The Great Buster

The Great Buster (2018) -

I recently watched 'Go West' (1925) and found an appreciation for the comedy genius that was Buster Keaton within the first few minutes and by the end of it, he was my new favourite. As a result of that I was very keen to watch this documentary in order to find out as much as I could about him and the other films that he had been a part of.

It was a shame that the narrator's (Peter Bogdanovich) voice was so monotonous and dull, because the clips of Buster were hilarious and quite often laugh out loud moments at times.

The journey mostly followed a chronological direction and gave warning when it would have to go back to something for further investigation, as such it was easy to understand and it clearly showed the highs and lows of Buster's life.

I think that for me to find such joy in performances that are over 100 years old says something about the brilliance and skill of the man in question. His works have certainly stood the test of time better than a lot of others, including some of the more recent efforts from just the last 40 years, which are already dated and cringey.

There's nothing really to say about production values, etc, so this review will be finished here, but if you've ever been tempted by silent movies, watch this to see where to start.

760.11/1000.

I became aware of Buster Keaton in the early 1970s, when THE GENERAL played on PBS, and I bought and read his ghost-written MY WONDERFUL WORLD OF SLAPSTICK. Those were the days when all we had were memoirs with a few stills. Now, almost half a century later, almost all of Buster's work is available if you want to see it and are willing to pay a bit extra for stuff that's out of print. Yet Peter Bogdanovich's documentary tells the same story now. albeit with some clips from the 1960s, and kind words from Quentin Tarrantino and Bill Hader: can't get the young kids in unless there's someone they've heard of.

I understand that. We want people to give Buster a try, and centenarian Norman Lloyd talking about being on the set when Chaplin and Keaton were working together won't do it. Also, the story as offered is a wonderful, simple one that offers a beautiful narrative: great artist makes fatal mistake, then struggles back thanks to the love of a good woman. Yet, once you delve deeper into Keaton's films and his life, it quickly becomes far more complicated than that. So what you are left with are the clips of Buster's stunts.

And what stunts they are! People may argue endlessly about who the greatest slapstick pratfaller was, but no one will ever dispute that Keaton was among the best, and because of that, he created grand gag sequences that no one but Jackie Chan has ever come close to equaling. So if you don't know Keaton, beware. The story, like all finite stories, is hopelessly simplistic and at times false -- Keaton had a lot more control over his Educational shorts than this movie would have you believe, for one -- but take a look at it anyway, for the many clips and short sequences. Because the things this movie gets right is that Buster was one of the greatest film makers of the 1920s, and a daring and enormously effective comedian and actor.

If it wasn't for the lengthy and amazing documentary about Buster Keaton by Kevin Brownlow that was made back in the 1980s, "The Great Buster" would seemed like an even better documentary. The problem is that the 80s film was simply perfect in every way....and was long enough to thoroughly explore the man's art and life. Now, nearly 30 years later is this other film....though "The Great Buster" is a bit different in style. Sure, it shows film clips...but much of it also includes interviews with folks who either knew him or loved his work. Most of this I really enjoyed...though WHY they had Johnny Knoxville among these interviewees is beyond me....especially when he compares "Jackass" and "Bad Grandpa" to the refined and brilliant work of Keaton. It's like comparing a Hummel figurine to a Michelangelo masterpiece! Fortunately, he was only a small part of the film and the rest of it was quite good. Having Peter Bogdonovich narrate was a bit plus, as he's one of the foremost film experts and directors there is....and I highly respect his knowledge and craftmanship you see in making this movie. I could tell it was his labor of love.

For fans of Keaton as well as the unitiated, it's well worth seeing. But do yourself a favor....find "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" and see it first. I know it's on YouTube and a few DVDs are floating around out there. It is THE definitive story of Buster Keaton. Then, see "The Great Buster" as well....you'll be happy you did.

If you are not familiar with Buster Keaton, I guess this is not a bad place to start. However, unlike it's subject matter, this documentary is quite mediocre. In this age of great documentaries, this one still starts and ends in a traditional way - by starting with Buster's birth, career, etc. Even structurally, the docu is not well thought-out, suddenly showing a greatest-hits type compilation at the end, after having finished Buster's life story with his death. It has nothing new to add or show, except a few talking heads on what Buster meant to them. Most of these had either no connection to Buster, or they are not appropriate people to speak to (I mean, do you really care what Johnny Knoxville thinks of Buster Keaton?) It's a pretty lazy piece of film-making that is also not very well-researched.If you can, try to catch the three-part 1987 British docu called "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow".

A good doc on Keaton, but not great.

Once again another film confronts its viewers with talking heads telling us why ***they*** think the title character was great. Please, don't tell us, show us! Give the viewer credit for having some substance between his/her ears. Show us why Keaton was a great comedian. Don't inundate us with personal opinions. It's easily demonstrated, i believe, because the man was truly great.

I tire of entertainment personalities acting as qualified historians. If they have good, unbiased insight into the man, I'll listen; however, none of this movie's talking heads are unbiased. They all have a dog in the fight. They all passionately adore BK. That's fine, but please don't think because you knew the man that you have some secret insight into him. Many of the talking heads are simply repeating apocryphal stories.

A good written biography and a small selection of his best film's on DVD is a fine introduction to the man.

This film is more hagiography than insightful biography.

Having said all this, I'd still recommend the film. Just make sure you pick up those DVDs.