8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Johnnie loves two things: his train and the lovely Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War breaks out he enlists as a soldier, but it is decided that he is too valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it is because he is a coward. When Union spies capture Johnnie with Annabelle on board, Johnnie "The General" must recue both his loves.
Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley (I), Frederick VroomDrama | 100% |
Romance | 45% |
War | 21% |
Western | 21% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.32:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Buster Keaton's "The General" (1927) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include archival introductions by Orson Welles and Gloria Swanson; archival raw footage from the shooting of the film; filming locations featurette; exclusive new program featuring film historian Peter Kramer; and more. The release also arrives with a 60-page book featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp; notes on each film; archival writings; Buster Keaton family scrapbook, archival images; and more. Region-B "locked".
The fearless man
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.32:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The General arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from Cohen Media's 4K restoration of The General which is not yet available on Blu-ray in the United States. I think that if you have already seen Kino Video's release of the film you will find that the restoration offers some pretty substantial improvements in terms of definition, depth, clarity and fluidity. In fact, there are various parts of the film where the improvements are so dramatic that it actually feels like a veil of some sort has been lifted. During the big attack towards the end of the film, for instance, there are panoramic shots that now have detail that is simply missing on the older master (see screencapture #5). Elsewhere there are basic close-ups that also reveal drastically better delineation and clarity. Also, the new restoration provides better overall balance, with a more convincing gray scale and generally more natural ranges of nuances. My one and only minor criticism pertains to the presence of some sporadic flatness which appears to have been introduced during the restoration process. I assume that it is a byproduct of some type of rebalancing/grain management work because where the film looks very healthy -- with proper density and no visible traces of source deterioration -- balance is actually very convincing (you can see a very good example in screencapture #10). The rest I think looks very good and with convincing organic qualities on display. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Music DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The film has original English intertitles
The film is presented with Carl Davis' original score, which the lossless track handles very well. The audio has great depth and clarity, and balance is outstanding. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.
Eureka Entertainment's new release of Buster Keaton's The General is sourced from Cohen Media's recent 4K restoration of the film. I think that it is a very good restoration that offers some pretty dramatic improvements in quality that make viewing this classic film an even more special experience. The release is included in this three-disc box set, together with Sherlock, Jr. and Steamboat Bill, Jr.. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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