THE GREAT BUSTER celebrates the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians, Buster Keaton, whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary. Filled with stunningly restored archival Keaton films from the Cohen Film Classics library, THE GREAT BUSTER is directed by Peter Bogdanovich, a filmmaker and cinema historian whose landmark writings and films on such renowned directors as John Ford and Orson Welles have become the standard by which all other studies are measured. Keaton's beginnings on the vaudeville circuit are chronicled in THE GREAT BUSTER, as is the development of his trademark physical comedy and deadpan expression that earned him the lifelong moniker of The Great Stone Face , all of which led to his career-high years as the director, writer, producer and star of his own short films and features. Interspersed throughout are interviews with nearly two-dozen collaborators, filmmakers, performers and friends, including Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, Dick van Dyke and Johnny Knoxville, who discuss Keaton's influence on modern comedy and, indeed, cinema itself. The loss of artistic independence and career decline that marked his later years are also covered by Bogdanovich, before he casts a close eye on Keaton's extraordinary output from 1923 to 1929, which yielded 10 remarkable feature films (including 1926's The General and 1928's Steamboat Bill, Jr.) that immortalized him as one of the greatest actor-filmmakers in the history of cinema.
M**.
I never knew
Buster Keaton was a silent movie star who did all his own stunts. They are remarkable stunts.He was a very funny guy.
D**N
Great overview of one of the most important and funniest comedic actors in film
Great film for those people interested in film history and the early days of silent films. Thoroughly reviews the great comics life and most important films. Excellent documtary.
P**M
No way to do THAT now a days!!
Every classic movie I’ve ever watch (before circa 1960)I have to grade on the curve (its in black & white, 4-3 aspect ratio, mono, low quality effects). In other words it might be good for the time it was made. But, not Buster Keaton’s movie, with those I am always amaze at how the did it. How did he not die 20x over!! No way to do THAT now a days!
R**R
Unknown to too many.
I really enjoyed this. I remember as a boy watching his films on the VERY late movies in L.A. He was still alive then ( yeah, I'm old) and the tv station aired interviews with him as an old man in a cheap lawn chair sitting outside his garage filled with old film stock. I often wondered what happened to all that film. Please, if you're a fan, watch this. And if you don't know Buster Kenton treat yourself to an introduction to an amazing founding father of American film comedy.
D**N
Thanks
Great job
P**T
Decent documentary but....
This is a decent documentary for Buster Keaton fans who will watch anything Buster (as I am) and for people who are just beginning to learn about him. However for anyone in between there were really not any new revelations or even new clips, although I did enjoy the segments that showed series of scenes from different films in rapid succession. In general the organization was haphazard and hard to follow (it first proceeded relatively chronologically promising a discussion of his main films at the end. As much as I appreciate the influence of Keaton on other comics, this format was rather pedestrian (something borrowed from the Biography channel), plus, the poor quality of the filming of the interviews was extremely unflattering. If you see only one documentary on Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow is probably a better bet.
W**E
Anything Buster
I haven't seen the other documentaries mentioned by some of these reviewers as being better, but this one was fine, and what I wanted was well-produced footage of the best of the best. The part about the latter years of his life, new to this beginner, was a little bit of a downer, so I wasn't sure how they were going to pull off going back to the early years again, but I think they managed to end on a good note. I listened to it with headphones, so didn't have said sound issues. I guess the visuals are certain to entertain when sound fails - isn't that the point?
T**N
Keaton desserves better
The documentary is a worthy effort, and the interviews with performers who have been influenced by Keaton illuminating. However, the DVD/BD production is abysmal - no SDH subtitles, lots of references to his films, butno listing of what is available and where, credits indicate many films have been restored-but no indication of whenthese will become available on disc. WORST of all is the Bogdanovich comments and Q&A extra - the sound is execrable, muddy, riddled with static and other noise, questions not audible - these problems could have been overcome with subtitles but there are none. Given the abysmal sound, COHEN should have done another session ORhad Bogdanovich take his comments and question answers and presented them as a well recorded commentary track.Anyone interested in Keaton's career should obtain the David Gill/Kevin Brownlow documentary BUSTER KEATON - A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW (currently available on DVD from the UK - you will need a multi-region player if you are outside Europe (e.g. in the US or Canada). I suggest COHEN withdraw this disc, re-do the extra Bogdanovich segment, add some interviewee outtakes, and perhaps a restored short.
H**R
He's the best.
Great watching his stunts, and getting an insight into his private life. Well stated the respect Buster and Chaplin had for each other on the set of the film "Limelight" 1952.
M**R
Great Buster, Great celebration
Although not as in depth as "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" it does contain some rare footage, and great testimonials from a wide variety of people. Now if only we could get blu-rays of the classic features.
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