tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post7182332683876163649..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: Buster Keaton in THE HIGH SIGN (1920)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-6935726629454755372011-08-14T23:27:16.008-04:002011-08-14T23:27:16.008-04:00Sam, I'm glad you're looking forward. My p...Sam, I'm glad you're looking forward. My plan is to do one a week but that'll depend on whether or not new arrivals at the library or Netflix streaming distract me. I'm glad that people like you are making the effort, and that Film Forum gave you the opportunity, to turn youngsters on to silent comedy.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-45853257456083847612011-08-12T14:27:33.682-04:002011-08-12T14:27:33.682-04:00Samuel:
I welcome your summary announcement near ...Samuel:<br /><br />I welcome your summary announcement near the end of your splendid review of THE HIGH SIGN that you may well now embark on a new and glorious Keaton venture, examining the shorts. As it is now, I am most grateful for getting this gift from you, as I only just saw this film weeks back at the Film Forum where it was paired with the feature BATTLING BUTLER. I have the new Kino Keaton blu-ray set on order now, after sticking with the more comprehensive MoC box over the past months. In any case, I will agree that THE HIGH SIGN may on balance be less than some of the other great Keaton shorts, though there's no question it boasts much to revel in. When you say this:<br /><br />"There's definitely a self-conscious quality to the short, most obviously seen in what may be its best known shot. Tiny Tim has encountered the cop Buster robbed earlier, who is embarrassed upon encountering the menace to pull a banana out of his holster. Tim snatches it, scares the cop away, and eats the banana, letting the peel drop to the sidewalk like the slob he is. Here comes Buster around a corner. You know what must happen -- except it doesn't. Our hero walks right past the peel and gives the titular high sign -- the crossed hands in front of the nose, fingers flapping like wings -- right at the camera and the audience...."<br /><br />I smile in fond recollection, but I perhaps most compellingly recall the sequence where Buster runs through the trap doors, which is a virtuoso gag that recalls some similar set pieces in OUR HOSPITALITY, SHERLOCK JR. and STEAMBOAT BILL JR.<br /><br />The Keaton Festival that just ended this past Monday with screenings of the superlative SEVEN CHANCES and the fine short "The Balloonatic" was one of the great cultural experiences of my life for a host of reasons (my kids were there for all 12 appearances and one was selected as the stage "picker" of the weekly prizes) and we made some new friends.<br /><br />In view of all this Keaton mania (I guess he has now moved into a flat footed tie with Chaplin for my overall affections) I say your op;ening salvo on this icon is the proverbial "just what the doctor odered!"Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com