I went to San Francisco State University, which was reasonably well respected for their Film program (they were more well known for their Broadcasting Dept). Any respect they got was probably because they favored Avant Garde film which made them stand out a bit. So all my fellow film students were greasy haired, hand-rolled cigarette smoking, beat-up paperback carrying snoots. Yeesh.
I enjoyed my college years for a variety of reasons (none of which had all that much to do with studying or the Film department) and my favorite film school moment actually happened in my Avant Garde History class. It took everything I had to stay awake in that class. When I read the first Harry Potter book and JK Rowling described the History of Magic class with Professor Binns, the ghost teacher, I immediately thought of this class. The teacher was ancient and soft spoken so he had to use a mic because the class was in a lecture hall (the class must have been required because I NEVER would have chosen it) and he droned on and on and on. One very rainy day, during the break, our teacher left the room (not uncommon). The room was a bit more full than normal because of the rain. The smokers were outside, but the rest of us couldn't get our dose of fresh air and fog like normal; I think I was reading whatever mystery novel I was into at the time - trying to jumpstart my brain after the last hour of lecture. Anyway, my teacher clearly needed to use the facilities but forgot to switch off his mic. We heard EVERYTHING (thankfully it was only Number One. Also thankfully he washed his hands.) I remember staring at the TA, who was slowly looking around the room. A huge grin broke out over his face. I think he might have said something like "And he's peeing." It was fantastic.
But I digress.
I managed to make my own way at SFSU despite the snootiness of the Film department. I bucked the system and let my love of Hollywood show (fuck 'em if they can't take a joke). I wrote papers about the structure of movie musicals. I took classes that focused on the history of animation (who knew THAT would come in handy later!?). And I discovered actors that blew my mind. Like, I had crushes on actors that were born in the 1800's. It was maybe a little weird.
Recently I was thinking a lot about my early days and decided to revisit watching my first and only silent screen star crush: Buster Keaton.
Buster Keaton was born in 1895 and died in 1966. His family had a comedic vaudeville act that was extremely acrobatic and he started his film career by being in a bunch of Fatty Arbuckle films (now THERE'S a guy who really lived up to his name) but studios and audiences started to realize how innovative and funny he was in his own right so he began starring in his own films. For a while he had complete control over his films (directed and starred in) and he always created and performed his own gags/stunts. And ohmygod they were amazing.
I remember sitting in class thinking "I've seen stuff like this before" but then having this realization wash over me: He was the FIRST person to orchestrate these incredibly complex, super innovative, hilarious gags. And I immediately fell in love. I am 100% a sucker for someone who makes me laugh.
I have seen a bunch of Jackie Chan movies and it's no surprise to me that Buster Keaton was one of his influences. Keaton was incredibly athletic, his body was like a rubber band and powerhouse all rolled into one. Apparently when he was in his 50's he re-enacted one of his old stunts. Someone asked how he did it and he said "I'll show you" and opened his shirt to reveal a bunch of bruises. He just. Fucking. Did it.
Besides being really funny - not only with the crazy gags but also with the subtle hand gestures or body movements to convey a wealth of emotion - he had this amazing face. I guess when he was young and being thrown around (literally) on the vaudeville stage by his dad, they realized audiences thought it was way funnier if he had no expression vs a big "I'm okay!" smile. So he became The Great Stone Face. What stayed with me, though (and many, many others obviously), were his eyes. His face is overtaken by these huge, soulful eyes. They are beautiful. They always look a little bit sad but deep inside you see a glimmer of something else. Maybe resignation that this is what life is? Maybe hopefulness that everything is going to work out? Whatever it was, it stopped me in my tracks; hitting me hard in the 19 year old feels.
(These films were both made during Prohibition, so my drink pairing is a glass of bathtub gin in the Speakeasy of your choosing)
Here are a couple films I recommend if you are at all interested in watching silent films:
Sherlock Jr - released in 1924
This is a movie about movies, which the always self involved Hollywood loves. But honestly, kind of everyone loves them - Singin in The Rain, Get Shorty. C'mon...you know you do!
All Keaton's films are great, but this one might be my favorite.
Buster Keaton plays a film projectionist who is studying to be a detective (the 'stache is fake so he can look more legit).
He is in love with a girl who is also being wooed by a guy who robbed her father. Keaton is kind of dejected by the "love" situation while also trying to catch the robber. There is an amazing scene where he's "tailing" the guy by walking literally a few inches behind him, matching everything the guy does step for step. It's like a beautifully choreographed dance number.
He also rides through town on the handlebars of a motorcycle after the driver has fallen off. The modern viewer can tell when cars look like they are going to hit him but actually are stopping or going super slow, but he's still steering the frickin' motorcycle by the handlebars ONLY! Also, no CG. He was REALLY doing this stunt. Amazing.
The most famous sequence of this film is where Buster has fallen asleep at his projectionist job and kind of dreams himself into several movie scenes. So the scenes keeps switching out and he pops into each one. Innovative stuff for 1924.
The most amazing shot, though, is a really quick shot where he jumps through a person! I can't imagine how they achieved this particular effect, but Buster literally dives through a box being held by a man. Early film making magic!
The General - released in 1926
This is arguably Keaton's most famous film, and after being reevaluated in later years it's considered by critics to be one of the best films ever made. Keaton had a great love of trains, so this entire film focuses on that. He plays a train engineer during the Civil War. He wants to enlist when the war breaks out to impress his girlfriend but the recruiters think he'd be more useful to the cause as an engineer, so they refuse him. That's the start of the grand misunderstanding which culminates in Keaton not only saving the girl but thwarting an invasion. He did all his own stunts and this film encompasses some scary ones for the time period. He jumps from car to car on a moving train in one sequence and sits on the front grill (I learned it's called a cow catcher for obvious and horrific reasons) holding a railroad tie in another.
The beauty of Buster Keaton, though, is in his subtlety. There is one shot where he's super dejected and sitting on the train's coupling rod When the train starts, he starts rotating with the movement, his body completely motionless. Total deadpan expression. Apparently this was also one of the more dangerous stunts because he could have been killed if the train threw a rod. Yikes!
Apparently this film had a "huge" budget ($750,000) and didn't get the box office the expected, so after this film Buster lost some of his autonomy. Sadly, things were never quite the same for him after that.
My takeaways:
#1 - Buster Keaton died of lung cancer. No one told him he had cancer so he just thought he was getting over bronchitis or something like that. I'm not sure how I feel about this deception.
#2 - I am definitely not the only person who loved Buster Keaton. There is a woman who has a current blog called "What Would Buster Do". I wish I had thought of that first.
#3 - To me, Buster Keaton vs Charlie Chaplin is a lot like Mel Brooks vs Woody Allen. I think I respond more to Buster and Mel because their humor is visceral and goofy but still sharply witty. Charlie and Woody are a bit more highbrow and intellectual in their humor. They also seem to beg the audience to sympathize with their characters. Apparently I am a tad hard hearted, because usually their characters bug me. If you know me at all, you know that I CRY laughing at any video with models falling. Not so highbrow. Let's enjoy: http://www.dailymotion.com/
xoxo...hashtagSueslife
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