Steamboat Bill, Jr.

While The General and Sherlock Jr. are consistently cited as Buster Keaton's masterpieces, this marvelous 1928 comic adventure directed by Charles Reisner offers more heart and affection, with Keaton starring as college dandy William Canfield Jr., who arrives in the Deep South to see his father (Ernest Torrence), a crusty paddleboat captain with a warhorse of a ship being threatened by a brand new competitor on the river. Naturally, William falls in love with Kitty (Marion Byron), the daughter of his father's nemesis, John James King (Tom McGuire). Steamboat Bill, Jr. features a spectacular hurricane sequence that incorporates some of Keaton's most inspired gags and dangerous stunts as oblivious klutz William ultimately evolves into a mechanical genius who saves the day. At the time Steamboat Bill, Jr. was made, filmmakers commonly created two separate negatives of a film (employing different takes or camera angles), both of which are included here. The familiar Killiam version is backed by a terrific piano score by William Perry, while the alternate cut—mastered from a negative discovered in the Keaton estate archive—boasts superior source material and is presented with two different scores. DVD/Blu-ray extras include a 'Visual Essay' comparing both versions, a 'Why They Call Him Buster' musical montage of pratfalls and stunts, vintage recordings of the folk song 'Steamboat Bill' (which partially inspired the film), and a stills gallery. Funny, sweet, and inventive, Steamboat Bill, Jr. ranks as one of the all-time great silent movie comedies. Highly recommended. [Note: Lost Keaton, a collection of 16 comedy shorts from 1934-37, is also newly available from Kino priced at $34.95.] (S. Axmaker) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Feb. 21, 2017—Kino, 134 min., not rated, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making their latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1927's College and 1928's Steamboat Bill, Jr. both feature nice transfers with stereo 2.0 sound. Extras on Steamboat Bill, Jr. include audio commentary by film historians Michael Schlesinger and Stan Taffel, an intro by Lobster Films founder Serge Bromberg (5 min.), and a brief vintage Alka-Selzer commercial. Extras on College include audio commentary by film historian Rob Farr, Keaton's 1966 final onscreen performance in 'The Scribe' (30 min.), 1928's 'Run, Girl, Run' starring Carole Lombard (19 min.), a location tour (10 min.), and intros by Bromberg (5 min.), and actress Lillian Gish (4 min.). Bottom line: a nice Keaton two-fer if you don't already own separately.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—June 18, 2018—Cohen, 150 min., not rated, DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1926’s The General and 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. feature fine transfers and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'Reflections on The General' (6 min.) and 'Buster Keaton: The Luminary' (5 min.). Bottom line: these 4K restorations are the best-looking editions of these Keaton classics to date.]