The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection
by Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Buster Keaton, Roscoe Fatty ArbuckleDirector: Buster Keaton, Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle
Writer: Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle
Writer: Buster Keaton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 248 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection
Movie Review: Arbuckle & Keaton - a synergistic relationship if ever there was one
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great set that shows how Buster Keaton learned the art of making comedy films under the tutorage of Roscoe Arbuckle from 1917-1919 and gradually advanced from apprentice to partner. There are twelve of their two-reelers included. The only one known to be in existence that is not in this set is 1918's "The Cook", which was the last short that Keaton and Arbuckle did before Keaton left for the army during World War I. It was said by Keaton himself that the only disagreement the pair ever had that they could not settle was that Arbuckle believed that you had to assume that the audience for comedy was at the mental level of a twelve year old. Keaton believed that you had to give the audience more credit than that in their capacity to grasp more subtle humor. The two may have never formally settled this friendly disagreement, but it is easy to see that - consciously or not - Arbuckle is being shifted into some of Keaton's theories of comic filmmaking over the three year period of their partnership. In their first film together, "The Butcher Boy", the humor is based on the usual mayhem of slapstick comedy of the 1910's - people throwing pies and sacks of flour at one another. By the time the two make their final film together - "The Garage" - there is definitely the Keaton trademark of humor clearly showing. For example, when Buster has his trousers shredded by Luke the dog he avoids arrest for exposing himself to "a virgin of 35" by cutting the kilts and hat off of the figure on a nearby billboard and pretending to be a Scotsman - typical Keaton resourcefulness in a crisis.
Neither Keaton nor Arbuckle have any fixed persona in these films. One of the treats of this set is to see Buster playing all kinds of characters with all kinds of reactions. In "Oh, Doctor" he plays Arbuckle's son who is often in a fit of tears, in "Coney Island" he plays a lifeguard and nemesis to Arbuckle's character, laughing and smiling at different points throughout the film. In "Good Night Nurse" Keaton plays a quack doctor who smiles and flirts with Arbuckle - a patient disguised as a nurse who is trying to escape Keaton's clinic.
"The Cook", which is on the set "The Cook and Other Treasures", to me is the best of the Keaton and Arbuckle shorts for specifically showing off Arbuckle's talents, from his great juggling talent to his version of the dance of Salome. It' definitely worth a look after you finish this set.
Summary of The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection
A rising star who rose from bit player to writer, director, and star of comedies for Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle recruited up-and-coming vaudeville comic Buster Keaton for a series of films from 1917 through 1919. Presented chronologically, these shorts demonstrate Keaton's evolution from bit player to full partner as both men honed their comedic skills. Following the 1921 scandal that was inflamed by a publicity-seeking prosecutor and the tabloid press, Arbuckle's films were withdrawn from circulation in America. The films in this collection were gathered from international archives and private collections, with new English intertitles and digitally mastered from 35mm, some directly from the nitrate originals. Shorts: The Butcher Boy, The Rough House, His Wedding Night, Oh Doctor!, Coney Island, Out West, The Bell Boy, Moonshine (fragment), Good Night, Nurse, Back Stage, The Hayseed, The Garage.The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection literally defines the phenomenon of genius in the making. While showcasing the formidable slapstick talents of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle as director and star, this 12-title compilation is also a remarkable study of Buster Keaton's rapid evolution as a silent comedy master. Made in swift succession from 1917 to 1919, these chronologically sequenced two-reelers serve a dual purpose, re-establishing Arbuckle as an underrated talent (his career was tragically curtailed by an infamous rape scandal, despite his eventual exoneration), while crediting his mentorship of Keaton from Vaudeville veteran to inspired movie pioneer. The "Great Stone Face" had yet to emerge (though it's evident in Keaton's 1917 debut, "The Butcher Boy"), so Buster's innately amusing countenance is wondrously animated here, especially in "Coney Island," which doubles as an illustrious postcard from a bygone era. The final collaboration, "The Garage," was Buster's favorite, and it's easy to see why: with a giant turntable, fire hoses, grease buckets, and all varieties of gag-laden shtick, it's a sublime (and like most of these films, well-preserved) example of two gifted comedians at the peak of their craft. --Jeff Shannon
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