Movie Discussion: The General (1926) by Buster Keaton

One of the most revered comedies of the silent era, The General finds hapless Confederate railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny's fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton's boundless wit and dexterity. The Southern engineer who must single-handedly foil the enemy is a classic Keaton character: stoical, determined, and preternaturally straight-faced as chaos reigns around him.

“Keaton’s films have such a graceful perfection, such a meshing of story, character and episode, that they unfold like music.” (Roger Ebert)

“Arguably the greatest screen comedy ever made.” (Time Out)

"A shining example of brilliantly inventive but never flashy film direction. Great art, but also ageless entertainment." (Sight and Sound)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's discuss the century-old silent film classic The General (1926), directed, produced, edited, and written by Buster Keaton (who also starred in the film), and recently voted the 95th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of film critics and scholars. The film was inspired by a real American Civil War incident when Union soldiers hijacked a Confederate train, recounted in the 1889 memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger.

Please watch the movie in advance and bring your thoughts, reactions, and queries to share with us at the meeting.

You can stream a high quality version here (you can adjust quality in the player settings) or rent it on various platforms online.

A trailer.

Check out other movie discussions in the group every Friday and occasionally other days.