The silents feature follow — ranked by a combination of excellence, “importance,” and my own desire to rewatch them. All of the films are elevated if you are fortunate enough to see them on a screen with an attentive audience:
• Sherlock Jr. — Shows off Keaton’s imagination and mindset and sensibilities to the n’th degree. This one is turned up to 11. The concise masterpiece.
• The General — The big masterpiece. Keaton at his summit. An epic, but watch it for the subtleties. Get to know it.
[The ranking of the next four can change from viewing to viewing]
• Cameraman — In spite of the first signs of MGM’s meddling in story structure, a satisfying movie and story that showcases Buster at his most "relatable." It play great to a big audience. (The involvement of a love interest who actually plays a role in the plot arguably makes this a great date movie.)
• Seven Chances— My controversial choice. In spite of several gags and situations that draw offended gasps from today’s audiences (I’ve heard them), and in spite of Keaton’s own disavowal of the film (he was more or less obligated to make it), this is packed with incident, speed, and gags, and it’s another one that gets huge laughs from an audience.
• The Navigator — Refined and polished.
• Steamboat Bill Jr. — The last time Keaton had freedom to really do things his way.
• Our Hospitality — The first time Keaton really had freedom to stretch out. A slow-ish first act pays off later on.
• College — Reportedly, this less-ambitious film was Keaton’s penance for breaking the bank making The General. I return to College more often than the following films for the gags and to marvel at Keaton’s physical performance throughout. The ending is a jaw-dropper.
• Go West — A more constrained outing. The pace has slowed, so it’s best enjoyed for its subtleties and melancholy. (A finale cattle stampede thought the streets of Los Angeles just can’t move as fast or as threateningly as those hundreds of brides and hundreds of boulders in Seven Chances.)
• Three Ages — Famously (and maybe apocryphally), it’s three two-reelers with the same plot, woven together. His first indy, and so, essential. The closing gag gets a huge response from a modern audience. (It probably did a hundred years ago too.)
• Battling Buster — An unconventional one. Slower — and not only because Keaton plays another of his idle rich, babes in the woods. A darker than expected final reel that doesn’t play things strictly for laughs. See it, but there are many others that are more essential.
• Spite Marriage — To my eye, a drastic shift from the preceding Cameraman. MGM is now calling the shots. Keaton is diminished.
• The Saphead — Young Keaton stars, but it’s not a Buster Keaton movie.
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Thanks for indulging me. Now, more of the Three Stooges . . . .
