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A
double dose of Buster Keaton
The plot
of Sherlock, Jr. involves the usual romance angle. Keaton,
who works at a movie theater while imagining himself a great
detective, visits a girl in the hopes that she will choose
him over the competition. The competition in this case is
a shady individual who decides to use chicanery to win the
girl. Keaton is accused of stealing a watch, leading to his
banishment from the girl's house. Instead of moping around
Keaton decides to take advantage of his ill fortune by using
his newfound detective skills to investigate the crime.
Sherlock,
Jr. is fucking brilliant. Not because it is that funny (well,
it isn't to me, anyway), but because the story construction
and technical mastery will enthrall even the most finicky
viewers. The 44-minute running time is not what I would consider
feature length, but Sherlock, Jr. is packed with sufficient
cleverness to handily better films four times as long.
If you have
seen Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo, then you have
seen a film that would not exist in the same form without
the inspiration of Sherlock, Jr. This is because the premise
of The Purple Rose of Cairo involving the blending of fiction
and reality is straight out of Sherlock, Jr. The similarity
is unmistakable when Keaton walks into the projection screen
to become part of the film. That an idea this complex would
find its way into a film less than ten years after Birth of
a Nation is astounding. There must have been something in
the drinking water during 1924-1925, because the quality of
films climbed to a new level with the release of several influential
masterpieces, including Greed, The Gold Rush, Battleship Potemkin,
The Last Laugh, and Sherlock, Jr.
Other spectacular
scenes involve the strategic use of a dress and masterful
pool playing. The visual effects are integrated with expert
precision and phenomenal skill. The only weakness of the film
is the overuse of rear screen projection during the chase
scene, but that can be forgiven when you consider that rear
screen projection (aka green screen, blue screen, and tightwad
screen) would continue to be overused for the next 60 years,
even by great directors like Hitchcock.
Our Hospitality
is a tale based on the Hatfield and McCoy legendary feud.
Young Willie McKay (Buster Keaton) receives notice that he
has inherited an estate down south. Willie decides to claim
his inheritance, prompting his aunt (and seemingly his only
surviving relative thanks to all the bloodshed) to tell him
about the feud for the first time. Willie is undeterred, and
he ventures forth on an early version of a passenger train.
By chance a young lady named Virginia shares his car. Virginia
is a proper southern lady who is going back home to her father
and two brothers after a visit to New York. After a harrowing
trip on the railroad (which I won't even try to describe),
they finally arrive at their destination. Virginia is impressed
by Willie's candor, so she asks him to dinner at her father's
mansion. But her father and brothers will be lying in wait
for poor Willie, since they have discovered that he is a McKay,
their sworn enemy. Willie has been romancing a Canfield!
Our Hospitality
receives less publicity than Sherlock Jr., but I actually
laughed out loud more at Our Hospitality. Bit after bit entertains,
and several of the bits are hilarious. Normally I cringe when
an animal is used for comedic purposes, but the dog gives
a best supporting actor caliber performance. And I think we
all know that many dogs have won best supporting actor. This
movie is also a candidate for best use of a waterfall, a category
that might have several worthy nominees.
Buster Keaton's
stuntwork in Sherlock, Jr. and Our Hospitality demonstrates
his versatility as an actor. "The Great Stoneface"
was extremely agile and durable. This combination made him
an excellent candidate for stunts. In Sherlock, Jr. there
is a scene where Keaton is forced to the ground by a burst
of water, entailing a fall of several feet. Being the consummate
professional that he was, Keaton immediately got up like nothing
was wrong. You would not know it from the contents of this
disc, but Keaton actually broke his neck during this stunt.
Keaton did not realize the extent of his injury, and it was
not until an examination years later that the broken neck
came to light.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Sherlock,
Jr. displays a very clean image throughout. I did notice a
couple minor jagged edges resulting from digital compression.
Contrast and black level are strong, and detail is excellent
for a film of this vintage. The title cards appear to have
been redone and look very sharp.
Our Hospitality
suffers from more age blemishes than Sherlock Jr. It appears
that Sherlock, Jr. might have been the beneficiary of more
restoration work, or the source print of Our Hospitality was
in much worse condition. The picture is worn with the regular
appearance of scratches and other wear and tear. Occasionally
the picture takes on a washed out appearance, but this never
lasts more than a few seconds. Except for these instances
contrast and black level are satisfactory. Sharpness is not
up to the standard of Sherlock, Jr., but Our Hospitality is
not as soft as many other DVDs containing films from this
period. The title cards also exhibit a beat-up appearance.
Actually Our Hospitality looks reasonably good, but it certainly
falls well short of Sherlock, Jr.
Neither
film contains color tinting. The frame is not centered exactly,
as both films have left edges without any picture material.
This is not really a distraction, and most televisions overscan
enough that this will not be noticed.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The score
for Sherlock, Jr. by The Club Foot Orchestra is unconventional
to say the least. The music is all over the place, with all
manners of instruments and melodies employed. It works for
some scenes, but is distracting in others. This would have
been an excellent opportunity for providing two contrasting
music tracks so that if one track annoys the viewer he could
switch to the other track. On the other hand, the orchestral
score for Our Hospitality is perfectly fine. Donald Hunsberger
is credited with compiling it.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Not much
to say here, because there are no supplements. I guess I'll
continue to belabor this point time and time again. Doesn't
the exemplary quality of the film merit at least some kind
of special edition treatment? This DVD contains not just one,
but two of the greatest films of all time, and not even liner
notes are included.
One last
thing: the menu interface is clumsy. Sherlock, Jr. is placed
after Our Hospitality on the disc, with Our Hospitality ending
during chapter 10 and Sherlock, Jr. beginning with chapter
11. The opening menu screen does not contain an option to
go directly to Sherlock Jr., so the only way you can begin
playing it is by skipping to chapter 11.
Parting Thoughts
If you are
curious about silent film, then this disc should be at the
top of your list. Sherlock, Jr. and Our Hospitality are very
accessible to mainstream audiences. Both these films receive
my highest recommendation, and I really cannot say enough
good things about them. This DVD will satisfy anyone, as long
as you do aren't that concerned about the lack of supplements.
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