Review

Fuck CGI. Fuck it so much. I already made a dread proclamation that there was to be only one CGI film a year back in Shane. But now...yeah I think it's gotta go. Buster Keaton is doing insane shit here...what's your excuse? Oh so you wanna throw a train off a bridge, so you think the CGI's the only option? Get fucked.

Super super fun. I've really enjoyed nearly all of our silent films. (A scathing eye glances at Intolerance) I would imagine this is an effect of "If anything has survived nearly 100 years in the public imagination, it's clearly the cream of the crop." And so we're watching some of the best of the best and there's nothing necessarily special about silent films in particular. But I do find it a fascinating medium. Needing to convey as much information as possible visually forces you to think about what's actually important. I definitely feel that the best silent films are those with minimal subtitle slides. The ones that have leaned on that more (Intolerance), I have not liked as much. Purely from a visual storytelling perspective.

All of the train bits were the best, here. Loved watching our goonish Union boys coming after Buster. I never really thought about train warfare, but it's quite exciting. You get some good racing up and down the train cars itself. The skullduggery of fucking with the tracks and the quickly trying to repair them. (that famous bit where he picks up the railroad tie and then uses it to get another one out of the way made me goddamn scream)

Also the muttonstache...I am a fan. This fella below. I just find it dashing is all, I feel like it's primed to make a comeback. Maybe I'm crazy and need to be put away for my own safety.