Any Buster Keaton movie is a feast of visual invention and breakneck energy -- to the point of wondering if some of the performers ever broke their necks -- which is part of why they continue to hold up, even in the 21st century. To see the man in his prime is to see a true death-defier, one who braved the wilderness that was the world of early cinema and conquered it with grace and fearlessness.
In his 1926 film "The General," Keaton gave audiences what they wanted in the form of a chaotic romp and unpredictable stunts. He also delivered spectacle, with an episode of Civil War history that he could shape into a classic Buster Keaton experience. Keaton's movie was like the 19th-century equivalent of the post-apocalyptic car chase of "Mad Max: Fury Road," as director George Miller readily admits. Rather than futuristic, modded vehicles, it's a movie of trains,...
In his 1926 film "The General," Keaton gave audiences what they wanted in the form of a chaotic romp and unpredictable stunts. He also delivered spectacle, with an episode of Civil War history that he could shape into a classic Buster Keaton experience. Keaton's movie was like the 19th-century equivalent of the post-apocalyptic car chase of "Mad Max: Fury Road," as director George Miller readily admits. Rather than futuristic, modded vehicles, it's a movie of trains,...
- 5/6/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Creating timeless comedies is a truly remarkable accomplishment for filmmakers. It’s no secret that all movie genres have the potential to age poorly, but comedy, especially, has an expiration date due to its contextual and individualistic nature. What’s funny today might not make sense in the future, and what tickles some people may leave others cold.
When it comes to picking the best comedy movies of all time, durability must be taken into account. How well does this film hold up now? Will it still be hilarious years from now?
After intense research, we’ve found the ten highest-rated comedy films that represent laugh-out-loud hilarity and will stand the test of time. We can’t guarantee these will elicit uproarious laughter from everyone – then again, if they don’t…maybe you should take a step back and reassess your comedic sensibilities – or at least vote for your favorite comedy on IMDb.
When it comes to picking the best comedy movies of all time, durability must be taken into account. How well does this film hold up now? Will it still be hilarious years from now?
After intense research, we’ve found the ten highest-rated comedy films that represent laugh-out-loud hilarity and will stand the test of time. We can’t guarantee these will elicit uproarious laughter from everyone – then again, if they don’t…maybe you should take a step back and reassess your comedic sensibilities – or at least vote for your favorite comedy on IMDb.
- 3/30/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of Buster Keaton’s classic film The General, throughout August Portland’s historic Hollywood Theatre and Oregon Film will present a state-wide tour of the film with a new live score composed by film composer Mark Orton. Above you can check out a trailer for the film presentation. Considered one of the best comedies of the silent era, The General finds hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in […]...
- 7/29/2016
- by Paula Bernstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Inside Llewyn Davis | August: Osage County | Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Teenage | Fonzy | Grudge Match | The General | Dark Days | Jai Ho
Inside Llewyn Davis (15)
(Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013, Us) Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver, Garret Hedlund, John Goodman. 105 mins
Bob Dylan hadn't written Like A Rolling Stone when this is set (New York, 1961), but Isaac's eponymous hero could almost be the inspiration. He's the archetypal drifter: a complete unknown with no direction home and little prospect of realising his folk-star dream, despite, or perhaps because of, his artistic integrity. The Coens let us know exactly how it feels. This is their most mature drama to date: subdued, sincere, bleakly funny, and as finely crafted as we've come to expect.
August: Osage County (15)
(John Wells, 2013, Us) Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts. 121 mins
Heavy acting artillery is positioned for a full-on awards assault, with Streep's malign matriarch marshalling her fractured family for some mourning and bloodletting.
Inside Llewyn Davis (15)
(Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013, Us) Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver, Garret Hedlund, John Goodman. 105 mins
Bob Dylan hadn't written Like A Rolling Stone when this is set (New York, 1961), but Isaac's eponymous hero could almost be the inspiration. He's the archetypal drifter: a complete unknown with no direction home and little prospect of realising his folk-star dream, despite, or perhaps because of, his artistic integrity. The Coens let us know exactly how it feels. This is their most mature drama to date: subdued, sincere, bleakly funny, and as finely crafted as we've come to expect.
August: Osage County (15)
(John Wells, 2013, Us) Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts. 121 mins
Heavy acting artillery is positioned for a full-on awards assault, with Streep's malign matriarch marshalling her fractured family for some mourning and bloodletting.
- 1/25/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Buster Keaton's pioneering 1926 film, now rereleased, more or less invented the action movie and looks even more startling than ever
The pioneering genius of Buster Keaton's 1926 silent film The General – now on rerelease – looks even more startling than ever. With his athleticism, precision and comic timing, Keaton more or less invented the action movie here and, despite its modest running time, this has an epic ambition. If remade, like Peter Jackson's King Kong, it would probably be double the length. Keaton is Johnnie Gray, a locomotive driver in the south during the civil war, who has the long hair, dreamy gaze and slight build of a romantic poet. When his engine, "the General", is stolen by northern saboteurs, Johnnie single-handedly journeys behind enemy lines to retrieve it and rescue the woman he loves: Annabelle (Marion Mack). She had in fact declared herself disgusted by his failure to enlist,...
The pioneering genius of Buster Keaton's 1926 silent film The General – now on rerelease – looks even more startling than ever. With his athleticism, precision and comic timing, Keaton more or less invented the action movie here and, despite its modest running time, this has an epic ambition. If remade, like Peter Jackson's King Kong, it would probably be double the length. Keaton is Johnnie Gray, a locomotive driver in the south during the civil war, who has the long hair, dreamy gaze and slight build of a romantic poet. When his engine, "the General", is stolen by northern saboteurs, Johnnie single-handedly journeys behind enemy lines to retrieve it and rescue the woman he loves: Annabelle (Marion Mack). She had in fact declared herself disgusted by his failure to enlist,...
- 1/24/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Railrodder
Directed & Written by Gerald Potterton
Canada, 1965
The General
Directed by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
Written by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
USA, 1926
Tsff festivities came to a comedic crescendo at the Revue Cinema on Tuesday night with a pair of locomotive laugh-getters starring “The Great Stone Face”, Buster Keaton. First on the program was a throwback silent short made by the National Film Board of Canada in 1965, just a year before the comedian’s death. The film was introduced by International Buster Keaton Society “Porkpie” Scholarship recipient R. Edwin Barnett, whose current research project aims to reintegrate The Railrodder into the main body of Keaton criticism (most books/essays on the actor/auteur simply name-check the movie as one of his “industrial” films during the rush to ring down the curtain on Keaton’s career). After seeing the film, Barnett’s point seems manifest. The Railrodder may not be a great film,...
Directed & Written by Gerald Potterton
Canada, 1965
The General
Directed by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
Written by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
USA, 1926
Tsff festivities came to a comedic crescendo at the Revue Cinema on Tuesday night with a pair of locomotive laugh-getters starring “The Great Stone Face”, Buster Keaton. First on the program was a throwback silent short made by the National Film Board of Canada in 1965, just a year before the comedian’s death. The film was introduced by International Buster Keaton Society “Porkpie” Scholarship recipient R. Edwin Barnett, whose current research project aims to reintegrate The Railrodder into the main body of Keaton criticism (most books/essays on the actor/auteur simply name-check the movie as one of his “industrial” films during the rush to ring down the curtain on Keaton’s career). After seeing the film, Barnett’s point seems manifest. The Railrodder may not be a great film,...
- 4/10/2013
- by David Fiore
- SoundOnSight
Week 14 and another update from the IMDb250 project (Sorry it’s late). This week I got another chance to see one of the most incredible movies ever made in the Clyde Bruckman/Buster Keaton masterpiece ‘The General’ which I will talk more about later. I also watched the brilliant Finding Nemo from Pixar and another Charlie Chaplin masterpiece in Modern Times and in Witness for the Prosecution I had another first time movie from the genius that is Billy Wilder.
However these superb four films were let down by only the second film in the list so far for me that doesn’t quite deserve its place in the Top 250 list which was Tim Burton’s Big Fish that really underwhelmed although being a typical Burton visual feast.
It’s strange but not particularly surprising that the project has taken over my life, I’m watching on average 3/4 of a...
However these superb four films were let down by only the second film in the list so far for me that doesn’t quite deserve its place in the Top 250 list which was Tim Burton’s Big Fish that really underwhelmed although being a typical Burton visual feast.
It’s strange but not particularly surprising that the project has taken over my life, I’m watching on average 3/4 of a...
- 4/28/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Blu-ray Release: Nov. 10 Director/Writers: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman Starring: Keaton, Marion Mack, Jim Farley, Charles Henry Smith Studio/Run Time: Kino International, 78 mins. A true classic The irony of Buster Keaton’s The General being the first silent feature to be released in America on Blu-ray is that—despite its current status in the pantheon of film classics—it initially bombed. And not just with audiences. It was also critically reviled for its inconsistent tone and lack of plot, not to mention Keaton’s performance....
- 12/15/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
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