Like the civil war soldiers in his epic The General, Buster Keaton fans are divided into to camps: those who feel that the aforementioned film is his masterpiece, and those who assign that designation to his shorter, more inventive works, namely, the two juniors, Steamboat Bill and Sherlock .
Personally, I can find no fault with either way of thinking - though it must be said that The General, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, is great for reasons beyond the usual silent gagman criteria.
This 76 minute epic may well be the most authentic representation of the great American conflict ever committed to film. It's depiction of backwoods Georgia, the soldiery of the day, and, of course, the train life that was so much a part of that war are positively Matthew Brady-like in quality.
True, the comedy gets lost somewhat in all the scale (there are long stretches without much of it), and the subject matter calls for more exposition - i.e. title cards - than is the norm in comic silent form. And yet, in the end, the hearts-and-flowers sweetness of Keaton's shorter, more intimate work remains.
Keaton plays Johnie Gray, the simple Southern bumpkin with two loves in his life: the girl above his station, and his prize steamer, The General. Both are stolen by Northern spies. Johnie gets them back, and then in turn is chased by the enemy. The film, then, is a sandwich: two chase scenes with a little bit of plot in the middle.
Make no mistake about the gags, however: the laughs are definitely there, as much a part of the film as muttonchops and cannon powder. Most are the result of Keaton's inexhaustible use of his facial - sometimes bodily - immobility; the way he just sits or stands there in situations that call for great physical flailing or over the top emotion.
Though the film was less than a success in its day, its reputation grew over time - so much so that it has become not only the one Keaton film everyone can name, but that the comic's very identity has become fused with train travel - proof positive: the 1965 National Film Board of Canada short The Railrodder, for which writer-director Gerald Potterton recruited an aged Keaton to promote cross-Canada rail travel (The Railrodder, by the way, is available on DVD along with the insightful doc, Buster Keaton Rides Again.)
The General is not only available on DVD, it's usually coupled with a Keaton short or two. Watch them all and stage your own war over which works are the greater.
