Silent Film Festival
As Christopher and I talked film and about what we might watch the next evening, I learned that he had yet to see a Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton film. That settled it. We would hold our own silent film festival. Present were Christopher, myself, Bob (my step father), and Jennifer (my sister) - with my mother in and out as she prepared supper.
My Keaton decision was fairly easy, we would watch either Sherlock Jr. or The General. My step father's great interest in history made The General (1927) the obvious choice. Jennifer and I had seen The General at the Cinemateque in Cleveland with live accompaniment, a spectacular event that we both loved immensely. The General was a big hit with this crowd. They got into it quicker than I expected and it gets better and better as it goes. Truly a highlight in silent film history, Keaton shines with his physical comedy and remarkable stunts while the story is exciting and engaging. I was quite pleased with the way our evening had started.
We broke for supper, always a treat at mom's house. We would soon begin the second part of our mini film festival. The Chaplin decision was harder, but I was leaning towards The Gold Rush over City Lights and Modern Times, when Spencer (our two year old) came running to me crying. I picked him up and discovered he was bleeding from the mouth as he had fallen and his teeth cut into his skin quite a bit. So, Kelly and I left with Spencer for the Emergency Room, while Brady stayed with everyone else. Five stitches later, we returned to find everyone watching The Gold Rush, but they were not enjoying it nearly as much as The General. I watched with and realized my dvd was not the 1925 original but the re-edit Chaplin did in 1942 adding his narration. From memory, I knew I preferred the silent version but to my dismay I didn't realize how much I preferred the silent version. The narration is completely unnecessary and kills the charm and the whole mood of the film. What a difference it made, I was so disappointed. Had I been there at the start, I would have switched over to Modern Times. The Gold Rush is a brilliant film but watching the narrated and edited version seemed like watching a colorized version of Citizen Kane (which thankfully never existed). Hopefully, they saw enough to revist Chaplin under better circumstances. So, Keaton won that day but both film giants are true geniuses of equal standing in the world of film.
The General (1927): A+
The Gold Rush (as long as you get the 1925 silent version): A+
My Keaton decision was fairly easy, we would watch either Sherlock Jr. or The General. My step father's great interest in history made The General (1927) the obvious choice. Jennifer and I had seen The General at the Cinemateque in Cleveland with live accompaniment, a spectacular event that we both loved immensely. The General was a big hit with this crowd. They got into it quicker than I expected and it gets better and better as it goes. Truly a highlight in silent film history, Keaton shines with his physical comedy and remarkable stunts while the story is exciting and engaging. I was quite pleased with the way our evening had started.
We broke for supper, always a treat at mom's house. We would soon begin the second part of our mini film festival. The Chaplin decision was harder, but I was leaning towards The Gold Rush over City Lights and Modern Times, when Spencer (our two year old) came running to me crying. I picked him up and discovered he was bleeding from the mouth as he had fallen and his teeth cut into his skin quite a bit. So, Kelly and I left with Spencer for the Emergency Room, while Brady stayed with everyone else. Five stitches later, we returned to find everyone watching The Gold Rush, but they were not enjoying it nearly as much as The General. I watched with and realized my dvd was not the 1925 original but the re-edit Chaplin did in 1942 adding his narration. From memory, I knew I preferred the silent version but to my dismay I didn't realize how much I preferred the silent version. The narration is completely unnecessary and kills the charm and the whole mood of the film. What a difference it made, I was so disappointed. Had I been there at the start, I would have switched over to Modern Times. The Gold Rush is a brilliant film but watching the narrated and edited version seemed like watching a colorized version of Citizen Kane (which thankfully never existed). Hopefully, they saw enough to revist Chaplin under better circumstances. So, Keaton won that day but both film giants are true geniuses of equal standing in the world of film.
The General (1927): A+
The Gold Rush (as long as you get the 1925 silent version): A+
posted by Keith Allison at 7:20 PM
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