I'm going a bit old school with this review. I watched this film as a part of my film studies course and I felt as though I had to share my feelings about this comedy classic.
The film follows a lowly projectionist and wannabe private detective (Buster Keaton) as he tries to solve the mystery of who stole his lover's father's watch. The plot of this film is so simple that it makes it easier to focus on the gags that are hilarious.
Most of these gags however, are mind-blowing. Keaton did all his own stunts and some of them are quite hairy. One sequence features him on the handlebars of a riderless motorcycle that careens through unbelievable situations. Another has him jump through both a person and solid wall, a trick which made the entire audience (made up of people mostly under-25) gasp audibly and this is in the age where you can do anything with the help of CGI.
One sequence was also a marvel of editing. In a dream sequence, the projectionist enters a dream like moment and walks into the screen and becomes part of the film that is playing. The film cuts through a number of locations that the character interacts with and in each location he visits, he is in the same part of the frame. This is all happening while we can see the rest of the cinema.
The jokes are the old style of slapstick, but still communicate well with today's audiences. It brings everyone down to the same level, so nobody can say that they didn't get the jokes.
Verdict: A masterful comedy that everyone will enjoy and will hopefully watch with awe. It is available to watch on Youtube and I very strongly recommend that you do.
No comments:
Post a Comment