I just got this set a couple of days ago and I've been sampling it, but not enough to write a complete review. So here are some basic impressions, for now.
First of all, Kino has done no significant restoration on these films. Surprising, since they're noted for high-quality restorations, but maybe they figured that this collection wouldn't sell except to hardcore Keaton fans, and there just aren't enough of us to make it worth their while. So we get hiss and hum on the soundtracks, shorts that look like they were patched together from several different copies, and worst of all, plenty of jumps and splices. So many splices that some of the shorts look like they were run through a meat grinder at some point, rather than a projector!
The Columbia Keatons look gorgeous in comparison, and I'll caution anyone who expects decent image and sound quality to think about that before you buy this.
Now as to the content, the quality of these films that I've watched so far seems to be all over the map. "Hayseed Romance" is almost a return to Buster's old 1920's top form, with his trademark razor-sharp timing and hard pratfalls and some really funny gags: like the fat lady playing the organ. What happens there is totally unexpected, and it put me on the floor! Also, even though Educational was a cheapo-deluxe outfit, they had enough money to let Buster destroy a few sets once in a while, which he definitely does here.
More good ones: "The Chemist," "Blue Blazes," "Jail Bait" and "One-Run Elmer."
Major disappointments: "Palooka From Paducah" and (sadly) "Tars And Stripes." Watching Joe and Myra Keaton's stiff, wooden acting in the first short makes me wonder how The Three Keatons could have been one of the top acts in Vaudeville between 1900 and 1917 (Louise Keaton was never in the stage act). It must have been partly because the act involved mostly rough-house physical comedy and very little dialogue.
"Tars And Stripes" pairs Buster and Vernon Dent as a virtual team— which should have been great, but the actual results aren't. The short suffers from corny, stale gags and a complete lack of timing. Buster once said that he knew he had a drinking problem "when my timing started to go," and it sure looks like it's gone, here. The whole film has a sloppy, offhand feel to it, as if everyone's just going through the motions. You have to keep in mind that Buster was deep in his alcoholic period when he made these, and my guess is that the better ones were produced when he wasn't just coming off a bender.
I'll have some more comments after I watch the rest, but I'm taking them a little at a time so it might be a while.
