• Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
    • Recent Reviews
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact

My Favorite Movies 3 — Our Hospitality (Buster Keaton, 1923)

September 4, 2006

Chaplin or Keaton…that is the question. Actually, not really, they are both great (along with Lloyd, Langdon and the rest of them). Still, I always answer with a resounding “Keaton!” and Our Hospitality is a perfect example of why.

Our Hospitality is the third full length film from Buster Keaton. Buster had little control over his first film The Saphead (notable primarily for a marvelous stock market sequence at the end that must have been all Buster’s doing), and his second film, The Three Ages, did not quite reach the level of his best work (though full of brilliant sequences). Our Hospitality is quite simply one of Buster’s masterpieces. The story, gags and Buster persona were all in peak form; surpassing even the best work by Chaplin, Lloyd and Langdon in their full length films.

Keaton’s films were more than a sequence of loosely strung together gag sequences. This is not to say that there were never any scenes that were only inserted for their gag value. But Keaton often made sure that his stories were fully fleshed out and not just excuses for his jokes.

While its basic plot is fairly simple, every frame of Our Hospitality is evidence of the care that Buster took in making it a series of great jokes and a great movie. Whole sequences go by without a single gag and yet they definitely belong in the movie. Chaplin also invested a great deal of care in his underlying stories, but often ruined them with layers of sappy heavy-handed sentimentality and pathos.

While a great movie in its own right, Our Hospitality is also one of the funniest silent comedies. The sheer inventiveness of the humor and quantity of brilliant gags has never been equaled by anyone else. Harold Lloyd came the closest since he consistently hired the best gag writers. This is no slight on his abilities, Buster also hired writers and only Chaplin worked alone. Still even a film like Lloyd’s The Kid Brother (packed with more funny jokes than probably any other comedy), can not compare to Our Hospitality. The film is full of amazing sequences of expertly timed gags that flow effortlessly into each other without breaking the illusion of the story. The beginning train ride is a perfect example of this.

Finally, the Buster Keaton persona is what personally elevates his movies above those made by others for me. Chaplin was the only other silent film comedian with as much charisma and unique presence as Keaton. And the lack of this is what knocks Harold Lloyd out of the top two for me. His on screen persona is just not as interesting as those of Chaplin and Keaton. Keaton was more than just the guy who didnt make any expressions; he was an indescribable screen presence and one of the most gifted and creative comedians of his time. This and the above qualities are all fully represented in Our Hospitality, one of his finest movies.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share

Film  / My Favorite Movies

Leave A Reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Recent Comments

    • Shane on Top Ten Best Classic Black Metal Logos
    • BBK on Five More Signs That the Underground Metal Band You Are Listening to Might be Racist
    • Anonymous on Boys will be Boys: Double Standards in McLintock! and The Awful Truth.
    • isley.unruh on Brilliant Board Games 1 – Krosmaster: Arena
    • Boosh on Brilliant Board Games 1 – Krosmaster: Arena
  • Recent Posts

    • Wrestling Fan Sign Hot Takes
    • RTfISP 11: Operation Moses
    • Notes from the Library
    • Top five 2023 New Year’s Resolutions for www.isleyunruh.com
    • Painting in Miniature 6: Blood Bowl
  • Categories

    • Art (5)
    • Books (12)
      • Only the Good Parts (6)
    • Comics (6)
    • Film (249)
      • Best Movies of the Decade (2)
      • Best Movies of the Year (5)
      • Cinema Scripture School (4)
      • James Bond Picture Books (2)
      • Mini Movie Reviews (98)
      • My Favorite Movies (78)
      • Year in Reviews (6)
    • Food and Cooking (9)
    • Games (52)
      • Brilliant Board Games (2)
      • Descent D&D (7)
      • Mini Board Game Reviews (12)
      • Painting in Miniature (6)
      • RE-Zork (10)
    • Holidays (21)
      • April Fool's (8)
      • Halloween (2)
    • Internet (30)
      • Memes I Missed (21)
      • The Art of Trolling (4)
    • Lists (49)
    • Mailbag Monday (86)
    • Math and Science (3)
    • Me (60)
      • Rousing Tales from Isley's Spirited Past (12)
    • Metal Music (121)
      • Album Artwork for the Ages (3)
      • Battle Vests of the KVLT & TR00 (3)
      • Best Metal of the Year (6)
      • Extreme Metal Radio Edits (2)
      • Mid-month Metal Masterpiece (74)
      • Racism in Metal (6)
    • Myth and Fantasy (8)
      • Archetypical (4)
    • Nerd Open Letters (20)
    • Non-Metal Music (102)
      • Minor Key Music (90)
    • Other (2)
    • Philosophy (3)
    • Sports and Fitness (8)
    • Spotlight Posts (60)
    • Tales from Center Valley High (19)
      • Goth Blog (6)
      • Jock Blog (7)
      • Snob Blog (6)
    • Tolkien (97)
      • The Lost Chapters (6)
      • Travels in Middle-earth (76)
    • TV (5)
    • War (7)
  • Archives

  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org



  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
© Copyright www.isleyunruh.com