Amazon.com video review:
Buster Keaton was arguably the cinema's first modernist, an old-fashioned romantic with a 20th-century mind behind a deadpan visage. His films
brim with some of the most breathtaking stunts and ingenious gags ever put on
film, all perfectly engineered to look effortless. And, as Kino's magnificent
11-disc box set The Art of Buster Keaton conclusively shows, they are
among the funniest ever made. Keaton warped gags until they left the plane of
reality in such shorts as The Playhouse (1921) and The Frozen
North (1922), and takes a logic-defying leap into the very nature of cinema
itself in his hilarious Sherlock Jr. (1924). He takes on the mechanical
world with Rube Golberg ingenuity in The Navigator (1924) and perfects
his match between man and massive machine in Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928),
which features the funniest hurricane scene ever put to film, and The
General (1927), one of the greatest comedies of all time.
In addition to the previously released 11 features and 19 shorts from the peak
of Keaton's career, this set boasts the exclusive Keaton Plus, a
collection of rarities and tributes. The greatest find is the long-lost ending
to Hard Luck (1921), now restored to complete the film's final inspired
gag. Other highlights include newly discovered scenes from Daydreams
(1922) and The Love Nest (1923), entertaining excerpts from Keaton's 1951
TV show Life with Buster Keaton (he's still got it!), and his rare
dramatic turn in the 1954 television play The Awakening. --Sean
Axmaker
