Product description

The General [1926]

Price: £7.94
RRP: £12.99
Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5060000200263
Label : Eureka Entertainment
Manufacturer : Eureka Entertainment
Publisher : Eureka Entertainment
Release date : 1998-04-27
Title : The General [1926]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Universal, suitable for all
Format : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1926-01-01
Running time : 107
Studio : Eureka Entertainment
Theatrical releaseDate : 1927-02-05
Number of discs : 1

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Buster Keaton's career reached its creative apex with this rousing comic adventure. Not merely one of the finest silent films, this remains one of the great film comedies of all time. The Great Stone Face stars as Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray, a man with only two loves: the sweet Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) and his trustworthy engine, the eponymous General. When Fort Sumner is fired upon he is one of the first to enlist, but when the war office rejects him (he's too valuable as a trained engineer) his sweetie rejects him as a coward. Johnny has the opportunity to prove his bravery when Yankee spies steal his engine and inadvertently kidnap Annabelle, and Johnny pursues with all the resources at his disposal: handcar, bicycle and finally railroad engine. Keaton's love/hate relationship with technology and machinery shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and wrestles with a finicky cannon that threatens to blow his engine off the tracks; with tremendous dexterity, he nails the humour with inimitably deadpan takes. Spunky Marion Mack makes a perfect partner for Keaton, not merely a foil but a gifted comedienne in her own right. Other Keaton films contain more laughs and inspired comic stunts, but none combines romance, adventure and comedy into a solid story as seamlessly as this silent masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-07-30 rating:

The General
I have watched this film many times. It is without doubt possibly the greatest masterpiece of the cinema illustrating Keatons total control of film making - as writer, actor, director, editor and as a great team leader. The story is excellent, the gags astonishing, the total cinematic control is unbeleivable (it was 1926 after all). The simplest stunts are amazing showing astonishing bravery and perfect timing. It is a film that every one with the slightest interest in cinema should watch for sheer entertainment then study in depth...

review by: date: 2004-02-09 rating:

Tough to review!
I know of at least two revered guides which rate 'The General' as the best silent comedy of all time. I hate to disagree, but I've seen funnier, albeit much more recent slapstick films.

At least two comic geniuses of the modern era -- Rowan Atkinson and Woody Allen -- owe almost everything to Buster Keaton. Without Buster, there could never have been 'Sleeper', 'Love and Death' or any of the Mr Bean episodes. From Buster, Mr Bean took the deadpan, unbothered expression. And Woody stole so much of Buster's physical gag style. In fact, ever since the 1920s, comics have been poring over Buster's films to extract his best gags, and then try to improve upon them.

But in this 1926 film -- of 80 minutes or 101 minutes, depending on which version you buy -- there just isn't always enough going on to keep the modern mind engrossed. It cost an enormous (for the era) $500,000 to make, but most of that budget will have gone on the bridge, the train and hundreds of extras (Federal and Confederate soldiers). To the modern eye, so used to mega-explosions from the likes of 'Die Hard' and 'Con Air', the loss of one railway locomotive is unremarkable. But to the 1926 viewer, this would have been a stunning climax to the movie. Thrilling, but not funny.

Buster Keaton was the funniest of the silent movie stars. This DVD provides some proof, but I would also recommend that potted history of the silent comedy era which BBC would show each Xmas morning in the 1960s, 'When Comedy was King'. You get all the very best bits of Keaton, Langdon and Chaplin, without the filler.

review by: date: 2002-10-13 rating:

Black And White?? So what!
OK, its older than ure great grandfather, and its in black and white, but who cares, this little movie had me in stitches for ages. Buster Keaton stars mainly on his own in a hilarious journey trying to get his stolen ( by gangsters )train back which includes many funny twists and turns. I wouldn't call it a classic but worth watching if u get the oppurtunity on a saturday afternoon. Dont let the thought of it being so old put you off it.

review by: date: 2001-12-09 rating:

Wonderful!!
Buster Keaton was a film maker years ahead of his time, this film proves it. It is, in my opinion, in the top five films ever made, if you don't believe me then watch it yourself.
It is complete perfection, not a slack moment and some stunning stunts by Keaton that take your breath away, every moment is sublime, go on, you know you want it, so treat yourself, you won't regret it.

review by: date: 2000-10-31 rating:

Just about perfect. And makes you cheer for the South, oddly
Tragically, this version doesn't have the score rewritten by Carl Davies for the UK's Channel 4 in 1987. The rest is unimprovable. Keaton is utterly vulnerable yet heroic - think Forrest Gump meets Ferris Bueller - yet devoid of the sentimentality that renders Chaplin almost unwatchcable. Another reviewer described this as the best civil war film ever - I'd put it as a tie with Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. They both blow up bridges, but I'd watch this one with my mum.

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