The Saphead

Starring:Katherine Albert, Edward Alexander, Beulah Booker, Henry Clauss, Edward Connelly, William H. Crane, Irving Cummings, Alfred Hollingsworth, Carol Holloway, Helen Holte, Edward Jobson, Buster Keaton, Jack Livingston, Odette Taylor, Jeffrey Williams
Studio: Kino Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Before Buster Keaton made his name as one of the silent cinema's most accomplished and creative comics, he starred in this conventional but cute comedy based on the Broadway play The New Henrietta (previously made into the Douglas Fairbanks vehicle The Lamb). Keaton plays the spoiled son of a millionaire unjustly accused of scandalous behavior and tossed into a bustling world that he's completely unprepared for. Apart from the energetic finale, in which he leaps, slides, and wrestles with Wall Street lions on the stock exchange floor, Keaton is given little opportunity for comic gymnastics and the comedy stays safe and conventional. The Saphead is a completely genial and entertaining film carried by Keaton's sweet charm and plucky naiveté and it made him a star, but it's ultimately a footnote to a career that later blossomed in creative inspiration. Keaton revived the figure of the clueless social dandy with his self-directed features The Navigator and Battling Butler. Also featured are Keaton's first two solo shorts: "The High Sign," a knockabout lark in which Keaton infiltrates a secret society of criminals, and "One Week," an inspired gem with newlywed Buster mangling a do-it-yourself house. --Sean Axmaker
Description
More than just a silent comedian known for his pratfalls and clever mimicry, Buster Keaton was an unqualified genius of the American cinema. This DVD presents three of his early works, displaying his extraordinary talents as actor and filmmaker alike. Keaton stars in "The Saphead" (1920, 78 min.) as Bertie Van Alstyne, the spoiled son of a powerful Wall Street financier. Unable to escape the wealth and comfort that are foisted upon him, he pursues individuality in a series of comic misadventures in the speakeasies of New York, the altar of matrimony and even the floor of the American Stock Exchange. "The High Sign" (1921, 21 min.) finds Buster unwittingly involved in a radical secret society known as the Blinking Buzzards, stumbling from assassin to bodyguard in a romantic adventure that climaxes in a mind-boggling romp through a booby-trapped mansion. Dreams of domesticity are systematically satirized and ultimately demolished in "One Week" (1921, 19 min.), Keaton's bittersweet parable of one couple's unflagging determination to build a prefabricated honeymoon cottage.

The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The Navigator / Steamboat Bill Jr. / College / Three Ages / Battling Butler / Go West / The Saphead / Seven Chances / 21 Short Films)
Average customer rating:

Genius

Buying Asian versions

In Buster Keaton's memory!

Reeeealy close, but not quite a cigar

Contents of the set

The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The Navigator / Steamboat Bill Jr. / College / Three Ages / Battling Butler / Go West / The Saphead / Seven Chances / 21 Short Films)
Starring: Buster Keaton
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QW5A
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Amazon.com

Buster Keaton was arguably the cinema's first modernist, an old-fashioned romantic with a 20th-century mind behind a deadpan visage. His films brim with some of the most breathtaking stunts and ingenious gags ever put on film, all perfectly engineered to look effortless. And, as Kino's magnificent 11-disc boxed set The Art of Buster Keaton conclusively shows, they are among the funniest ever made. Keaton warped gags until they left the plane of reality in such shorts as The Playhouse (1921) and The Frozen North (1922), and takes a logic-defying leap into the very nature of cinema itself in his hilarious Sherlock Jr. (1924). He takes on the mechanical world with Rube Golberg ingenuity in The Navigator (1924) and perfects his match between man and massive machine in Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), which features the funniest hurricane scene ever put to film, and The General (1927), one of the greatest comedies of all time.

In addition to the previously released 11 features and 19 shorts from the peak of Keaton's career, this set boasts the exclusive Keaton Plus, a collection of rarities and tributes. The greatest find is the long-lost ending to Hard Luck (1921), now restored to complete the film's final inspired gag. Other highlights include newly discovered scenes from Daydreams (1922) and The Love Nest (1923), entertaining excerpts from Keaton's 1951 TV show Life with Buster Keaton (he's still got it!), and his rare dramatic turn in the 1954 television play The Awakening. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Genius.......2007-05-18

SO glad I spent literally half a paycheck on this collection . Keaton was , quite simply , brilliant . His amazing stunts and incredible agility put so many present-day actors to shame . As for that signature "stone face"....The man could say so much more with his eyes than any spoken words could ever express . Truly unsurpassed talent .

Buying Asian versions.......2007-01-10

I know spending $100 seems expensive when you can buy an Asian copy on eBay for $30 or $40. But when you do that, nothing is going to David Shepard to compensate him for acquiring these films, transfering them to video, doing some restoration, and adding a sound track. Even if these films are in the public domain, they don't save themselves. It takes time and money to do that. Please help preserve our rapidly disintegrating silent film heritage and buy the DVDs produced by the people doing the work of preservation.

In Buster Keaton's memory!.......2006-11-02

Buster Keaton still remains among the most reduced and even exigent list of the greatest exponents of the comedy genre.

It has been a common place to establsih the comparison between his craft and Charlot, and in this particular if I was inquired, I would say the main virtue of Keaton's grandess and obviously his personal landmark, is the kaleidoscopic vision he always around the characters and situations; while Charlot turned around the sentiments and the hope for a new and promising future, Keaton showed a demolishing narrative speech, hovered by a corrosive humor, deeply human but extremely devastating.

On the other hand, the resource economy and the emblematic expression of his facial grimace was another engaging tool to captivate the audiences.

I admire both of them and consider they represent the two sides of the same coin. Humanity above any other artistic considerations or sharp differences, was in last instance, the common denominator around these two genius of the intelligent humor.

A must for the hard collectors.

Reeeealy close, but not quite a cigar.......2005-11-03

First off, Keaton is one of the great artists of all times, and it's a joy to have such a complete collection of his silent work. (His last few silents, The Cameraman and Spite Marriage, and his sound films are a far cry from Keaton's best, and I suggest leaving them alone unless you're the absolute completist.) Kino has done a superb job on the features, restoring them to the best they've looked in decades and adding funny, unobtrusive musical scores. A perfect 5 here.

So what's not to like? I am saddened by the treatment of the shorts on these discs. They have *not* been restored, and my impression is that they were taken from 16mm prints with wildly variable (and often quite poor) soundtracks. Keaton's shorts are every bit as wonderful and fascinating as his features, and for Kino to foist these second-rate prints off on us makes me sad.

If I could, I'd give 4.5 stars for this collection. Be prepared for a bit of a disappointment when running the shorts.

Contents of the set.......2005-09-25

Before anything else, I agree with those who say that Keaton's shorts are all good; but I strongly disagree with those who say that they are better than his better features. What usually happens with comedy is that people sit down before the screen and just say: OK, make me laugh. Keaton's features are funny -but they are also, and more important, beautifully shot, superbly acted and perfectly structured -which is something only the best actors/directors can put all together. There are no cheap sets like in most movies of the 20's. Keaton's characters move in the real world, with real things, and that's part of what makes them lasting and unique.

In your shelves, Keaton shouldn't share his place with the Marx Brothers, but with Orson Welles (who called The General the best movie ever made about the Civil War) and Martin Scorsese (who said he watched over and over the final fight in Battling Butter -which, by the way, is not supposed to make you laugh, but to surprise you with it's realism)

Now, this are the complete contents of this DVD set. Aside from it, you should check out The Buster Keaton Collection, which includes THE CAMERAMAN, SPITE MARRIAGE and FREE AND EASY - and then you are done. Well, you could also read the only book he wrote -My Wonderful World of Slapstick. (June '06 Update: "Industrial Strength Keaton"(DVD) just came out. The set includes rare industrial films, promotional films, commercials, TV appearances and outtakes.)

The Saphead: 1920
Includes the shorts ONE WEEK (1920) and THE HIGH SIGN (1920)

The Three Ages
Year: 1923
Including THE GOAT (1921) and MY WIFE'S RELATION (1922).

Our Hospitality / Sherlock, Jr.
Year: 1923/1924

The Navigator
Year: 1924
Includes shorts The Boat (1921) and The Love Nest (1923).

Go West
Year: 1925
Includes THE SCARECROW (1920) and THE PALEFACE (1921).

Seven Chances
Year: 1925
Shorts: Neighbors (1920) & The Balloonatic (1923)

Battling Butler
Year: 1926
Includes THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1921) and FROZEN NORTH (1922).

The General
Year: 1926
shorts: The Playhouse (1921) and Cops (1922)

College
Year: 1927
Includes THE ELECTRIC HOUSE (1922), HARD LUCK (in this version the ending is missing; but the complete version is found in the disc called Keaton Plus) (1921) and THE BLACKSMITH (1922).

Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Year: 1928
shorts: Convict 13 (1920) and Daydreams (1922)

Keaton Plus
Year: 1920-2001
Color home movies, complete short HARD LUCK, two Shorts from the 30's, commercials, TV shows and appearances. But best of all, Orson Welles talking about Keaton and The General.

Average customer rating:

"The High Sign" short is the 4 star gem herein; "The Week," another short, rates at least 3 stars; "Saphead," 2 stars, barely.
Henrietta Mine!
Art of Buster Keaton Box 1
The Saphead/ One Week/ The HIgh Sign
An Unusual Keaton Film

The Saphead
Starring: Katherine Albert , Edward Alexander , Beulah Booker , Henry Clauss , and Edward Connelly
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Our Hospitality/Sherlock, Jr.
Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)
Go West

ASIN: 6305701245
Release Date: 2000-01-11

Amazon.com

Before Buster Keaton made his name as one of the silent cinema's most accomplished and creative comics, he starred in this conventional but cute comedy based on the Broadway play The New Henrietta (previously made into the Douglas Fairbanks vehicle The Lamb). Keaton plays the spoiled son of a millionaire unjustly accused of scandalous behavior and tossed into a bustling world that he's completely unprepared for. Apart from the energetic finale, in which he leaps, slides, and wrestles with Wall Street lions on the stock exchange floor, Keaton is given little opportunity for comic gymnastics and the comedy stays safe and conventional. The Saphead is a completely genial and entertaining film carried by Keaton's sweet charm and plucky naiveté and it made him a star, but it's ultimately a footnote to a career that later blossomed in creative inspiration. Keaton revived the figure of the clueless social dandy with his self-directed features The Navigator and Battling Butler. Also featured are Keaton's first two solo shorts: "The High Sign," a knockabout lark in which Keaton infiltrates a secret society of criminals, and "One Week," an inspired gem with newlywed Buster mangling a do-it-yourself house. --Sean Axmaker

Description

More than just a silent comedian known for his pratfalls and clever mimicry, Buster Keaton was an unqualified genius of the American cinema. This DVD presents three of his early works, displaying his extraordinary talents as actor and filmmaker alike. Keaton stars in "The Saphead" (1920, 78 min.) as Bertie Van Alstyne, the spoiled son of a powerful Wall Street financier. Unable to escape the wealth and comfort that are foisted upon him, he pursues individuality in a series of comic misadventures in the speakeasies of New York, the altar of matrimony and even the floor of the American Stock Exchange. "The High Sign" (1921, 21 min.) finds Buster unwittingly involved in a radical secret society known as the Blinking Buzzards, stumbling from assassin to bodyguard in a romantic adventure that climaxes in a mind-boggling romp through a booby-trapped mansion. Dreams of domesticity are systematically satirized and ultimately demolished in "One Week" (1921, 19 min.), Keaton's bittersweet parable of one couple's unflagging determination to build a prefabricated honeymoon cottage.

Customer Reviews:

"The High Sign" short is the 4 star gem herein; "The Week," another short, rates at least 3 stars; "Saphead," 2 stars, barely........2006-03-27

"The High Sign" is the gem herein. It's a delightful romp wherein Keaton's character is introduced thusly: "Our hero came from Nowhere---he wasn't going Anywhere and got kicked off Somewhere." It's a 20 minute short that was Keaton's second solo effort in this category; one moreover which he co-wrote & co-directed (unlike "Saphead" in which he had no similar imput). Ultimately he gets hired to be a wealthy man's bodyguard right before being roped into joining a gang who gives him the task to kill that same wealthy individual as his initiation rite. A cut-a-way view of a house is the set for the mile-a-minute frenzied finale herein; as Keaton flies through windows, doors, and trap doors trying to resolve the above predicament into which he stumbled. It's Keaton at his best. Do make it a point to see this short. I wouldn't suggest you buy this disc, however, as the 78 minute feature is not really even a 'Keaton film' & is not something even Buster fans will want to watch multiple times. So, borrow this disc if you can & save your money for discs that include some of Keaton's greats instead: "The General," "Sherlock Jr.," and/or "The Cameraman." Cheers!

Henrietta Mine!.......2004-01-19

THE SAPHEAD is a rather dull romantic comedy. I'm guessing that if it didn't have Buster Keaton in the title role, this film wouldn't have seen a DVD release for another twenty years. From a historical viewpoint, I suppose we must be grateful to the film, as it established Keaton as a bankable star, thus enabling him to go to bigger and better things. But judging the film on its own merits, I can only say that I was completely bored by it.

The movie has a few major flaws. The most annoying is the fact that Keaton (although the star) doesn't have enough screen time, and the other characters are one-dimensional and simply not interesting. The script is adapted from a play by the name of THE NEW HENRIETTA, and I can only hope that the material was funnier on the stage, because it certainly didn't translate well to the screen. The story takes too long to set itself up, the plot isn't terribly inspired, and, worst of all, most of the jokes aren't all that funny. Keaton does his best with what he has to work with, but, truthfully, there isn't much to this. He livens things up a bit on a handful of occasions, but for the most part, he is overwhelmed by the leaden script.

Also included on the DVD are two short movies. Unlike the main feature, these two were co-written and co-directed by Buster Keaton himself. The difference couldn't be any more staggering. Give the man some creative control, and he turns out material a thousand times better. While the main feature is slow, ponderous and dull, these two shorts are fast-paced and hilarious.

The first short film is THE HIGH SIGN. By cheating his way through at a shooting gallery, Buster finds himself employed as both a bodyguard and a hit man. The movie culminates in a large house with multiple revolving walls and trapdoors. Buster and company leap through them with reckless abandon. I'm quite torn by watching this. Part of me wants to admire the craftsmanship and the effort that went into designing the physical gags and the intricate set. The other part of me just wants to be engulfed by the sheer entertainment.

The second short on the disc, ONE WEEK, starts with a fun gag involving Buster Keaton and his new bride attempting to exit one car and enter another -- while both automobiles are still moving. In any case, the newlyweds have been given a house as a wedding-gift. But there's one catch. The "house" is a kit, a do-it-yourself construction job. Thanks to some sabotage from the wife's ex, Buster builds himself a bizarre structure, with several features not found in ordinary homes. Anyone who knows anything about Buster Keaton's style of comedy should salivate at the thought of his baffled but determined character given over to that premise. And the result here is wonderful. The production crew built a giant house prop worthy of Keaton's comedy, and there's a fun gag that involves the moving of an unwieldy piano that rivals the problems that beset Laurel and Hardy in their Oscar-winning short film THE MUSIC BOX.

The picture quality is quite good considering that the material is over eighty years old. The DVD cover claims that the soundtracks are a modern recreation of the original scores, and while I can't independently verify that, it seems appropriate enough. I'm hesitant as to whether I should really recommend this DVD given that I was so utterly bored by the main feature. The two extras (of about twenty minutes each) are worthy of purchase though. Perhaps I should say that this disc will mainly be of interest to Buster Keaton fans. People looking for a solid introduction to the man's work should probably choose one of the other entries in the Art Of Buster Keaton DVD series.

Art of Buster Keaton Box 1.......2001-10-10

OUTSTANDING! This is a three video set. The features are The Saphead, Three Ages, Sherlock Jr. and Our Hospitality. The shorts are The High Sign, One Week, The Goat and My Wife's Relations. This is a GREAT box set (as are Box 2 and Box 3). Three Ages is "Buster's" first feature. Sherlock Jr. is awesome. The Goat is Buster's funniest short and maybe the funniest short ever made, period!

The Saphead/ One Week/ The HIgh Sign.......2001-09-22

THE SAPHEAD is not a true "Buster" feature. This was Buster's first feature but he is playing a role that is not 100% the Buster character. He does not have his later degree of creative control in this movie. There are some very funny moments at the stock exchange. Lots of screen time without Buster. This is a good movie but not a great one.

ONE WEEK is Buster's first short (that was released) and it a great one. Buster and his wife build a house and the results are less than perfect.

THE HIGH SIGN is the first Buster short he produced. It is another great one. There are some very funny scenes in the shooting gallery. The High Sign also contains a rare moment wher Buster gives the high sign to the viewer.

An Unusual Keaton Film.......2001-06-01

The Saphead is an underrated film. Many Keaton fans consider it to be one of his worst silent features. It is true that it lacks the comic ingenuity of his later films and does not, on the whole, show the athletic Buster flinging himself about performing ever more mind-boggling stunts. Nevertheless, The Saphead is an extremely funny film. The comedy depends not so much on various gags, but on the story and the way that Keaton looks and acts. This makes it an unusual Keaton film. It is partly because of the fact that The Saphead is unlike Buster's other films, that I found it so interesting. Although he is the main character of the film, he is part of an ensemble cast and thus there is the chance to see Keaton's interaction with other fully developed characters. This interaction is often hilarious. Buster's persona, in this film, is fully developed and his character is similar to that which appears in films like The Navigator and Battling Butler. In the Saphead, Keaton shows just how expressive his stoneface could be. The incredible thing about this film is that Buster can be so funny when he does nothing. Even when he stands still and just looks, I found myself laughing. It may be that The Saphead is not one of Keaton's very best films, but it is unusual and judged by its own standards works well. The tinted print used for this DVD is fairly good. There are times when it is a little dark and faded, but for the most part the images are clear.

This DVD also includes two of Keaton's best short films The High Sign and One Week. These films show a more familiar Keaton and have some incredible comic stunts. The High Sign also features a cameo from the wonderful Al St. John, familiar from Buster's films with Roscoe Arbuckle. These two films are surreal and weird. The High Sign has Buster getting involved with a bizarre secret society the Blinking Buzzards, while One Week shows Buster's disastrous attempt to build a house with faulty plans. The result is a house which Picasso might have designed. Both these films have very good black and white prints with very little apparent damage.

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