The Great Buster

This fascinating ‘labour of love’ documentary by lifelong Buster Keaton fan Peter Bogdanovich features countless and often rare archive clips (not to mention other interesting revelations) which prove – according to ‘Jackass’ Star Johnny Knoxville – why ‘Great Stone Face’ Keaton was “funny then, is funny now and will be funny 100 years from now”.

After an introduction by Keaton Fan Paul Merton we are treated to archive material starting with little Buster Keaton’s early days as a Vaudeville star when he performed with his parents on stage. During the act Buster was thrown around like a stage prop and his parents were accused more than once of ‘child abuse’ but always managed to avoid arrest due to legal loopholes. Astonishingly, during his 10,000 plus performances Buster ended up injured only twice!
We then move on to his first screen comedies (often with Fatty Arbuckle) before his first feature in 1920. All this is interspersed with private archive footage and more interviews etc. From Keaton’s heyday to his gradual downfall after he (against Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd’s advise) signed a contract with the all-controlling MGM Studio, of his struggles after ‘talkies’ had replaced silent cinema, from his on-going battle with alcoholism and the break-up of his first marriage with actress Natalie Talmadge (who starred alongside Keaton in some of his best-loved films including ’Our Hospitality’), from his humiliating years during which he was reduced to accepting character roles in B-movies to his re-discovery and re-appreciation… This documentary offers a truly fascinating insight into the world of a comedic genius who – during his career – was perhaps not always as much appreciated as he should have been. We also get to see rare clips of Keaton’s working in TV-spots advertising various products such as Alka Seltzer, a clip from Chaplin’s ‘Limelight’ (1952) with Keaton appearing as an inept stage musician in a comedy routine and another clip from one of his last films – the 1965 Canadian travelogue short ‘The Railrodder’. Bizarrely, after the final scene following his funeral eulogy (read by Dick Van Dyke) it should have ended but director Bogdanovich decided to return to Keaton’s heyday and thus for the final half hour we get to see (and hear) extensive footage and revelations concerning Keaton’s silent movie masterpieces.
It’s a real shame that Keaton’s feature appearance in the 1961 Twilight Zone episode ‘Once Upon A Time’ is neither mentioned nor is there any film clip – perhaps this was due to copyright reasons. Still…

A plethora of celebrities (including James Curtis, Paul Dooley, French Stewart, Richard Lewis, Bill Hader, Mel Brooks and Jon Watts) appear in this documentary to give their opinions and reasons as to why they think Buster Keaton was the ultimate silent movie comedy genius, on a par with Chaplin and Lloyd. Quentin Tarantino admits that he’s no fan of action flicks but counts the action-rich Keaton classic ‘The General’ (1926) among his firm faves, while Dick Van Dyke confesses that he stole as many moves from Keaton as possible, adding that when it came to his stunts, Keaton was like a ballet dancer who is in incredible control of his body. German director Werner Herzog claims that Keaton always had a quiet tragedy about him which is very funny – a point emphasized by actress Sybill Shepherd (who stars in some of Bogdanovich’s movies) when she adds “His acting is all in the eyes”.

Of course, certain sequences from some of Keaton’s films had a profound influence on other future stars and their works… take for example the scene in ‘Steamboat Bill Jr’ (1928) in which the façade of a house falls over Keaton during a hurricane – a stunt which requires perfect comic timing! Similar stunts can be seen in Jackie Chan films and even in ‘Jackass’.

THE GREAT BUSTER – A Celebration is available on Blu-ray-
To mark the UK release a Q&A screening will take place on Tues 29th Sept at:

Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Road, London E1 4UJ with film historian, critic and founder of ‘Silent Cinema London Pamela Hutchinson. Tickets can be booked via the Genesis Cinema website.