FORMAT: BLU-RAY | DIRECTORS: BUSTER KEATON, DONALD CRISP | STARRING: BUSTER KEATON | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Well what do you know, those sparkling fine folk at Eureka! have proffered up a new 3-disc selection of films on Blu-ray by the slapstick OG, BK (as no one is calling him).
Let’s start from the off by saying that each film looks glorious. Taken, as they are, from 4K restorations, each film looks crisp. Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking each film was a modern, shot-for-shot remake based on the depth of the visual information. While there may be small dips in quality regarding narrative and comedy across the three films, the transfers are a sight to behold and a huge nod to the restoration team behind this release. Each restoration is taken from various A and B negatives from the Cohen archives and a sweet touch about the presentation is the two paragraphs at the start of each film explaining which elements were used and how. This adds to the overall feeling of watching a cinematic historical document that needs, nay, should be kept for future posterity.
There is little that can be said of the man himself that hasn’t been said before, however, his run of films as actor and director between 1920 and 1929 elevate him to the status of God. Alongside Chaplin and Lloyd, Keaton sits squarely in the middle of the two. Not quite the dramatic derring-do of Lloyd and sadly not nearly as narratively timeless as Chaplin, Keaton’s oft-repeated themes of marriage and wealthy inheritance may stick in the craw of some viewers, as will the racial stereotyping (though blessedly, Keaton did use actors of colour to fill these roles).
The Navigator is a tale of unrequited love that becomes, well, requited after Rollo and Betsy (Keaton and Kathryn McGuire) spend weeks marooned on a ship-that-is-not-wrecked. The two highlights are a long ‘opening opposite doors’ scene while the two try to find each other – something seen every week in Scooby-Doo, and the other is the underwater sequence. It is a well-known fact that underwater scenes often slow a film to a sea-snail’s pace (Thunderball anyone?), but this cracks along at a great pace with brilliant sight gags.
Battling Butler is a classic mistaken identity story that has been rolled out so many times, that it’s hard to see the genius of its early (cinematic) genius. Perhaps the most startling element of this film is the way Keaton’s character, a rich and spoiled dandy, decides to marry a very young-looking country girl without so much as consulting her in the matter. Aside from that, imbibe yourself in the glorious wash of sepia it is presented in.
Seven Chances is the old ‘inheritance with a catch’ plotline, that the viewer should let wash over them and instead bathe in the escalating set-pieces that Keaton excelled in.
Come for the films and stay for the brilliance of the restoration work, a rare release for all ages – so let’s hear it for the SS OG, BK, OK?
