Buster Keaton should be praised for his modernity in his films as well as his cinematography, both were extremely impressive for the 1920's. Throughout the film of Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton is constantly interacting with modern technology or machines of the time. There were numerous scenes where he was interacting with a train, car, or motorcycle and using them to perform his physical comedy. The cinematography in the film is extremely well done for the time as well. The scene I was most impressed with was when he falls asleep next to the projector and his dream self steps out away from his sleeping self and there are two Buster Keatons on the screen. I actually said allowed to myself while watching the film "wow that is pretty high tech for 1924." There are numerous other examples throughout the film where Keaton pushes the limit of film making through cinematography and effects but I found the sleeping scene to be his most impressive.
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ReplyDeleteGraham,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment about modern comedies “sharing” their humor while older comedies “showed” their humor. Like you said, the technological advances of the day provided certain limitations for filmmakers. That being said, I think Keaton and his contemporaries did an amazing job of utilizing what they had available to them. Case in point, I thought of the same scene you pointed out, the one where Keaton's character falls asleep at the projector and his dream-self comes out and walks around. I had no idea special effects such as that were possible back in 1924. It goes to show that while we tend to generalize these older films as antiquated and unrelatable, they actually aren't as primitive as we think.
Great insight,
Rob
Rob,
DeleteI agree I think with the technology Keaton and other filmmakers of this day had to work with they did an amazing job of what they could accomplish. I also agree that it would be a crime for someone to consider these films to not be relatable. I think no matter in what decade you watch this film you would be able to relate to the humor and enjoy it. Thanks for your comment.
Best,
Graham
I must respectively disagree with your statement that they "had to resort to this type of comedy." They could have easily put the jokes in words that could have been read on screen like dialogue. I think Keaton did physical comedy because that showed a style which he thought was better to his expertise. He felt he could do comedy justice by using physical instead of written and as such he used physical. I also think that no matter how old a movie is physical comedy lasts longer than vocal comedy just because jokes can go out of date but the physical aspect of the human body never will.
ReplyDeleteSpencer,
DeleteYou make some good rebuttals to my points and it is true that they could have put the humor in the cue cards, if I remember correctly they were a couple cards through the film that did in fact make a joke through dialogue. It is my opinion that they wouldn't be able to do this for the majority of the humor because then most of the film would be spent reading cue cards rather then watching Keaton. I also agree that physical humor will continue to last throughout time but I find that classic comedy dialogue films even that are 20 or 30 years old can still have relevant dialogue jokes.
Best,
Graham
I would have to respectfully disagree with you as well. We find humor in the humility of the human condition, our own mortality, and absurdity. While slapstick comedy was widely employed throughout the film, there was also less physical comedy that still was meant to be humorous for the audience. The scene in the movie where Keaton's character gives his money away and then witnesses a man find an entire wallet of money in the same pile of garbage that he had been sweeping up. This is a moment when Keaton did not have to rely on physically "showing" us a comedic moment, but he "shared" with us the emotion that we could all relate to on a certain level. I do agree with you about the modernity of Keaton's cinematic mechanics, which were amazing, for the time and medium.
ReplyDeleteCorashima,
DeleteYou make a good point this scene you described is not like other humor throughout the film where Keaton is falling or riding on a motorcycles handlebars with no one driving. It is a calmer moment of comedy that he shares with us that all of us no matter what decade you are watching the film can relate to. I had not really considered this scene because after this scene the chaos with all car chases and other physical humor takes over. Thanks for your input.
Best,
Graham