Sherlock Jr.: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton; Three ages: Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery. Special features: Sherlock Jr. : audio commentary by film historian David Kalat ; documentary short on the making of the film, written by film historian David B. Pearson ; visual essay on the film's locations by Silent Echoes author John Bengtson. Three ages: Man's Genesis (1912) a nine-minute excerpt of the D.W. Griffith prehistoric romance that inspired Keaton's parody ; visual essay on the film's locations by Silent Echoes author John Bengtson ; Three Ages re-cut as a trio of stand-alone short films.
Contents:
Sherlock Jr. (45 min., 1924) / a Metro attraction ; directed by Buster Keaton ; produced by Joseph M. Schenck ; screenplay by Jean Havez, Joseph Mitchell, & Clyde Bruckman -- Three ages (63 min., 1923) / a Metro attraction ; directed by Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline ; produced by Joseph M. Schenck ; screenplay by Jean Havez, Joseph Mitchell, & Clyde Bruckman.
Summary:
Widely regarded as one of the most visually inventive silent comedies ever made, Sherlock Jr. offers fast-paced slapstick as well as a brilliant deconstruction of the filmmaking process. Keaton stars as a movie theater projectionist who dreams of becoming a super-sleuth and, in one breathtaking sequence, literally steps into the screen to bring his fantasies to life. Another comedy for film-lovers (that plays upon the conventions of cinema), Three Ages is a clever spoof of D.W. Griffith's Intolerance. In Keaton's multi-narrative epic, man's primal quest for love is played out in the Stone Age, Ancient Rome, and the Jazz Age.
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