Keaton's "The General" 1926

[Tetrachord]

I've recently watched this little masterpiece and can thoroughly recommend it!! Co-incidentally, I saw a documentary about Keaton only this week and it told how the film only had a lukewarm reception from audiences and critics alike at the time. The studio (United Artists) was furious because of the amount of money it cost. Just as had been the case with Welles and "Citizen Kane", the film proved to be an albatross around Keaton's neck and it made studios very wary of putting him in control of any further films! But today it's widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, silent or sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilPk-SCHv30

It cannot have helped Keaton that the film was released virtually at the dawn of sound film in 1927.

[David-G]

We saw "The General" last year at the RFH, with a Carl Davis score played live by Philharmonia and conducted by Carl Davis. An enthralling experience.

[jean]

I've seen Harold Lloyd's Safety Last get the Carl Davis treatment with the RLPO - I'd love to see them do the same with Keaton!

I first saw The General as part of a series of end-of-term films for sixth formers at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. This would have been in the late 1950s, when Keaton was just being rediscovered. I was hooked.

I later - probably some time in the 1970s - saw several seasons of Keaton films at the National Film Theatre in London, with piano accompaniment by these two.

[slarty]

I bought the BluRay from KINO which is a superb transfer and it has three! differentmusic scores to choose from
1 Carl Davis with the Thames Silents Orchestra
2 Music arranged and directed by Robert Israel
3 Theatre Organ score by Lee Erwin

here is an Amazon link -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/General-Blu-ray-Region-Free-US/dp/B002NTDX6O/ref=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1469869055&sr=1-3&keywords=buster+keaton+the+general

[Tetrachord]

I've just realized that a whole section of the board has been set aside for this film, "The General" Arts!!!!:-)