Buster Keaton and the decline of the silent film era 1
Silent Films
Introduction.
The mental image that many people have of a silent film is of a simple, black and white film, perhaps grainy and distorted in image, depicting a time long gone. With modern, dialogue driven narratives in film, it is easy to forget that dialogue is not the only way to drive a story, dialogue does not necessarily need to be spoken out loud in order to be effective, and that many actors had built careers out of silent films- careers that came to be in peril with the addition of sound to film.
Accompanying Music and Sound Effects. A common misconception about silent films is that they were presented without any sound at all, leaving audiences to draw meaning …show more content…
After a lucky encounter with film star Fatty Arbuckle, Keaton was invited to star in Arbuckle’s short film, the Butcher Boy. After Arbuckle had moved onto feature films, Keaton overtook Arbuckle’s old studio, and used it to produce his own films (IMDB). “Of all the best silent comedians, Keaton was the most interested in the medium itself. Others were essentially filming stage bits polished for the film, with the camera a few rows back. But when Keaton apprenticed himself to Arbuckle… he wanted to know everything” (Austerlitz, 2010). Keaton would write, direct, produce, and star in ten feature length films in the 1920s, each one with his signature deadpan facial expression and slapstick humor. Keaton was also the first filmmaker to innovate with the camera in order to subtly enhance his physical humor. For example, in an online article for film monthly, Chris Wood …show more content…
Although Keaton was no longer working with any of the major studios, he had remained making films in the independent sphere- Keaton had worked briefly for a small independent studio in Florida, and after its failure, he made educational films with a group known as Educational Pictures. Keaton also returned to MGM as a writer, while working for Columbia Pictures as an actor- Keaton appeared in small roles in many films in the 1940s and 50s, such as Charlie Chaplin’s Limelight (1952), and Around the World in Eighty Days, (1956) to name a few. At the same time, a film archivist named Raymond Rohauer had collected negatives of many of Keaton’s old films, which lead to a renewed interest in Keaton’s classic work by scholars and film critics. In 1959, an astonished Keaton was awarded an honorary lifetime Oscar award for his silent work and contributions to the film industry
Silent Films
Introduction.
The mental image that many people have of a silent film is of a simple, black and white film, perhaps grainy and distorted in image, depicting a time long gone. With modern, dialogue driven narratives in film, it is easy to forget that dialogue is not the only way to drive a story, dialogue does not necessarily need to be spoken out loud in order to be effective, and that many actors had built careers out of silent films- careers that came to be in peril with the addition of sound to film.
Accompanying Music and Sound Effects. A common misconception about silent films is that they were presented without any sound at all, leaving audiences to draw meaning …show more content…
After a lucky encounter with film star Fatty Arbuckle, Keaton was invited to star in Arbuckle’s short film, the Butcher Boy. After Arbuckle had moved onto feature films, Keaton overtook Arbuckle’s old studio, and used it to produce his own films (IMDB). “Of all the best silent comedians, Keaton was the most interested in the medium itself. Others were essentially filming stage bits polished for the film, with the camera a few rows back. But when Keaton apprenticed himself to Arbuckle… he wanted to know everything” (Austerlitz, 2010). Keaton would write, direct, produce, and star in ten feature length films in the 1920s, each one with his signature deadpan facial expression and slapstick humor. Keaton was also the first filmmaker to innovate with the camera in order to subtly enhance his physical humor. For example, in an online article for film monthly, Chris Wood …show more content…
Although Keaton was no longer working with any of the major studios, he had remained making films in the independent sphere- Keaton had worked briefly for a small independent studio in Florida, and after its failure, he made educational films with a group known as Educational Pictures. Keaton also returned to MGM as a writer, while working for Columbia Pictures as an actor- Keaton appeared in small roles in many films in the 1940s and 50s, such as Charlie Chaplin’s Limelight (1952), and Around the World in Eighty Days, (1956) to name a few. At the same time, a film archivist named Raymond Rohauer had collected negatives of many of Keaton’s old films, which lead to a renewed interest in Keaton’s classic work by scholars and film critics. In 1959, an astonished Keaton was awarded an honorary lifetime Oscar award for his silent work and contributions to the film industry