| PRODUCT DETAILS | | The General |  | |
The General
Consistently ranked among the best films ever made, Keaton's "The General" (1926, 75 min., stereo) is so brilliantly conceived and executed that it continues to inspire awe and laughter with every viewing. Rejected by the Confederate Army as unfit and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marian Mack), young Johnnie Gray (Keaton) sets out to single-handedly win the war with his cherished locomotive. Also includes "The Playhouse" (1921, 23 min., mono), a technical tour-de-force in which Keaton plays every member of a stage company, the entire audience and an undisciplined chimp to boot! "Cops" (1922, 18 min., mono) is the quintessential chase film, with Buster tumbling into a series of marvelous mishaps while fleeing hundreds of uniformed policemen. Digitally mastered from archival prints, with original musical scores.
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Price Range: $13.49 - $24.99
 The General
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| User Reviews |  | Brilliant
rating: 5
"The General" and "The Twilight Zone" are, in my opinion, the two most brilliantly conceived films ever made. "The General" keeps you glued to the screen, with sight gag after sight gag. Keaton was a genius and this was never more evident than this movie. Kino did a super job of offering three different music scores, each giving new life to the film. I personally recommend Robert Isreal's score as it's more comical than the "adventuresome" score Carl Davis did. Don't buy the cheap release with generic music score and non-restored film print. It is this Kino print that you want to view.
"The Twilight Zone" is another of my favorites with brilliant camera angles and cinematography. I have yet to read a Buster Keaton book that reveals a "making-of" of The General but there is one superb book for "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic" by Martin Grams. Also available on Amazon.com. Looking for two Christmas gifts that are top-notch, 100% polished and certain to please any film buff? Get this DVD and that book. It certainly made my birthday last month.
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Great Film Great Presentation from Kino Video
rating: 5
Kino Video's new two disc version is highly recommendable for the flim itself. The second disc is okay but nothing overly special and most Buster Keaton fans already have the feaures on it. Robert Israel's wonderful score is available as it was on the previous Kino release. Israel's work as so often really makes the movie as he is always able to match the moods and events in silent films he has scored. The real prize here is the Carl Davis score which is very different but equally good and also able to bring the movie alive. What is interesting is to watch the movie back to back with the two scores as you will soon realize they cause you to absorb the film differntly. In one certain scenes strike you differntly from the other just with the change of music. There is also an organ score. While organ scores are probably a more authentic way to watch a film of the 1920's you simply cannot beat an orchestral score such as Davis's or Israel's.
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The version to buy
rating: 5
It was with some trepidation and annoyance that I found myself plunking down more hard-earned money for my fourth copy of Buster Keaton's immortal silent comedy,"The General." I am pleased to report that the investment was a worthy one.
The public domain versions of this film are undeserving of comment and should be avoided at all costs. I made the misfortune of buying one of these hack jobs first and was rewarded with a poor transfer with completely inappropriate music. I then purchased the double feature of "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." offered by Image. The picture quality was greatly improved in regards to clarity and contrast. My personal complaint regarding the Image version is the musical accompaniment provided by the Alloy Orchestra. Clanky and mechanical, their score is more a cacophany than a symphony and works against, rather than complements, much of the action in the film. Next, I procured Kino's original version of "The General", which, to my disappointment, was softer and less sharp than the one offered by Image. It does feature a more pleasing score by Robert Israel. This brings me to Kino's updated and restored version, and I can affirm that my quest for the best version of this film has come to an end.
Why go into such nauseating detail regarding the purchasing process? For one, it demonstrates how much I appreciate this film and how important it is to obtain it in its preeminent form. I also hope it will convince those mulling over the different available versions of this film that the Ultimate 2-Disc Edition is the version to buy.
Other reviewers have mentioned the techniques used to restore the film, and it is indeed the most lustrous version I have seen. The nighttime sequences are suffused with a rich dark blue, and the sepia tone used give this version the appearance of a Matthew Brady daguerrotype more than ever before.
Special mention should be made of the three musical scores. Robert Israel's orginal score has been retained, and a fine organ score by Lee Erwin is also an option. But for my money, the film is best enjoyed with Carl Davis' 1987 score for Thames Television. Those familiar with his scores for "Ben-Hur", "The Crowd", "The Big Parade", and many others know how he can elevate the emotion of a silent film. He does the same here, interweaving distinctly Amercian music that works perfectly.
As for the film itself, it is not mere hyperbole to state that it is one of the undisputed masterworks of American cinema and not just the silent period. It was derided by the critics of its age as not being funny. To be honest, it's not funny in a conventional sense, rather it is sublime. Some have criticized Keaton's film as too mechanical, but there is always an insistent humanity fighting against the mighty contraptions Keaton is laboring to free both himself and the woman he loves from.
"The General" is in many ways a cinematic obstacle course. The first half finds Johnnie Gray being deprived of his two loves: Annabelle and his locomotive. He has to negotiate all manner of hardships in order to be reunited with both of them. The second half has him fleeing for home and employing the same sorts of means to discouarage his pursuers that were once used against him.
In terms of narrarive, chronology, and geometry, "The General" is a mirror image. It is also a film that must be watched closely and patiently in order to be fully appreciated. Beause of this, it merits repeat viewings and provides new insights each time. It is a film for the ages that has at last received the proper format to be fully enjoyed and appreciated.
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Buster Keaton Masterpiece
rating: 5
The problem with great films of the silent era is decomposition. Often, original negatives are incomplete or unavailable and prints must be made from the best positives available. Quality degrades at each step. Kino On Video has pioneered the remastering of silent classics by ferreting out negatives, often from several countries, subjecting them to methodical restoration, and releasing them in crisp editions, looking better than ever.
"The General: The Ultimate Edition" is a two-disc set that showcases one of the funniest American films ever. Made in 1926, when the silent film industry was at the peak of its artistry, "The General" is based on an actual Civil War incident, embellished to highlight the comic talents of its star, Buster Keaton. At the time, Keaton was second only to Charlie Chaplin as America's favorite funny man.
Playing Southern Confederate train engineer Johnny Gray, Keaton engages in some of the most amazing sight gags of his career. Johnny is rejected by the Confederate army and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle (Marion Mack). When his treasured locomotive and his lady-love are taken hostage by a band of Yankee spies, he has a chance to redeem himself and prove his bravery to the world. Johnny wages a one-man war against the hijackers, a cannon with a mind of its own, and the unpredictable hand of fate as he rolls along the iron rails.
Though the movie is filled with laughs, it is also Matthew Brady-like in the way it captures the look and feel of the Civil War, which ended a mere 60 years before "The General" was shot.
"Silent" films were never meant to be shown dead silent. There was always musical accompaniment, either by a full orchestra or a piano. This new edition contains three different musical scores that can be selected to accompany the movie.
This new edition was remastered in High Definition from a 35-millimeter archive print struck from the film's original camera negative. It is sharper and more stable than any previous edition. During transfer, some nitrate decomposition on the original negative was digitally painted out and corrected. The film's contrast was also brought back to its original condition. Bonus extras include a video tour of the authentic General locomotive, a tour of the movie's locations, filmed introductions by Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, a montage of train gags from Keaton's career, and a photo gallery that includes glimpses of a deleted sequence.
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Excellent 2008 Production, a Few Minor Flaws to Note
rating: 5
First off, this review, which is only a partial review in some respects, is for THIS November 2008 version of "The General" from Kino. Several other reviews matched to this item are actually for one of numerous other older versions both from Kino and other companies (some inferior public domain productions), and you should carefully check the dates on each review. Their descriptions of content for this DVD production are potentially incorrect. For example, this one does not have any other complete Keaton films on it, although it does have some clips and some other very good extras related to film and RR history.
Second, this is my favorite film of all time, and I cannot help but give it five stars in almost any form - this is for Keaton's original magnificent vision and filmmaking prowess. Having said that, this version has some specific issues that people should know about when making a choice of what to buy. If I were grading on DVD production alone, I'd give it 4 stars, and my reasoning is described below.
The basic elements of this DVD production are given in the description, so I will not repeat that information. Instead, my specific thoughts are given below. I have viewed it only with the Carl Davis orchestral score so far. I am familar with the included Robert Israel score, which I also like, to a lesser degree than the Davis score, but this is subjective. I am unfamiliar with the included Lee Erwin organ score.
My own impression from watching several minutes of it last night -
1 - The print is typical of what Kino produces, as good a quality as
one will usually find, and apparently digitally restored. I say this because the print is quite clean, with few scratches, speckling or dust specks, but with some brightness/contrast variance; and also because there is a note on the Menu Screen and closing credits that strongly indicates that this is a "digital" restoration. It appears to be an updated video of the standard print used by Kino for its Keaton "General" productions. The video result is not as good, IMO, as the video result from the print used for the 1987 Thames videotape (that print, despite a few other flaws, had amazing contrast and sparkling clarity), nor is it as good as the highly digitally restored French (Lobster?) Region 2 version of about 3 years ago, with every speck and contrast variance corrected (the French print was, I believe, the same print Kino uses, from film restorer extraordinaire David Shepard). It is certainly good enough, though, and better than any previous version from Kino or Image of which I am aware.
2 - The Carl Davis score is apparently the very same recording used in
the 1987 Thames video production, with speed *very* slightly altered and
tweaked to fit the current video program. Mostly, it is slowed down
just fractionally, maybe about 2-3%. To a person who is used to the
1989 Thames video, it is slightly noticeable at first, but one adjusts pretty quickly; to one who is not familiar with the 1989 video, it should seem perfectly natural. This score is written to be precisely synchronized to the film, and at some points in the first reel, the synch is off by up to about one to two seconds - perhaps mostly because of a single extra opening credit normally found in Kino's version that was
not present in the Thames restoration - but this is seemingly
corrected by the second reel and apparently presents no further
problems. During the sequence with the mortar on the RR car, the
orchestral sound effects (base drumbeats for cannon fire, etc) are
timed beautifully.
The score is provided in both 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround. On my televison speakers, it sounds a bit bassy and mellow compared to the 1989 videotape; but when piped through my stereo, it sounds crisp and fine. Most modern equipment can fully adjust for these sound issues.
3 - As a devotee of the score, I was disappointed to hear that the
short harmonica solo prologue and the short orchestral epilogue with
the "big" theme reprise (1987 video closing credits) have been
removed. The epilogue, in particular, was valuable to bring the
score to an appropriately heroic conclusion, and it is conspicuous by
its absence. One of my lifelong dreams is to see this film in a
packed vintage restored theatre with the Davis score live, preferably
conducted by Mr. Davis himself.
In summation, while I like this production, I still gotta keep that
old 1987 videotape, which for me (despite inherent flaws of the
medium) is still the gold standard in terms of video presentation.
However, I also wish they'd do a digital update with the Thames 'Our Hospitality' program...my videotape of that one is really showing signs of age, and I really love that Davis score too.
Having said all of this, the match between film and score is just about perfect, and makes a great film-watching experience. The French Region 2 version, while *looking* sparkling, has the very good Robert Israel score and another new score by composer Joe Hisaishi which is not (in my opinion) a good match for the film (I do like his music otherwise). All things considered, this is a fine addition to a silents collection, and for North/South American (Region 1) collectors, it is an excellent first choice for those wanting a Keaton "General." You are not likely to find a better overall DVD production of this film at present.
~ Bruce
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The General
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