Buster Keaton: Comedy Legend
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: D Films & Shorts: B
Buster Keaton on DVD is always expensive, but Passport has
put together a low-budget set that may not have the best sound and picture
quality, but is an interesting collection of his work. Buster Keaton: Comedy Legend offers a
mix of materials that gives a very rough tracking of the rise and fall of his
career. Each DVD offers a section. Starting Out includes The Garage
(1919), Neighbors, One Week (both 1920), and The Baloonatic
(1923). The Paleface (1922), The
Blacksmith (1920) and The Love Nest (1923) are some of his peak
shorts on DVD 2, while the masterwork The General (1927) is all of DVD
3.
Oddly about The General, this film has a strange
history of bad transfers on home video.
On the old 12” LaserDisc format, the rights to a good, clearer, more
complete version of the film disappeared when a certain company lost the
rights. The laser that was issued by
the second company who won the rights was a bad tradedown that looked awful and
was shorter. This version is more like
that one, but until a proper digital HD version is done from the original film
materials, no version is going to be right.
DVD 4 offers the “pre-code” MGM sound film Parlor
Bedroom & Bath (1931), which is a curio at best that does not
work. DVD 5 has the MGM sound film Speak
Easy (1932), which has Keaton with Jimmy Durante. It is worse and almost painful to watch. Like the Harold Lloyd vehicle The Sins Of
Harold Diddlebock (released on the cheap on Delta’s Great Aviator –
Howard Hughes DVD, reviewed elsewhere on this site), you want someone to
walk on the set and stop the star from embarrassing himself. Though cheap, at least this set has the guts
to show the best and worse of its star.
The 1.33 X 1 image throughout is always black & white,
as well as worn and poor, which is to be expected at this price. There are also no extras, but some will
appreciate the cheap access to some of Keaton’s work, some of which is debuting
in this condition on DVD.
- Nicholas Sheffo
