The General

Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

Overview

"Image Entertainment teams up with Kino Video to present the DVD for one of the greatest comedies, The General, starring the stone-faced Buster Keaton. Presented in its original full-frame aspect ratio, the image shows its age, and really could use more r

Product Details

Release Date:	10/26/1999
UPC:	0738329013127
Original Release:	1927
Source:	IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	58,481

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marion Mack	Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender	Capt. Anderson
Jim Farley	Gen, Thatcher
Frederick Vroom	Actor,Southern General
Charles Henry Smith	Actor,Mr. Lee
Frank Barnes	Actor
Joe Keaton	Union General,Johnnie Gray,Actor
Mike Donlin	Union General
Tom Nawn	Union General
Richard Allen	brat Annabelle
Jimmy Bryant	Raider
Budd Fine	Raider
Eddie Foster	Union Railroad Fireman
Frank Hagney	Confederate Recruiter,Recruiting Officer
Ray Hanford	Raider
Jack Hanlon	Boy Who Follows Johnny
Anthony Harvey	Raider
Ray Thomas	Raider
Ross McCutcheon	Raider
Charles Phillips	Raider
Edward Hearn	Union Officer
Joe Hisaishi	Composer
Lee Erwin	Composer

Technical Credits

Buster Keaton

Clyde Bruckman

Al Boasberg

Charles Smith

Joseph M. Schenck	Producer
Buster Keaton	Screenwriter,Producer
Clyde Bruckman	Screenwriter
Al Boasberg	Screenwriter
Charles Smith	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. Chapter Selections
1. "The General" Opening Titles [2:31]
2. A Courtship [3:03]
3. First in Line [7:49]
4. Trouble at Big Shanty [2:09]
5. Johnnie to the Rescue [7:10]
6. Staying on Track [5:20]
7. Into Enemy Territory [3:47]
8. Lost, Cold and Hungry [4:33]
9. Escape in the Night [4:08]
10. Taking the Train [4:41]
11. In Pursuit [5:01]
12. Slowing Them Down [5:06]
13. Drastic Measures [2:02]
14. The Rock River Bridge [2:53]
15. The Yanks Are Coming! [3:12]
16. Battle at Rock River [4:04]
17. Take Aim [2:17]
18. Heroes of the Day [4:08]
19. Alone at Last [1:00]
20. "The Playhouse" Opening Titles [2:46]
21. The Keaton Minstrels [3:47]
22. Backstage Antics [3:44]
23. Monkey Business [4:47]
24. Zooave Guards [3:24]
25. That's Entertainment! [4:43]
26. "Cops" Opening Titles [1:58]
27. A Good Businessman [4:07]
28. Transportation Trouble [3:54]
29. Policemen on Parade [3:29]
30. Massive Manhunt [4:45]

Menu

Side #1 --
Start Feature

Editorial Reviews

Buster Keaton perfectly balanced romance, action and comedy in his most admired film and personal favorite, a Civil War story about an engineer and his eponymous locomotive. Based on a true incident involving a hijacked Confederate train, Keaton strove to make the film as authentic as possible, shooting on location in Oregon to get the proper track gauge and sinking an actual locomotive engine at the film's climax (in reportedly the most expensive single take for a silent film). The lighting and composition recall Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs, while tracking shots following Keaton's locomotive adventures further displayed his technical expertise. The train became Keaton's supreme comic prop in the two intricately devised, and narratively mirrored, chase sequences involving his efforts to elude Union pursuers; the humorous business accompanying Keaton's retrieval of the General, and girlfriend, sent up romantic fantasies and war heroics. The effort seemed to be for naught when The General received negative reviews in 1927 and failed to make a profit. The General's reputation, along with Keaton's, however, was resuscitated in the 1950s; The General became Keaton's masterpiece, joining Charles Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) as one of the greatest silent comedies ever made.