Buster Keaton, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle., Al St. John. Cataloged from container and publisher's website. Special features include alternate versions of some of the shorts, such as a newly-rediscovered alternate version of the 1922 comedy The Blacksmith, containing four minutes of previously unseen material, an alternate ending of My Wife's Relations, and an alternate (politically incorrect) ending of the 1917 Arbuckle-Keaton short, Coney Island. Other special features include a 24-page booklet with detailed film notes and essay by Jeffrey Vance, author of Buster Keaton Remembered, an introduction by film preservationist Serge Bromberg (6 min.), and an excerpt from Buster Keaton's television show Life with Buster Keaton (1951), in which he reenacts Roscoe Arbuckle's "Salomé Dance", first performed in their 1918 two-reeler The Cook.
Contents:
Disc 1. The Arbuckle-Keaton comedies, 1917-1920 (all films directed by Roscoe Arbuckle): The Butcher Boy (1917) -- The Rough House (1917) -- His Wedding Night (1917) -- Oh Doctor! (1917) -- Coney Island (1917) -- Out West (1918) Disc 2 (The Arbuckle-Keaton comedies, 1917-1920 cont'd): The Bell Boy (1918) -- Moonshine (1918) -- Good Night, Nurse! (1918) -- The Cook (1918) -- Back Stage (1919) -- The Hayseed (1919) -- The Garage (1920) Disc 3. The Keaton silent short comedies, 1920-1923 (all films directed by Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline unless otherwise noted). One Week (1920) -- Convict 13 (1920) -- The Scarecrow (1920) -- Neighbors (1920) -- The Haunted House (1921) -- Hard Luck (1921) Disc 4. (The Keaton silent short comedies, 1920-1923, cont'd): The "High Sign" (1921) -- The Goat (1921, directed by Buster Keaton and Malcolm St. Clair) -- The Play House (1921) -- The Boat (1921) -- The Paleface (1922) -- Cops (1922) -- My Wife's Relations (1922) Disc 5. (The Keaton silent short comedies, 1920-1923, cont'd): The Blacksmith (1922, directed by Buster Keaton and Malcolm St. Clair) -- The Frozen North (1922) -- The Electric House (1922) -- Day Dreams (1922) -- The Balloonatic (1923) -- The Love Nest (1923).
Summary:
A five-disc collection of Keaton's 32 extant silent short films, presented in 2K restorations, newly scanned using archival film elements from around the world. This set includes the short comedies that Keaton made with pioneering silent comedy genius Roscoe Arbuckle, as well as all 19 of his independently-produced silent shorts that have cemented his reputation as one of silent cinema's most unique and respected artists. Buster Keaton: the Shorts Collection includes 13 of the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle comedies produced between 1917-1920, in which Keaton co-starred alongside Arbuckle and Al St. John. In these formative works, Keaton honed his craft performing for the camera, and learned the art of film-making from Arbuckle, an extremely gifted comedy performer and director who, at the time, was second only to Chaplin among the screen's most popular clowns. The set also showcases all 19 of Keaton's independently-produced silent shorts, made between 1920 and 1923, including such classics as One Week, which follows the disastrous efforts of Keaton and his new bride to put together a prefabricated house; Cops, in which Keaton finds himself pursued by the entire city police force; and The Playhouse, a technical tour-de-force with Keaton playing all of the members of the cast (and audience) of a theatrical show. This edition also features the restored version of Hard Luck, Keaton's own favorite of all his short comedies, which includes the “missing” ending with the final sight gag intact. These films, all of which were co-directed by Keaton, show him emerging as a fully-formed film artist, demonstrating both his remarkable slapstick abilities as a performer, and sophisticated visual style as a filmmaker. The films in this collection are presented with orchestral scores by Frank Bockius, Neil Brand, Timothy Brock, Antonio Coppola, Stephen Horne, Robert Israel, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Dennis Scott, and Donald Sosin.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.