Home › Books › Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life
Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life
by
75/99
Critics' Rating Index
94/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
95/99
Volume of Reviews
46/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.
About This Book
From acclaimed cultural and film historian James Curtis--a major biography, the first in more than two decades, of the legendary comedian and filmmaker who elevated physical comedy to the highest of arts and whose ingenious films remain as startling, innovative, modern--and irresistible--today as they were when they beguiled audiences almost a century ago. It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton "The Great Stone Face." Keaton's face, Agee wrote, ranked almost with Lincoln's as an early American archetype; it was haunting, handsome, almost beautiful, yet it was also irreducibly funny. Keaton was the only major comedian who kept sentiment almost entirely out of his work and . . . he brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights." Mel Brooks: "A lot of my daring came from Keaton." Martin Scorsese, influenced by Keaton's pictures in the making of Raging Bull: "The only person who had the right attitude about boxing in the movies for me," Scorsese said, "was Buster Keaton." Keaton's deadpan stare in a porkpie hat was as recognizable as Charlie Chaplin's tramp and Harold Lloyd's straw boater and spectacles, and, with W. C. Fields, the four were each considered a comedy king--but Keaton was, and still is, considered to be the greatest of them all. His iconic look and acrobatic brilliance obscured the fact that behind the camera Keaton was one of our most gifted filmmakers. Through nineteen short comedies and twelve magnificent features, he distinguished himself with such seminal works as Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr., The Cameraman, and his masterpiece, The General. Now James Curtis, admired biographer of Preston Sturges ("definitive"--Variety), W. C. Fields ("by far the fullest, fairest and most touching account we have yet had. Or are likely to have"--Richard Schickel, front page of The New York Times Book Review), and Spencer Tracy ("monumental; definitive"--Kirkus Reviews), gives us the richest, most comprehensive life to date of the legendary actor, stunt artist, screenwriter, director--master.
Reviews
"In this authoritative portrait, Curtis portrays his subject as 'a gentle soul, so quiet and unassuming,' sometimes startled by acclaim and happiest when he was working."
"Keaton was as much a technical innovator as he was a comic, and Curtis's book goes into painstaking detail about how these effects were achieved."
"A valuable addition to the literature of film history."
"Curtis is particularly good on the early years."
"Fans of Keaton, as well as classic cinema, will be delighted to read James Curtis's new book ..."
"Curtis does commendable work with the frustratingly necessary job of movie scene descriptions—a particularly daunting task with silent films, where one runs the risk of either bogging down the reader with superfluous detail or overlooking the qualities that endear Keaton to us in the present day ..."
"Buster Keaton...emerges as a great auteur and a martyr to Hollywood in this vibrant biography ..."
"They are grand lists of considerable length, a marvelous coda to a wonderful book."
"This hefty, swift-moving book is both a superbly researched and fascinating account of the star's life and an astute, articulate and informed look at the many classic films and shorts he wrote, directed and starred in ..."
"[an] overstuffed book, which belongs in any film fan's library for providing a close look at the silent era and all of Keaton's efforts, whether big or small, triumph or failure."
Preview
Reader Reviews
0 reviewsSign in to write a review.
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!