History of cinema has seen many phases and today’s commercial cinema is quite different in many aspects from the cinema of the silent era or classical cinema. The changes and the growth of the technical quality of Hollywood movies are remarkable but despite of these technical changes there are certain movies from even the silent era that are still admired by thousands of people worldwide. Cinema lives forever and the show goes on and on for years. There are movies that people of all categories like to watch and enjoy till date like Buster Keaton’s General (US 1927), G. W. Griffith’s Intolerance (US 916), F. W. Murnau’s Sunrise (US 1927) and many more.
The movies journeyed their way systematically from silent to talkies and from black and white cinema to color movies. Studio system got gradually replaced by independent filmmaking as and when people started investing money in this industry. Now digital techniques are being introduced in sound system and images as well that has improved upon the quality of cinema a lot.
The period of late 1920s to 1950s is termed as Golden Age of Hollywood and most of the movies that were produced at that time are remarkable in every aspect. The movie- aking business slowly shifted from studio system to individual film making because each studio used to follow a definite style and more or less the films produced followed the trend of that particular studio. The companies that were associated with motion picture were in the business to make money and also the studios had to keep employees that had to be given regular salaries too.
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They also owned many theatres, which demanded fresh materials every now and then. When filmmaking shifted to individual hands number of films produced went high and it was not necessary that every cinema eeded to be a big hit. So there were films from the past that are still considered as classics and viewed by millions of people worldwide. Buster Keaton’s ‘The General’, which was produced in 1927, is considered as one of the great comedies of the silent era and also the best train film in the history of Hollywood cinema.
This movie was in fact made during the end of the silent era and was considered as civil war adventure epic classic film. The posters portrayed this boisterous comedy with words, “Love, Locomotives and Laughs” depicted on it. However, when the film as released in the late 1920s it did not get good response from the box-office as well as the critics. Critics believed that the film was rather boring and substandard. But eventually after so many decades and from past few years it is being considered as one of the best comedies that were ever made.
The General” was a very big budget film of its time with $750,000 and was funded by Joseph Schenck who was the metro chief of that time. This chase comedy was written and directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman and was filled with uproarious sight appearances and the stunt work in this film was perfectly timed. The story line was quite strong with Southern Confederate train engineer who was brave but single and foolish too and he is persistent in pursuing his train, The General, which is his passion and his beloved, a woman.
He gives very calm and uncomplaining reaction to all the fateful catastrophes and his innocent and quick-witted use of various machines and objects and above all the forces of nature that are quite impulsive in the movie contribute to the story. The plot of the movie was based on the true civil war story, “Daring and suffering: A History of the Great Railway Adventure” of Lieut. William Pittenger. In the movie, “The General”, excellent technical and structural flawlessness is seen along with inducement of playful comedy and reasonable and graceful romance.
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The strong, fit and active character and its realistic stunts were the main attraction of the movie. Keaton did not use any stuntman to perform the stunts but all were real with non-stop movement and the set was also based on free flowing objects. Keaton actually took his crew to scenic sites and with lot of pain and effort even acted out a real wartime event. Keaton was very proud of this ilm and had endured various types of strain and workload during the film. It is quite possible that as it was the time of war and the heroes in the movie that were the Confederate army, which added to the unpopularity of the film.
The moviegoers at that time might have expected a lightweight comedy but found this film very dramatic. The theme of the film was very clearly depicted, as Keaton was sure and confident about it. He wanted to present the famous incident of locomotive chase in a comic way. He actually went to real war sites and sets were also filled with free flowing objects so that he film turns out to be a realistic one. Keaton plays the role of Johnnie Gray, central character of the film and has done numerous risky stunts on his own.
This makes the film all the more admirable and venerable too. The comedy is seen in the calm and innocent reactions of Keaton to his beloved’s stupidity when she throws away the ‘ugly’ lumps of coal just to put pretty coals in the fire of the train’s engine. There are many other comic moments that are remembered such as the scene when Keaton is standing on the cowcatcher and is carefully trying to take off the broken wooden straps, which were ufficient to derail the train, or when in the second phase when Mack is “helping” him during the fight with the Yankees and many more.
There was a worldwide poll by “Sight and Sound” in the year 2002 found Keaton’s “The General” as 15th best film among films of all the time. The story of the locomotive chase during the war remains famous even though it was a brief incident and at the same time some important events of the war are forgotten. The actual train is still in the museum. It was probably this reason why Keaton chose to make a comedy on this plot including the real stunts and scenes of war. The film includes two chases in which one is when the locomotive is stolen and the other when Keaton sneaks into the northern lines to bring back his locomotive.
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The comic moments are added in the film during this journey and they make the audience laugh and enjoy the movie. Keaton has very carefully included the comic moments by putting in the innocent and instant reactions to situations and this style is appreciated here. He has become the icon of successful comedy as an actor/director/writer of 1920s. The comedy seems to be obvious and palpable and that became synonymous to Keaton’s style, which makes him remembered differently.
Keaton even adds comedy in the conclusion of the film when there is a battle at the river of the two sides and the railroad bridge that gets burnt off. All these things make “The General” as the finest film of Keaton and definitely the best war comedy from the silent era to motion pictures. The movie is so well depicted with scenes and expressions that there seems to be no need of dialogues even if it was made today. The film “The General” is quite systematic as far as its scenes are concerned and with the lack of dialogues this helps the viewer very much in understanding the sequences used in t.
Just as the film begins there is a subtitle card with words, “The Western and Atlantic Flyer speeding into Marietta, Ga. , in the spring of 1861. ” This is quite a long shot with beautiful scenery of mountains and forest of pine trees in the background and showing Buster Keaton who is playing the character of Johnnie Gray as a proud engineer in the Southern locomotive, “The General”, of Western and Atlantic Flyer R. R. Company. He is so proud to be its engineer and so much in love with the locomotive that he carefully brushes off dust from the rim of the window where his ssistant is sitting.
This shows the possessiveness in Johnnie for his locomotive and portrays the theme of the whole movie in viewer’s mind. Then people are seen joining army and Johnnie also stands up first in the line but he is refused with the words that he is more valuable as an engineer. But this incident is misunderstood by his fiance Annabella’s father and brother and they say that he was a coward who ran away. When in the movie Johnnie’s train and Annabelle both get kidnapped, it is Johnnie who has to free them and then there is a scene of chase between two trains.
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Although the scene is created to put in comedy and laughter but it had actually happened and was a true story. The incidents that happened during the chase and the journey are also taken from the real story and the difference only is that they are presented in a comic manner. The movie is completely systematic and the theme is quite clear throughout. Some of the stunts that Keaton performed during the shoot of the film might have injured or perhaps killed him because to have control on a train’s engine for a short distance is very difficult.
There are numerous scenes in the cinema that were hazardous but Keaton did not take the help of any stuntman but performed all the stunts himself. During the climax of the story when the bridge collapses, Keaton took help of 500 extras in Union uniform and did not tell the officer what exactly was going to happen. So the shock that was on their faces and the reaction to such a scene was completely genuine and real. Keaton wanted to make such a film that had genuine and authentic scenes so that it is absolutely pragmatic. And he had succeeded in doing that in a perfect way.
