Skip to main content

The Goat

Director: Buster Keaton and Malcolm St. Clair
Year: 1921
Run-time: 22 min
Source: Youtube

I won't turn down two Buster Keaton films in a row.  While One Week was all physical slapstick and set-based humor, the comedy in this film is more situational, although it also dives heavily into surreal farce.  The classic persona he shows in his films feels a little more developed, with that stone face barely hiding flashes of distress.

I couldn't possibly be the first to notice this, but Keaton shares a spiritual bond with Jackie Chan.  Certainly both performers were physical comedians of the highest order, and both suffered repeated injuries on set.  There are stunts in this film that boggle my mind, considering how little trickery filmmakers of the period had access to.

I didn't care much for what plot there was in The Goat, but it has a manic energy and pacing to it that's kind of infectious.  One thing that impresses me about the silent age is the high production value that is frequently put into a short twenty-minute film.  This film gives you your money's worth.  It's certainly a refreshing change from the modern cinema.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bringing Up Baby

Director: Howard Hawks Year: 1938 Run-time: 1 hr 42 min - Bringing Up Baby  is in my mind the epitome of the screwball comedy, and probably its finest example.  Hepburn and Grant are just so perfect in their roles, and the level of constant absurdity gets to the point where it overrides any cultural datedness and just becomes fun.  (The main exception is the Irish stereotype, but given that he is justified in how he behaves, it's excusable.)  I was a bit shocked to discover that this was not a commercial success, and indeed almost ruined Hepburn's career (she had the most to lose, given how novel her quirky performance is). - Looking back at the three screwballs so far on this list, it never occurred to me before how the genre seems to rely on a rich and "privileged" female lead to be the one to challenge and emasculate the male lead.  Perhaps that was the acceptable way to present it to a depression-era audience?
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fall of the House of Usher

Director: James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber Year: 1928 Run-time: 13 min Source: Youtube In one of those strange cinematic coincidences, there were actually two adaptations of Poe's wonderful melancholic work, the short story The Fall of the House of Usher .  In France, Jean Epstein (featured on our list for Coeur Fidele ) partnered with a new-to-the-industry Luis Bunuel, putting out a critical success - Ebert, for example, ranks it among his favorite films. This is the other one.  Contrary to national stereotypes, the American director James Watson took a much more impressionistic and avant-garde approach to the source material.  Although the three characters are present, and a few of the key scenes are recognizable, anyone who hasn't read the (very short) tale will have a hard time following along.  The key takeaway from this highly experimental work is the overbearing sense of anxiety and fear that it imparts.  As with the last film, I watched it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cat Concerto

Directors: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera Year: 1947 I'm sure it's no coincidence that music plays such a strong role in many of the animated films featured on the list. By this point, there's nothing especially novel about this Tom and Jerry  short by another great animation studio led by Hanna and Barbera, except that the execution is so spot-on. This is eight minutes of pure delight. 
Post a Comment
Read more