OK, so Orson Welles says that this is the best Civil War movie ever made! That's a mighty bold statement. There are a lot of really good Civil War movies out there (e.g. Gone with the Wind, Gettysburg, Lincoln, etc.) So, question no. 1 that you need to answer today is: do you agree or disagree with Orson's statement? Is this the best Civil War movie ever made?In addition, please answer one of the following questions:
- What do you like most about this film? What do you like least?
- What patterns have you noticed in Buster Keaton's filmmaking and comedic style? Please provide examples from specific films.
- What did you learn about history by watching this film? What questions about history did it raise? And we'll think you're extra awesome if you look up the answers to the questions and post those too.
- Who do you like better: Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd? Why? Are the things you prefer about each of them?
- Did you think The General was funny? Why or why not?
- How did you feel about how Buster Keaton chose to portray women in this film? Why? Feel free to comment on his portrayal of women in his other films as well.
Genres students: please also answer the following question:
- Of all the films we've watched in this class so far, which one has given you the most inspiration / ideas for your own silent comedy script? Explain.
I preferred Buster Keaton to Harold Lloyd. I didn't find Harold Lloyd that funny, and that may because I missed a lot of that course, but I couldn't really get into his films like I did with Buster Keaton. I caught myself continuously nodding off during the Harold Lloyd I caught, while Buster Keaton held my attention better. His comedy was a lot funnier, with the way there was a gag and a stoic look. I could just relate better with Buster than I could Harold. (Brennan Hanks)
ReplyDeleteIt is fantastic and I really liked the train chase!
ReplyDeleteI can't really say I disliked anything about it.
All his films have seemed as though he was trying to impress a girl, but then she becomes the damsel in distress, and he has to save her (i.e. in every one of the films we watched with him). But he always has to go through something ridiculous, like in the General, when he has to chase the trains in his train!
Film makers back then really must have liked the Confederacy and enjoyed the racism!
I definitely like Buster Keaton a bit more but they're both neck and neck with eachother!
The general was absolutely hilarious with the way he tried to get into the army, and especially the way he escaped the union!
I didn't really think much of it throughout the movie... Too much action!
I've now seen 6 silent films and this one is the best. The General is one of the best from Buster Keaton and one of the best silent films of all time. Originally 7 chances is one of my favorites but now this one is.
ReplyDeleteThe story was written perfectly for a character for Buster Keaton a man who wants to join the civil war couldn't get in, but he transport armies with a train to south until he actually goes to the south and gets in a big chase against the southern.
The acting was great Buster Keaton is one of those actors that's just not in the right place he's like the odd one of the movie which he stands out through out the whole movie. The other cast is still very good giving us great acting through facial expressions and body language.
The Stunts and the action scenes are AMAZING. All I want to know is how could they do this in the 1920's? It makes you think and wonder how they can film around in big sets and two trains. This movie is huge the production is very big, in fact the whole story and the action scenes are so huge.
My only gripe with this movie is the ending goes on, after when Buster's character tells the whole army to attack the south it could've stop there I still like the army battle but I do wish it could've been a little bit shorter.
Overall this movie is great better than The Freshman, Safety Last, Grandma's Boy, One Week, Our Hospitality, and even better than 7 chances. The story is great, the acting is great, and I love the climax
A(SOLID)+
Best film of the year: 1926
Cameron Olsen . . . Buster Keaton's The General
ReplyDeleteI suppose that I do agree with Orson Welles' statement, that this is the greatest American Civil War film ever. At least that is because this is the only American Civil War film I remember seeing.
I love this film, I had seen it before this class and it still is my favorite silent film I have ever seen, even after Safety Last! and Seven Chances. What I like most about this film: I really like the great mix of comedy and drama. In one scene you have a war going on and in another scene you have Buster Keaton fooling around in the way that Buster Keaton does. It really evens things out and it makes it more than just a simple comedy, the drama (and the action and the suspense, too). What I like least about this film: Nothing. Of all the films we've watched in this class, this is the only one I really can't say anything bad about at all. Well, this and Safety Last!. I really did like Safety Last!. But The General's still mah favorite.
Well, so long Buster Keaton. Your week is now over, but I will definitely see you again. At home. On Netflix. That would be all.
I don't think that it was the best civil war movie, I think that this was almost a satire of the civil war, which I think is great. But I still think that there are better civil war movies, mainly because that this movie doesn't really go over any of the hardship of what the soldiers on both sides had to face, and in my opinion, the isn't a civil war movie that I would call the best. I think Gone With The Wind is maybe the closest to being the best though.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Buster Keaton portray women very well, not intentionally, but I kinda see him portray women as helpless damsels in distress. In The General, the woman is portrayed as a naïve, helpless, and clueless woman who had no clue on what to do. And in most of his other movies, (excluding 7 Chances.) the are just damsels in distress waiting for him to save them, but that is fine I'm still okay with that. I still really enjoy watching his films.
-Jovanie
Well I don't really know if I agree with Orson's statement about this movie being the best civil war movie. The reason why is because I haven't really seen any other civil war movies that I remember. But yes, I suppose that I can understand why he thought that this was the best. Well because Orson was very fond of Buster Keaton and at the time there wasn't really much civil war films. Also it was a pretty good movie, it was well written. The effects were pretty good for that movie, it had action and comedy, which was cool.
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked most about this movie was the props, the action and how it was like basically. I really liked how they did the soldiers, they looked really good and exactly like they did during the civil war. It really felt like it was at that time. I thought that the train scenes were really great. They were really cool and fun to watch and a lot went on with them. Like when the Union train was chasing after Buster in the train he stole. The battle scene at the end was really cool.
What I didn't like about the movie was mostly the female main character. I don't know but she just really bothered me. It was probably the way she acted. She was useless, annoying, rude, and she just seemed to make things a lot worse. The part where she told Buster that she wouldn't take to him unless he was in uniform. That really pissed me off. Eh I guess I didn't like how Buster was in the Confederate and how they basically really screwed over the Union. By unrevealing their plans and such. To end this, I think it was called the General because that's what the train he rode was called, yes and cause he became one at the end.
i thought the movie was awesome cuz of its story and how well it made it look at feel like real war and i like how the main charter is in the person who they won't let him do anything but in the way this movie is and how the charters are in this movie is good its my fav buster keten movie ~yami gaia
ReplyDeleteI would agree that this is the best civil war statement, but I disagree with your using Gone with the Wind as an example. I don't think it's a Civil War movie. It's set during the Civil War and the Civil War is a minor key-point but it's not a Civil War movie. It doesn't focus on the Civil War. That would be like saying that Forrest Gump is a Vietnam movie because he goes to Vietnam, or that The Wolverine is a World War 2 movie because it starts near Nagasaki when the Atomic Bomb is dropped. Anyway, that was off-topic.
ReplyDeleteI really love this movie. I love that it's from the viewpoint of the South but isn't super racist,(*cough cough* Birth of a Nation).
I really enjoy Keaton's slapstick style and attitude. He's always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I've already answered the question as to who's my favorite etc. several times so I'm going to skip that one.
I think of all the films I've seen in this class, The General gives me the most inspiration.
I haven't really watched that many Civil War movies but I'll have to say I agree. This is a pretty good movie. Once again, I didn't watch it in class but I finally watched and I liked it.
ReplyDelete-Koren
I thought the General was sort of funny, I liked it. I chuckled a couple of times. But that's pretty much it.
Buster Keaton's film style, to me, is my least favorite than the other two we studied for silent film. I can't really pin point why. Maybe it's because I think he's boring. That's just my opinion though.
I thought it was sort of funny, it made me chuckle but that's about it.
Of all the films we watched in class which one gave me the most ideas? I would say 'City lights' I absolutely adored that movie.
I wouldn't say it's the best civil war movie ever made, but it's the best civil war movie I've seen so far.
ReplyDeleteI think The General was pretty funny, I laughed a couple of times.
I think I prefer Harold Lloyd so far, from what I've seen. Harold is pretty funny, and that's what I like about him.