"The General" is one of the first Buster Keaton films I had watched. Even though this movie was made in 1926, it's timeless and whoever watches this will be entertained and will be in love with it. This is what great cinema do, even after 70 years of its release, the power and the impact of the film is still experienced.
Buster Keaton is one of the geniuses of silent era, his movies are filled with visual comedies and also a great deal of practical effects. All the practical effects are performed by him, without the use of stunt man. This makes all his films very lively and organic. "The General" is a story of a railroad engineer Johnnie Gray whose fiance will be forces him to be the part of the war, he drives a train called "The General". But, the engineer won't be able to join because his current job is very valuable for the town and he keeps getting rejected. The plot takes momentum when Annabel, Johnie's girlfriend goes to meet her dad in the train that was driven by Johnie. The train is hijacked by a gang with Annabel as a passenger. Johnie makes his mind to save his girlfriend and who's is more important than his girlfriend, The General.
The fascinating thing about this film is that it's a period film, even though it was shot in 1926 it tells a story from late 1800's. The fact that the movie was directed by Buster Keaton himself shows us his level of genius. In this world where every week hundreds of films are released and in it hardly one of them will be watchable. Movies like "The General" show us what cinema stands for the film makers. They all put effort to make great cinema, but now they put effort to make great money.
"The General" is a fun chase film with all the visuals of action and showcases good content. When good content blends with good visuals then the product is something amazing. The movie makes you laugh till your stomach hurt. This movie taught me that the most important thing about making comedy is not the script, it's the personality. Even if Johnie Gray just walked, there is something funny about it. Great comedians are great personalities.
I had always wished to make an art which will be seen and enjoyed even after my death. "The General" is one of the few films, that has done it successfully. I highly recommend you all to watch and enjoy it. Thank you for reading, I'm a daily blogger and for more posts like this follow me. Cheers!
