Buster Keaton
One of Buster Keaton’s earliest features, Our Hospitality, stands on its own as a masterful comedy while also paving the way for his films to come.
With the Cohen Film Collection’s release of Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator, both of these films are brought to life in such clean and remarkably crisp restorations.
This week’s Video Dispatches covers the new home video releases of Buster Keaton’s films, The Reptile (1966), Claire Denis’ High Life and 2018 film Transit.
Sometimes used to satirize social deviance or anxiety over women’s emergent political power, the Tiny Guy, Huge Girl trope can tell us a lot about the sexual politics of the era.
As one of his final curtain calls, Limelight is a sterling reminder of Charlie Chaplin’s contributions to culture and the art of cinema.
When I was younger and just starting to get into classic film, I found a copy of The General at a local DVD store. Watching it later, I still remember the exact moment when I was captivated by Buster Keaton’s unique charm and screen presence. In the film’s first extended action sequence, Keaton is chasing after a troupe of Union soldiers who had infiltrated and stolen his train, and in a series of fast-paced, whirring motions, he narrowly escapes one mishap after another.
When The Artist won Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards, it became only the second silent film to win that award. That’s because silent films were already almost passé by the time the first ceremony was held. The end of silent films was swift and fast, their production gone in almost no time.