The General

BFI Film Classics

by Peter Kramer

Offering a fresh perspective on The General, arguably one of the most successful American films of the silent era, this insightful text analyses its initial critical reception and the thematic and stylistic characteristics of the film that made it difficult for critics to appreciate at the time, but led to its celebration by later generations.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2016

Reviews

[Frank Hering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of Buster Keaton's The General will want to read this book. The author, Peter Kramer, writes clearly, and he structures his argument coherently. About half of the book discusses the context in which Keaton made this movie. The author pays special attention to the costs and profits of Keaton's previous features, contemporary reviews, and publicity materials created by the film's distributor (United Artists). Together, this information shows what audiences were expecting from a Buster Keaton movie and why The General wasn't as celebrated then as it is now. Kramer goes on to analyze the movie's narrative, thematic, and stylistic characteristics and finds that what audiences didn't appreciate then are often the very things we cherish about the movie nowadays. In this regard, he discusses Keaton's "frozen face" and his preference for long shots (where the actor's complete body is in the frame) and extreme long shots (in which the actor is dwarfed by his or her surroundings). The book includes a lot of aptly chosen stills from the movie, which really helps the reader to understand the points the author is making. I believe general readers will find this book informative, intriguing, and easy to follow. At the same time, I believe students and scholars will find the book very useful for its presentation of contextual material (contemporary reviews, the United Artists' press book, figures on the cost and profits of Keaton's features, and the book on which the movie is based), as well as his interpretation of narrative and thematic issues. I've read a number of books in the "BFI Classic Films" series; this is one of the best.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The volumes in the BFI Film Classics series are only around a hundred pages, with much space taken up by stills, so often they don’t manage to say all that much about the respective film. But this entry about Buster Keaton’s The General is very informative and indeed feels like a substantial monograph. Kramer delves into the making of the film, from how Keaton adapted the real-life story of a Civil War train hijacking to the complex shoot in faraway Oregon. He describes how The General was (misleadingly) advertised to cinemagoers upon the film’s release in 1926, which goes a long way towards explaining why was not successful at the time. There is a very detailed exploration of cinematography and mise-en-scène, revealing the enormous craft that Keaton put into the film.

As someone going through the whole BFI Film Classics series, I thought this was just my luck, as I personally don’t care for this film all that much. But for anyone wanting a book about The General, this is it.