Industrial Strength Keaton [DVD]

This new DVD set from Laughsmith Entertainment is a must for all Keaton fans to add to their libraries.This 2 disc set has been put together with love and care for its' subject and presents some rare footage of the comedic master at work spanning almost his entire film career.The first disc includes films from the 20s and 30s including "The Playhouse","Parlour,Bedroom and Bath" and a film I had only seen once years ago and in worse shape than this copy,"An Old Spanish Custom"(aka "The Invader").The latter is just about the WORST feature length film of his career,with a terrible plot and even worse supporting actors.Keaton himself was the only shining light but even his unique style and abilities cannot save this stinker.This version is only about 50 minutes long and I was under the impression it had been padded by its' makers to over the 60 minute mark...and the audio commentary while mentioning just this point does nothing to clarify the discrepency.Also the first disc contains a special on Keatons'Villa of the 20s touching on such subjects as its' rennovation by its' new owners in recent years and the discovery of his films by actor James Mason,all the while taking us on a pictorial tour.Nice.The second disc contains some live TV bits,commercials and three industrial films.Out of the latter three the best of the bunch by a country mile and one of the BEST things in this set is the industrial film called "The Homeowner".It is pure and unadulterated Keaton from beginning to end with some marvellous Keaton gags.Be sure to listen to the commentary on this one as its' discovery/recovery by film historian Richard Roberts is something of a small miracle.The set is rounded out by a nicely put together booklet containing several articles by film historians/writers.Most are quite informative but there is some misinformation here.The first is by The International Buster Keaton Societies' own Patty Tobias.She vainly tries to revive the dead horse called "Keaton was gyped in 'Limelight'".That is Chaplin was so jealous of Keatons' scene stealing during rehearsals and ultimate shooting of his bit in that film that he excised much good footage of it so as to keep himself front and center.There has always been ALOT of rumour but no substantitive proof.Tobias approaches this old chesnut from a new direction.Included in the disc is a clip from the Martha Raye show of 1956 in which Keaton and Raye play the 'Limelight' routine.Because Keaton didn't play the routine out with Raye EXACTLY the way he did it with Chaplin ,Tobias would have us to believe something was afoot.Because after all(and this is where her argument goes up in smoke)this is the "...same sketch he had just spent six weeks perfecting with Chaplin". "..Just spent..."??? 'Limelight' was 1952 .Rayes' show was 1956.Three reasons why Keaton would NOT have played it exactly as with Chaplin? 1.Knowing Keatons' modus operandi you just know he wouldn't have played it move for move 2.Time restraints on a live show and 3.Raye was NOT a Charlie Chaplin.Another article by Ken Gordon talks about Keaton losing control of his "art" when he went to MGM and that no comedians survived the transition to sound not even Laurel and Hardy who according to Gordon lost THEIR control when they went to FOX/MGM pictures in the 40s.Sorry Mr.Gordon but Laurel and Hardy are THE shining examples out of all the top echelon comedians that DID make it successfully into sound.Stan Laurel lost the creative control he had had at Roach studios when he went to Fox/MGM,because while Roach and he didn't always see eye to eye he(for the most part) left Stan alone to do what he had to do.At Fox/MGM he was just another employee.Now thats CREATIVE control,if you had talked about ACTUAL control then the only ones who had that were LLoyd and Chaplin because neither Keaton or Laurel and Hardy ever owned their own product.These points aside however this set is definitely a must for all Keaton fans out there.It fills in alot of blanks that have been "missing" in his wonderfully brilliant career and brings the Keaton magic back to us all once more,solidly reinforcing his reputation as one of the few truly GREAT comic geniuses of 20th Century film.

This package really doesn't have much more than you can find on a combination of public domain sources, youtube, and the Keaton Plus disc from Kino other than the featurette on the Italian Villa and the restored versions of 1935's "The Invader" and 1931's "Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath", complete with commentary tracks. "The Invader" is a British-made feature representative of Keaton at the lowest point of his life. "Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath" is an example of the kind of movie that MGM had Keaton doing in the early 1930's that brought him to that low point. The Columbia short "Pest from the West" is a much funnier and tightly made version of "The Invader" that shows a much more "together" Keaton in a film that tells the same story but with a length that is more appropriate - about 20 minutes. The version of "Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath" in this package is the only one I've ever seen that is remotely watchable - the restoration has really cleaned up the audio and video.The TV appearances are mainly variations on Keaton's first film appearance in 1917's "The Butcher Boy" in which he did the Can of Molasses bit with Roscoe Arbuckle. There are two variations from the original in all of these bits:a. Keaton lifts first one foot off the ground then the other in an attempt to get his feet out of the molasses and then falls to the ground - he also did this bit in The Hollywood Revue of 1929.b. Keaton ultimately has to remove his pants to get out of the molasses, and is provided with a barrel to wear so he can leave the store, complete with turn signal. This second variation is because in the 1917 film Keaton is extracted from the molasses by being virtually catapulted by Arbuckle from the molasses to the outside of the store. This would have been a bit too physical for Keaton at age 60, even in his excellent shape.Apparently scalpers have gotten hold of the word that this set is out of print and are pricing it at four times its original retail price - I believe originally it sold for twenty dollars. Trust me, that's all it's worth, even to collectors of everything Keaton, which is the intended audience.

Wow, I haven't seen these films in years! In fact, some of this stuff (and the Educational shorts) is what I knew of Keaton when I was a kid. Those were often on TV and I thought they were GREAT.....until I learned about Keaton.Little did I know of what a brilliant comedian and filmmaker he had been until much later. Not at all did I know about the circumstances leading to the films in this set and how poorly they are generally regarded. Well, don't worry; much like the reputation of the Fox Laurel & Hardy films, these Keaton films are a lot better than some will have you believe. The commercials are very good, indeed. The idustrial stuff is interesting, with occasional flashes of brilliance!When compared to his earlier work, of course they are not up to standard, but think of how high that standard is! Who could keep that up forever? To enjoy these shorts to the fullest, just think of what passes for comedy today. Even at his worst, Buster was funnier than just about anyone on the planet.The feature film is not nearly as bad as has been said. "The Playhouse" is great, of course, but there's very little more here than we already know about.Another aspect of this set is the historical interest. Even if you watch them only for that, you'll get your money's worth. Hey, this isn't "The Balloonatic," "Cops," "The General," or anything even close. But it's Buster Keaton, and that's ALWAYS cool!

pour les gens qui aiment BUSTER KEATON ce double DVD est une pure merveille que des perles rare je recommande + très bon vendeur merci