Eastmancolor

I have to take some exception with John Sinnott's review of this Buster Keaton set. He obviously hates the ten shorts produced by Columbia Pictures in the late 1930's, saying that there is absolutely nothing funny about any of them and that the set should be avoided.

True, some of the shorts are awful. MOOCHING THROUGH GEORGIA is one of the worst 2-reelers that Columbia ever cranked out. There are a few shorts though, that are quite fun. PEST FROM THE WEST stands out, as does PARDON MY BERTH MARKS and NOTHING BUT PLEASURE.

I have long been after Columbia to release their short subjects onto home video. Except for the Three Stooges, all of their other series are languishing in the vaults. Charley Chase, Andy Clyde, Vera Vague, Schilling and Lane, etc etc, all deserve to have exposure on DVD.

I'm just thrilled that Sony has decided to spend the time and effort to make these ten Keaton shorts look as good as they could and have issued them onto DVD. People should show their support and buy the discs, if only to complete their Keaton collections.

The quality of Keaton's OUR HOSPITALITY, SEVEN CHANCES or THE GENERAL is not on display here, but even Keaton working at half-steam is still fascinating and funny to watch.

Now, if only we could get someone to release all of his 2-reelers from Educational Pictures, then the bulk of his pre-1940 films would be on DVD.

Something tells me though that Mr. Sinnott wouldn't like those either.

John Sinnott

I've seen some of his Educational pictures, and while they are far from his best work, I think they are better than the Columbia shorts. I wouldn't mind seeing more. Keaton at least had input on the Educational shorts, something that was lacking on these.

I will agree that Pest From the West was the best amoung these, but by the time I got to it (it's on the second disc) it was a case of too little too late.

I was glad that these films were restored, I though Sony did a horrible job of packaging the films. They weren't in chronological order for some unknown reason, and the fact that they put a picture of a younger Keaton from his silent days on the cover and didn't mention that these were talking pictures is a crime. I feel that they are trying to trick people into buying this set, thinking that it contains his earlier work.

While I can see your point, and hope that more Columbia shorts are released for those that enjoy them, I don't feel I can recommend something that is an inferior product on the hopes that better material gets realeased later.

Thanks for your comments. I always appreciate feedback, even if its from someone who disagrees with a review.

Damfino

Here's a completely different opinion:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...ersary_dvd.htm

I am getting this set primarily because I'm interested in all things Keaton and because I've never seen any of these films before. This release is now even more interesting because there are now 2 opposite reviews from 2 sources that I trust.

I suppose I'll have to post my own opinion when my set arrives.

John Sinnott

Thanks for the Beaver link Damfino. I'm really surprised that Gary liked these as much as he did. Different strokes I guess. You'll have to let us know what you think.

Damfino

I am finally ready with my thoughts on this collection...

I have watched everything except for the commentaries on disk 1 (which I will do soon because the commentaries are better than the films)

The first point I need to make is that this IS NOT entry level Buster Keaton. If you've never seen his silent era movies, please see those first.

Second, fans of the Three Stooges should not watch these movies either. The whole look and feel of these are more like the Stooges than Buster Keaton. Even the titles sound like Stooge films. To make matters worse, the only flaw in the packaging of these films is the use of a silent era photo of Buster Keaton on the cover. The rest of this package is first rate and comes in a nice slipcase with a screenplay, there are commentaries on every film and the films are well preserved. Sadly the Stooges have yet to receive this level of treatment on DVD and I quit buying The Three Stooges DVDs over 2 years ago due to poor releases from Columbia.

Having said that I can now say that for the most part these are not good films. They borrow heavily from The Stooges, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy and even from Keaton himself. Gags were also borrowed from Buster's silent films and earlier talkies (especially Doughboys and The Passionate Plumber).

I was surprised to see Buster still doing most of his own stunts in these films, so I would have to say that he did do a little more than just phone in his performances (although not much more).

My favorite film in this collection is The Taming of the Snood. This is probably because it might have worked better as a silent film as there is a lengthy bit involving some stunt work on a table that would have played even funnier with some uptempo silent era music to go with it.

Another problem I had with these films is that we sometimes hear the actors moaning in pain after various pratfalls. In silent movies the violence was made more cartoonish by the music, in talkies The Three Stooges used cartoonish sound effects to mask the violence. Unfortunately, you feel the pain in these films.

I also must admit that I enjoyed one of Buster's co-stars in these films. Elsie Ames impressed me (and Buster Keaton himself!) with her stunt work and even though she wasn't that great of an actress, she might have been a big star in silent comedies.

Summing up, I guess my opinion falls somewhere between videophile and dvdbeaver (but closer to videophile).

rdf8585

I can't find this review on the site. I searched for it but when I clicked on the result for it, I'm taken to a page that has nothing to do with this release.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20337...ry-collection/

John Sinnott

Try this link:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20337...ry-collection/

rdf8585

Thanks. That did work.