Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 Blu-ray Detailed
HomeBuster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 Blu-ray Detailed
Posted April 28, 2016 03:11 PM by Webmaster
Kino Lorber has officially announced and detailed Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923, a five-disc collection of Keaton's 32 extant silent short films, presented in 2K restorations, newly scanned using archival film elements from around the world. The five-disc Blu-ray set will be available for purchase on May 24.
The collection includes 13 of the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle comedies produced between 1917-1920, in which Keaton co-starred alongside Arbuckle and Al St. John. In these formative works, Keaton honed his craft performing for the camera, and learned the art of filmmaking from Arbuckle, an extremely gifted comedy performer and director who, at the time, was second only to Chaplin among the screen's most popular clowns.
The set also showcases all 19 of Keaton's independently-produced silent shorts, made between 1920 and 1923, including such classics as One Week, which follows the disastrous efforts of Keaton and his new bride to put together a prefabricated house; Cops, in which Keaton finds himself pursued by the entire city police force; and The Playhouse, a technical tour-de-force with Keaton playing all of the members of the cast (and audience) of a theatrical show. This edition also features the restored version of Hard Luck, Keaton's own favorite of all his short comedies, which includes the "missing" ending with the final sight gag intact. These films, all of which were co-directed by Keaton, show him emerging as a fully-formed film artist, demonstrating both his remarkable slapstick abilities as a performer, and sophisticated visual style as a filmmaker.
The films in this collection are presented with orchestral scores by Frank Bockius, Neil Brand, Timothy Brock, Antonio Coppola, Stephen Horne, Robert Israel, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Dennis Scott, and Donald Sosin.
Special features include alternate versions of some of the shorts, such as a newly-rediscovered alternate version of the 1922 comedy The Blacksmith, containing four minutes of previously unseen material, an alternate ending of My Wife's Relations, and an alternate (politically incorrect) ending of the 1917 Arbuckle-Keaton short, Coney Island.
Other special features include a 24-page booklet with detailed film notes and essay by Jeffrey Vance, author of Buster Keaton Remembered, an introduction by film preservationist Serge Bromberg (6 min.), and an excerpt from Buster Keaton's television show Life with Buster Keaton (1951), in which he reenacts Roscoe Arbuckle's "Salomé Dance", first performed in their 1918 two-reeler The Cook.
Synopsis: As new generations discover the magic of silent cinema, Buster Keaton has emerged as one of the era's most admired and respected artists. Behind the deadpan expression and trademark porkpie hat was a filmmaking genius who conceived and engineered some of the most breathtaking stunts and feats of visual trickery, while never losing sight of slapstick cinema's primary objective: laughter.
Produced by Lobster Films, BUSTER KEATON: THE SHORTS COLLECTION includes all 32 of Keaton's extant silent shorts (thirteen of which were produced under the tutelage of comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle). These 2k restorations were performed utilizing archival film elements from around the world, and promises to be the definitive representation of Keaton's early career. Watching these films in succession, one witnesses the evolution of an artist -- from broad knockabout comedian into a filmmaker of remarkable visual sophistication.
BOX SET CONTENT
DISC 1:
The Butcher Boy (1917, 25 min.)
The Rough House (1917, 20 min.)
His Wedding Night (1917, 20 min.)
Oh Doctor! (1917, 24 min.)
Coney Island (1917, 26 min.)
Out West (1918, 21 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
Coney Island Scene Comparison
DISC 2:
The Bell Boy (1918, 26 min.)
Moonshine (1918, 18 min.)
Good Night, Nurse! (1918, 23 min.)
The Cook (1918, 20 min.)
Back Stage (1919, 21 min.)
The Hayseed (1919, 21 min.)
The Garage (1919, 22 min.)
DISC 3:
High Sign (1920, 21 min.)
One Week (1920, 22 min.)
Convict 13 (1920, 22 min.)
The Scarecrow (1920, 18 min.)
Neighbors (1921, 19 min.)
The Haunted House (1921, 24 min.)
Hard Luck (1921, 23 min.)
DISC 4:
The Goat (1921, 23 min.)
The Play House (1921, 24 min.)
The Boat (1921, 27 min.)
The Paleface (1922, 25 min.)
Cops (1922, 18 min.)
My Wife's Relations (1922, 26 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
My Wife's Relations Scene Comparison
DISC 5:
The Blacksmith (1922, 22 min.)
The Frozen North (1922, 18 min.)
Day Dreams (1922, 24 min.)
The Electric House (1922, 23 min.)
The Balloonatic (1923, 26 min.)
The Love Nest (1923, 23 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
Alternate European Version of The Blacksmith
PLUS:
The collection includes 13 of the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle comedies produced between 1917-1920, in which Keaton co-starred alongside Arbuckle and Al St. John. In these formative works, Keaton honed his craft performing for the camera, and learned the art of filmmaking from Arbuckle, an extremely gifted comedy performer and director who, at the time, was second only to Chaplin among the screen's most popular clowns.
The set also showcases all 19 of Keaton's independently-produced silent shorts, made between 1920 and 1923, including such classics as One Week, which follows the disastrous efforts of Keaton and his new bride to put together a prefabricated house; Cops, in which Keaton finds himself pursued by the entire city police force; and The Playhouse, a technical tour-de-force with Keaton playing all of the members of the cast (and audience) of a theatrical show. This edition also features the restored version of Hard Luck, Keaton's own favorite of all his short comedies, which includes the "missing" ending with the final sight gag intact. These films, all of which were co-directed by Keaton, show him emerging as a fully-formed film artist, demonstrating both his remarkable slapstick abilities as a performer, and sophisticated visual style as a filmmaker.
The films in this collection are presented with orchestral scores by Frank Bockius, Neil Brand, Timothy Brock, Antonio Coppola, Stephen Horne, Robert Israel, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Dennis Scott, and Donald Sosin.
Special features include alternate versions of some of the shorts, such as a newly-rediscovered alternate version of the 1922 comedy The Blacksmith, containing four minutes of previously unseen material, an alternate ending of My Wife's Relations, and an alternate (politically incorrect) ending of the 1917 Arbuckle-Keaton short, Coney Island.
Other special features include a 24-page booklet with detailed film notes and essay by Jeffrey Vance, author of Buster Keaton Remembered, an introduction by film preservationist Serge Bromberg (6 min.), and an excerpt from Buster Keaton's television show Life with Buster Keaton (1951), in which he reenacts Roscoe Arbuckle's "Salomé Dance", first performed in their 1918 two-reeler The Cook.
Synopsis: As new generations discover the magic of silent cinema, Buster Keaton has emerged as one of the era's most admired and respected artists. Behind the deadpan expression and trademark porkpie hat was a filmmaking genius who conceived and engineered some of the most breathtaking stunts and feats of visual trickery, while never losing sight of slapstick cinema's primary objective: laughter.
Produced by Lobster Films, BUSTER KEATON: THE SHORTS COLLECTION includes all 32 of Keaton's extant silent shorts (thirteen of which were produced under the tutelage of comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle). These 2k restorations were performed utilizing archival film elements from around the world, and promises to be the definitive representation of Keaton's early career. Watching these films in succession, one witnesses the evolution of an artist -- from broad knockabout comedian into a filmmaker of remarkable visual sophistication.
BOX SET CONTENT
DISC 1:
The Butcher Boy (1917, 25 min.)
The Rough House (1917, 20 min.)
His Wedding Night (1917, 20 min.)
Oh Doctor! (1917, 24 min.)
Coney Island (1917, 26 min.)
Out West (1918, 21 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
Coney Island Scene Comparison
DISC 2:
The Bell Boy (1918, 26 min.)
Moonshine (1918, 18 min.)
Good Night, Nurse! (1918, 23 min.)
The Cook (1918, 20 min.)
Back Stage (1919, 21 min.)
The Hayseed (1919, 21 min.)
The Garage (1919, 22 min.)
DISC 3:
High Sign (1920, 21 min.)
One Week (1920, 22 min.)
Convict 13 (1920, 22 min.)
The Scarecrow (1920, 18 min.)
Neighbors (1921, 19 min.)
The Haunted House (1921, 24 min.)
Hard Luck (1921, 23 min.)
DISC 4:
The Goat (1921, 23 min.)
The Play House (1921, 24 min.)
The Boat (1921, 27 min.)
The Paleface (1922, 25 min.)
Cops (1922, 18 min.)
My Wife's Relations (1922, 26 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
My Wife's Relations Scene Comparison
DISC 5:
The Blacksmith (1922, 22 min.)
The Frozen North (1922, 18 min.)
Day Dreams (1922, 24 min.)
The Electric House (1922, 23 min.)
The Balloonatic (1923, 26 min.)
The Love Nest (1923, 23 min.)
BONUS FEATURE:
Alternate European Version of The Blacksmith
PLUS:
- 24-page booklet with detailed film notes and essay by Jeffrey Vance, author of Buster Keaton Remembered
- Introduction by film preservationist Serge Bromberg (6 min.)