The General

1926's THE GENERAL is truly a staple of any serious filmgoer's education.  I might add that it be essential viewing for anyone interested in cinematic history, and/or the origin of filmed comedy.  You may have read that Buster Keaton's film was dismissed by critics and audiences during its original release in the silent era.  They found a film with lengthy locomotive chases to be tiresome and unfunny.  As the story takes place during the American Civil War, some found the battle footage (some where soldiers die) a questionable and maybe even tasteless inclusion in a film attempting to be humorous.  Keaton is one of many geniuses whose work was ahead of its time, and as with other masterworks like 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and THE RULES OF THE GAME, sometimes (mass) audiences are just not ready, not sophisticated enough to appreciate and recognize a true classic.  Maybe the zeitgeist is to blame?

THE GENERAL is worthy of the highest laud.  Co-writer/co-director Keaton gambled big with a large budget and an insistence on doing his own stunt work, and time has been kind.  What was once considered a failure is now regarded by many publications and cineastes as one of the greatest motion pictures of all time.  I feel it is a film that can be discerned for its genius on first watch, but it continues to deepen with each subsequent.  Deepen in its pure cinematic mastery. Mise-en-scene at its finest.  Keaton was quite a director, and credit must also go to his partner here, Clyde Bruckman, who also worked with W.C. Fields and Harold Lloyd.

This movie truly is a technical marvel, with real trains and real stunts, many quite dangerous and some that caused real property damage.  Keaton finds endless ways to make railway pursuit interesting, especially in the face of ambush.  Cannonballs, planks of wood, and railroad ties are used in highly imaginative fashion.  The film manages to be thrilling and funny nearly every moment, and the cinematography (by Bert Haines and Devereaux Jennings) is unbelievable.  Their tracking shots are as good as most any I've seen.  The battle sequences near the end are highly skillful. And that train on the burning bridge? Gasp worthy. But don't discount the non-action moments.   Regardless of the scene, Keaton does a clown's dance that is as graceful as Fred Astaire.

I'm not sure if any grand allegories are made in this tale of a train engineer named Johnnie Gray (Keaton) who sets off to rescue his fiancee Ammabelle Lee (Marion Mack) after she is accidentally kidnapped by the Union soldiers who make off with Johnnie's other great love - "The General", his locomotive.  Dig deeply enough, maybe you'll find something.

Maybe having Johnnie being on the Confederate side, still a bit controversial for many viewers, is some sort of statement.  The film does not take sides, really.  Johnnie's mission is not to preserve the Southern way of life, to perpetuate slavery, God no, but to get his lady back.  Oh, he tries to enlist after the war breaks out, but is rejected as his skills are considered too valuable to be possibly snuffed in battle.  But he only tried to enlist to impress Annabelle anyway.  Note the final scene.  All for love, not duty.