The GeneralDirected by Clyde Bruckman and Buster KeatonWritten by Al Boasberg, Clyde Bruckman and Bu

The General
Directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton
Written by Al Boasberg, Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton
USA, 1926

Watched (at Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford) on 20th June 2014
With live musical accompaniment by Ric Elsworth (percussion) and Peter Foggitt (piano)

Tonight was a truly special cinematic experience. I’ve been a Buster Keaton fan since I first saw The General on DVD six or seven years ago. Since then I’ve seen nearly all his silent films in numerous editions, but this was my first time seeing the Great Stone Face on the big screen - with live music, no less!

Live music brings the film alive for the audience. There were ooh’s and ahh’s aplenty as Buster Keaton performed death-defying feats for the camera, accompanied by cascading piano, rumbling of tom-toms, the shocking crack of a snare, clashing cymbals…

One scene (in which Buster uses one railway sleeper to knock another off the tracks) even elicited a ripple of applause. It makes me a little emotional to think that a stunt from nearly 90 years ago made a group of people in Oxford clap tonight. Bravo, Buster!