I have been a fan of John Bunny since I first saw A CURE FOR POKERITIS (1912) back in 1998 as part of the SLAPSTICK ENCYCLOPEDIA box set. I had never heard of him which is saying something as I have been a silent film enthusiast since 1962 when I first saw a Harold Lloyd compilation. I was taken by his size, his gnome like visage, and his physical restraint. No slapstick here. I also liked the relationship between him and Flora Finch as his wife even though, as rumor has it, they cordially disliked each other. If they did, then they were true professionals as they made over 150 short films together from 1911-1914.
The next time I saw Bunny (outside of an appearance in Winsor McCay's GERTIE THE DINOSAUR as a club member), was in another box set collection TREASURES FROM AMERICAN FILM ARCHIVES (2000) which contained the comedy HER CROWNING GLORY (1911). The last time was in the 2007 collection REEL BASEBALL which has HEARTS AND DIAMONDS (1914) which was one of Bunny's last films and is also on this new DVD. The only reference on him that I ran across was in Anthony Slide's SILENT PLAYERS and it was completely dismissive.
And now comes this documentary JOHN BUNNY: FILM'S FIRST KING OF COMEDY which goes a long way to make up for the neglect Bunny has received over the past century. In addition to the 42 minute documentary, the disc contains 4 Vitagraph comedies from the Library of Congress. Although advertised as being from 35mm prints, HEARTS AND DIAMONDS is clearly not. Of the 3 new shorts THE FEUDISTS (1913), which comes from England, looks the best. BUNNY's DILEMNA (1913) and KITTY & THE COWBOYS (1911) give us the chance to see Bunny in drag.
The disc is obviously a labor of love as the recorded interview with John Bunny historian Sam Gill is done live without any kind of voiceover and sounds it. His interview is well incorporated into Tony Susnick's documentary but the additional 31 minute stand alone interview goes on a little too long. The condition of the comedy prints varies. HEARTS & DIAMONDS is obviously from 16mm and the others have some sort of nitrate decomposition but we are lucky to have them at all. I reccomend this DVD to anyone interested in the early history of the movies and in silent film comedy...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
The next time I saw Bunny (outside of an appearance in Winsor McCay's GERTIE THE DINOSAUR as a club member), was in another box set collection TREASURES FROM AMERICAN FILM ARCHIVES (2000) which contained the comedy HER CROWNING GLORY (1911). The last time was in the 2007 collection REEL BASEBALL which has HEARTS AND DIAMONDS (1914) which was one of Bunny's last films and is also on this new DVD. The only reference on him that I ran across was in Anthony Slide's SILENT PLAYERS and it was completely dismissive.
And now comes this documentary JOHN BUNNY: FILM'S FIRST KING OF COMEDY which goes a long way to make up for the neglect Bunny has received over the past century. In addition to the 42 minute documentary, the disc contains 4 Vitagraph comedies from the Library of Congress. Although advertised as being from 35mm prints, HEARTS AND DIAMONDS is clearly not. Of the 3 new shorts THE FEUDISTS (1913), which comes from England, looks the best. BUNNY's DILEMNA (1913) and KITTY & THE COWBOYS (1911) give us the chance to see Bunny in drag.
The disc is obviously a labor of love as the recorded interview with John Bunny historian Sam Gill is done live without any kind of voiceover and sounds it. His interview is well incorporated into Tony Susnick's documentary but the additional 31 minute stand alone interview goes on a little too long. The condition of the comedy prints varies. HEARTS & DIAMONDS is obviously from 16mm and the others have some sort of nitrate decomposition but we are lucky to have them at all. I reccomend this DVD to anyone interested in the early history of the movies and in silent film comedy...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.