Dyskusje Generał
Dyskusje → Filmy → Generał → Ogólne
Terrific 1926 Buster Keaton Silent classic
stworzony przez genplant29STAFFMOD 26 maja 2017 o godz. 12:26AM
This is a fun, entertaining movie. It's exciting and compelling as well. The story is based on real-life events of the Civil War, but, of course, with a unique Buster Keaton spin put on proceedings. Buster's stunts created and executed for this movie are impressive and remarkable, and clearly took a lot of precision planning, trial and error, and rehearsing to get just right. The masterful results are all there on the screen.
It should be mentioned that Buster felt The General's (the actual train locomotive of that name) valiant true-life take-back story worked best, for a feel-good entertainment movie, if told from a sympathetic vantage point of the Confederate side, as he wanted to personally portray the hero of the story, and otherwise he'd have been portraying, ultimately, a villain. That wouldn't have worked well for a semi-comedy featuring a hero who the viewer is supposed to be rooting for. As this is a based-on-facts story, and the Confederate side really did get The General back, is why it works appropriately for this movie to handle proceedings as it does.
If anyone's been wondering, of the three actors listed in the credits simply as "General", Buster's dad Joe is the (to cite a particular moment in the film that you'll no doubt remember) seated officer who unknowingly kicks Buster, who's hiding under a table, in the face.
The General's documented duration, at time of original US release in February 1927, was 77 minutes. That's extremely close to the twenty seconds shy of 79 minutes that the 2008 KINO release (which is the restoration that the Library of Congress did) runs. I mention that as there are a number of cheapie public domain releases of this movie that present the film at variant projection speeds (and with whatever type random music tacked on as make-do "soundtrack"), and that may be whatever extent of hacked up.
As a result, there's an array of duration lengths in existence, that leave people very confused and mystified as to why, and wondering which is the best, and what length is complete, and which release is the one to go with. Absolutely the KINO release is without any question or doubt the by far best. Making it even better, that release includes the dedicated Carl Davis orchestral score, especially composed to precisely compliment the restored film. The Davis score is excellent and ideal.
Please check out the following list of titles and celebrities I've created TMDb threads for: https://www.themoviedb.org/list/118052
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
26 maja 2017 o godz. 1:02AM
Regarding the matter of Silent films projection speed, there's a little I'd like to mention.
Very frequently choice of projection speed, where remastering of Silent films is concerned, makes a significant difference in a movie's duration, even when there's no difference, whatsoever, in actual footage shown. Typically, in such cases, although length of a movie can be several minutes difference, the action will look entirely natural to the human eye, only with one version seeming like things are proceeding at a livelier (but still realistic) clip, the longer version seeming more studied. It's only when you've seen both of the alternate-speed versions that you're able to perceive that one feels brisker or slower than the other. Choice of projection speeds, at time of reproducing, is a matter that has long left many viewers perplexed about what footage may or may not be missing, when, in fact, there's often no, or close to no, difference in footage.
During recent decades there's come to be more of a set standard, where choice of projection speed is concerned, though sometimes, for this or that legitimate reason, it becomes a judgment call.
Odpowiedź użytkownika tmdb53400018
26 maja 2017 o godz. 11:51AM
It's a good movie, and yes, the stunts are remarkable in it.
Odpowiedź użytkownika DanDare
26 maja 2017 o godz. 8:18PM
I admire the audaciousness of some of the stunts. I feel ill at ease with Confederates being shown as heroic and noble.
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
26 maja 2017 o godz. 11:10PM
I'm somewhat surprised that, in 1926, when the film was made, it having been not much more than half a century since the end of the Civil War - still within living memory - that Keaton felt comfortable portraying a Confederate who was depicted as a hero. It seems like he would have been apprehensive that might prove too controversial with much of the public.
Odpowiedź użytkownika DanDare
27 maja 2017 o godz. 6:58AM
Fun Fact:
The last widow of a soldier from the American Civil War, Gertrude Janeway, died in January 2003. She was 93 and had married Union veteran John Janeway when she was 18.
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
27 maja 2017 o godz. 7:30AM
That's incredible. The husband must have been in his upper 70s at youngest when she married him, assuming he was born no later than 1850.
Odpowiedź użytkownika DanDare
27 maja 2017 o godz. 10:38AM
There were financial benefits to marry an old Union civil war veteran. Such as an army widow's pension for life. It was rather common in the early part of the 20th century for young women to marry old veterans.
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
27 maja 2017 o godz. 11:37AM
Very true. One of my dad's eldest aunts (who was several years my grandfather's [her brother's] senior) married, in 1883, a Civil War veteran who was thirty years her senior. They had several children together, and she did, indeed, eventually receive his Civil War widow's benefits.
Odpowiedź użytkownika catmydogs
19 grudnia 2019 o godz. 6:24PM
This is BY far my favorite Buster Keaton film from any decade. I liked Sunset Boulevard and Funny Thing Happened on Way to Forum but this is the best. Plus, it is one of the finest silent films ever. It had great tension, great comedy, great pacing, I mean, wow. Film makers today can learn from this.
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
19 grudnia 2019 o godz. 7:15PM
For sure! So much extraordinary talent and precision was required all throughout the film. The wow and entertainment quotients are tremendous.
Here's a YouTube link to the excellent KINO release of this film, if anyone reading this thread has never seen the movie and might like to.
My favourite part of the film begins from the 1:00:42 point onward, all the action regarding the train on the bridge and the battle!
Odpowiedź użytkownika znexyish
20 grudnia 2019 o godz. 2:49AM
Decades later Buster made a short film with the National Film Board of Canada called The Rail Rodder which had him traveling across Canada. A bit of a tip of the cinematic hat to the General.
The Rail Rodder - TMDB
The Rail Rodder - Film
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
20 grudnia 2019 o godz. 2:50AM
I don't believe I've ever heard of The Railrodder, znexy. I'll definitely check it out sometime.
I was gonna fix your title link for you, but you deleted it (your original posting of it) before I got a chance to.
Odpowiedź użytkownika znexyish
20 grudnia 2019 o godz. 3:10AM
I got it Gen. You are quick on the draw there. I forgot the space between the square bracket and the round one. My first fancy post with real official links.
Odpowiedź użytkownika genplant29
20 grudnia 2019 o godz. 3:12AM
You're doing it like a pro now, znexy! Great job!
Odpowiedź użytkownika Tyne
21 grudnia 2019 o godz. 3:54AM
I've never thought of SUNSET BLVD. as a Buster Keaton film, but I guess that works. It's true, he is in it, briefly and silently playing cards. I used to have a laser disc which had THE RAILRODDER on one side and ran about 25 minutes. On the other side was a 55 minute documentary about the making of THE RAILRODDER. It is titled BUSTER KEATON RIDES AGAIN and is far more interesting than the short it was made about. In it, Buster played bridge like a pro. He knew his way around a deck of cards. Keaton fans should not miss this one.