Description
Book SynopsisFamous for their stunts, gags, and images, Buster Keaton's silent films have enticed everyone from Hollywood movie fans to the surrealists, such as Dali and Bunuel. This book looks at the appeal of Keaton's genius, considering his vaudeville roots and his ability to integrate this aesthetic into the techniques of classical Hollywood cinema.
Trade Review"Knopf offers a timely, academic appreciation of the great stoneface, examining why Keaton's films intrigued surrealists and intellectuals... Knopf also does an excellent job of tracing the vaudevillian roots of Keaton's stunts and gags."--Library Journal "The remarkable thing about Buster Keaton is that within the world of film he could do anything. [The book] is a concise synthesis of critical opinions on Keaton which is most useful and insightful in its attention to the tension between vaudeville-based gags and classical narrative structure in Keaton's films."--Marc A. Mamigonian, The Boston Book Review "With apt photographs, complete filmography, and heuristic bibliography, Knopf reanimates the delightfully improvised cinema of a truly great comic film artist."--Choice
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments Xi Introduction 3 The Lens of Classical Hollywood Cinema 4 The Lens of Vaudeville 10 The Lens of Surrealism 15 1. The Evolution of Keaton's Vaudeville 19 2. From Stage to Film: The Transformation of Keaton's Vaudeville 36 3. Keaton Re-Viewed: Beyond Keaton's Classicism 76 Keaton in Context: Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd 79 The Gag-Narrative Relationship in Keaton's Films 83 4. From Vaudeville to Surrealism 112 The Surrealists Claim Keaton 113 Keaton's Affinities with Surrealism 121 5. Beyond Surrealism: Keaton's Legacy 134 Gerald Potterton's The Railrodder 135 Samuel Beckett's Film 143 Afterlife: New Vaudeville, Jackie Chan, and Coming Attractions 148 Motes 157 Filmography 179 Bibliography 203 Index 213
