. And a well-deserved ovation.

 

[Kalinychta]

Did you see the footage of Keaton at a film festival in Venice in 1965? The one in Italy, not Los Angeles. A room full of people gave him a 10 minute long standing ovation. And he was so surprised that he didn't know what to say or do. That was a very touching moment. And a well-deserved ovation.

I haven’t seen the footage, but I’ve read about it. I believe they were showing the Samuel Beckett movie Film (which Buster was in), but recently there had been a retrospective of Keaton’s silent films, so they were applauding for him and the films he made in the ‘20s. I’m so glad that before he died, he knew his work would be remembered and valued.

 

[Shamar]

Try watching Buster Keaton in The Playhouse, especially the dream sequence at the beginning. All the effects were done in camera. Brilliant. Also check out his final performance in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He still had it.

 

[Shevek]

My first encounter with Buster was a CBC film of him crossing Canada on a manual railway cart. He did no stunts as an old man, but the camera featured his stony, unchanging expression. Someone who had seen his earlier work might have found it surprising and amusing.

 

[tree]

 

[honeytoast]

 

[Forest Cat]

He even looked good in a swimsuit

 

[Kalinychta]

Try watching Buster Keaton in The Playhouse, especially the dream sequence at the beginning. All the effects were done in camera. Brilliant. Also check out his final performance in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He still had it.

The Playhouse is one of the best films he ever made. The first six minutes still amazes me no matter how many times I see it. Even aside from the first part, the whole thing is wonderful and so funny.

I watched one of his sound films once, one from MGM, and I’ve seen short clips of others, but they’re too painful to watch.

 

[Kalinychta]

He even looked good in a swimsuit


View attachment 129230

He was beautiful.