I had never seen this before and finally watched it last night. The majority of the film up to the last 10 minutes is pretty standard silent movie making with not much to stand up and take notice of. For the life of me I don't know how Keaton didn't kill himself or break his bones as he repeatedly falls or flips or is thrown down large distances. He just gets up, dusts himself off, rubs his head a bit and then gets back to work. It is much fun to watch but you think, this has got to hurt, doesn't it? I mean, it would hurt me if I had any of these pranks fall upon me.
What everyone talks about is the last part of the film where a huge storm blows throw the small town. You can see that the wind is all artificial and that's fine. What is so hilarious is how it makes Keaton look, as he tilts, leans and wallows against a fantastically strong wind and rain storm. The special effects of having buildings crash down all around him are breathtaking and very funny. Obviously he and the director had to block out exactly to the square inch where Keaton had to walk lest a crumbling building crush him as it came down.
There are some buildings that appear to fall out of the sky and then within seconds are torn apart, all of the wooden beams just collapsing within inches of Keaton as he struggles to move out of the way. One after the other, building after building is torn up and Keaton is dashed about like a leaf in so many hilarious attempts to stay on his feet. How he didn't get seriously hurt in that section of the film is purely miraculous.
There are some rather obvious limitations to the special effects at that time but as we watch we don't care: it's just so much fun seeing how Keaton avoids getting demolished as the sets are dismantled in such a fury. The hurricane scene is one of the marvels of the history of cinema and is worth waiting for at the end. Keaton, with Chaplin, was a master of physical humor, often at the expense of what must have been terrific punishment for his body. No one would be allowed by a producer or director or insurance company to make these types of films today. The closest I have seen anyone come to this is the hair raising antics of Jackie Chan; and we should remember that he has broken so many bones in his body in the process of making his films. I am not aware of how badly Keaton suffered, but he must have had his bruises along the way. Terrific silent action but ridiculous musical score added only most recently; the film transfer was fine. Keaton at his best, not to be missed.
What everyone talks about is the last part of the film where a huge storm blows throw the small town. You can see that the wind is all artificial and that's fine. What is so hilarious is how it makes Keaton look, as he tilts, leans and wallows against a fantastically strong wind and rain storm. The special effects of having buildings crash down all around him are breathtaking and very funny. Obviously he and the director had to block out exactly to the square inch where Keaton had to walk lest a crumbling building crush him as it came down.
There are some buildings that appear to fall out of the sky and then within seconds are torn apart, all of the wooden beams just collapsing within inches of Keaton as he struggles to move out of the way. One after the other, building after building is torn up and Keaton is dashed about like a leaf in so many hilarious attempts to stay on his feet. How he didn't get seriously hurt in that section of the film is purely miraculous.
There are some rather obvious limitations to the special effects at that time but as we watch we don't care: it's just so much fun seeing how Keaton avoids getting demolished as the sets are dismantled in such a fury. The hurricane scene is one of the marvels of the history of cinema and is worth waiting for at the end. Keaton, with Chaplin, was a master of physical humor, often at the expense of what must have been terrific punishment for his body. No one would be allowed by a producer or director or insurance company to make these types of films today. The closest I have seen anyone come to this is the hair raising antics of Jackie Chan; and we should remember that he has broken so many bones in his body in the process of making his films. I am not aware of how badly Keaton suffered, but he must have had his bruises along the way. Terrific silent action but ridiculous musical score added only most recently; the film transfer was fine. Keaton at his best, not to be missed.