Filmmaker and film historian Peter Bogdanovich celebrates the life and legacy of silent movie legend Buster Keaton, who never enjoyed the popular success of his contemporary Charlie Chaplin in his time but has since been recognized as one of the great masters of silent film comedy and the most cinematic of comedy directors. Bogdanovich takes viewers through Keaton’s life and career, beginning as a child star in the vaudeville act The Three Keatons, followed by a movie apprenticeship with Fatty Arbuckle, and on to directing his own short comedies and features through the 1920s, before losing creative control of his work, struggling with alcoholism and gambling in the 1930s, and embarking on recovery and a career comeback (Keaton never stopped working up until his death in 1966). Combining film clips and numerous interviews, The Great Buster shines an appreciative spotlight on Keaton’s work in film and on TV in comedies and commercials. Bogdanovich saves the last act to explore Keaton’s 10 independent silent features in greater depth with extended clips and production stories. Bogdanovich unfairly denigrates The Cameraman (1928), Keaton’s first MGM feature (and his last masterpiece, I believe), but otherwise this is a fine introduction to the filmmaker and a loving tribute to his work as both a gifted comic actor and an inventive and inspired director. Among those interviewed are Mel Brooks, Bill Irwin, Leonard Maltin, Carl Reiner, Quentin Tarantino, and Dick Van Dyke, who read the eulogy at Keaton’s funeral. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
The Great Buster
Cohen, 101 min., not rated, DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99 Volume 34, Issue 4
The Great Buster
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