7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
To reconcile with his girlfriend, a bookish college student named Ronald tries to become an athlete.
Starring: Buster Keaton, Snitz Edwards, Anne Cornwall, Florence Turner, Harold Goodwin (I)Comedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: LPCM 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In 1926, stone-faced comedian Buster Keaton made The General, an enormously expensive, high-concept comedy— in which Buster commandeers a train during the Civil War—that's now considered one of the greatest films of the silent era. Of any era, really. Keaton himself felt that it was his masterpiece. When it was initially released, however, it was drubbed mercilessly by critics—characteristically gloomy New York Times writer Mordaunt Hall said of it, "the fun is not exactly plentiful"—and it sagged at the box office. Keaton would get a second chance at lavish spectacle with 1928's Steamboat Bill, Jr., but immediately following the poor performance of The General, his longtime producer, Joe Schenck, was wary of giving Buster another large budget. Their next film would be College, a comparatively small-scaled production that's often overlooked in Keaton's filmography, particularly since it's sandwiched between what are arguably Buster's two best movies. If short on the exorbitant, over-the-top sight gags of The General and Steamboat Bill—a collapsing bridge, a house-lifting hurricane, a raging flood—College is exemplary of Keaton's brilliant low-key character work and his ability to wrangle laughs out of just about any scenario.
If you're familiar with Kino-Lorber's other Buster Keaton Blu-ray releases, you'll feel right at home with College, which has been given a newly mastered 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's striking and faithful to source. Some might say too faithful. As usual for Kino, the print is essentially presented "as is," meaning there's been no significant digital restoration or clean-up. So, you will notice semi-frequent white specks, small scratches, mild contrast fluctuations, and a few brief moments of staining and warping. None of this is distracting in the slightest—particularly if you're used to watching silent films—and all things considered, for an 85-year-old 35mm print, the damage here is minimal. On the plus side of Kino's approach, there's been no digital noise reduction, edge enhancement, or other significant filtering; the picture has a natural look, with a visible layer of grain. The lone oddity, which you can spot in the screenshots, is that there's a constant line near the bottom of the frame where the brightness level shifts slightly but suddenly. I'm not sure exactly what may have caused this, but it's almost certainly a source-related issue, and to fix it would likely require significant time and effort. Once again, though, it's something you quickly glaze over. What you will constantly notice is how great the film looks in high definition, with finer detail, better resolved textures, and an all-around appreciable increase in clarity. The film's monochrome gradation is handled nicely as well, with some inconsistency in contrast between scenes, but generally solid black levels and white that never peak.
There's only one accompaniment track on Kino's Blu-ray release of College, but it's a good one—a vintage organ arrangement by the late John Muri, who passed away in 2000. Presented in uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 stereo, the music sounds good and suits the film well, complementing the onscreen action without overshadowing it. No issues here.
Made between The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr.—arguably Buster Keaton's two best films—the comparatively smaller-scaled College unfairly tends to be forgotten. What it lacks in big-budget spectacle, however, it more than makes up in clever gag-work and the charm of Buster's bungling would-be athlete of a character. As usual, Kino's Blu-ray release is a joy to watch, and it comes with an informative commentary track that's well worth a listen for Keaton fans. Highly recommended!
Ultimate Edition
1920
1934-1937
Remastered
1923
1924
One Week / Convict 13 / Neighbors / The Scarecrow / The Haunted House / Hard Luck / The High Sign / The Goat / The Play House [Playhouse] / The Boat / The Paleface / Cops / My Wife's Relations / The Frozen North / The Electric House / Day Dreams [Daydreams] / The Balloonatic / The Love Nest
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