Our Hospitality/Sherlock, Jr.

Starring:Kitty Bradbury, Ralph Bushman, Monte Collins (II), Erwin Connelly, Edward Coxen, James Duffy, Jean Dumas, Buster Keaton Jr., Buster Keaton, Joe Keaton, Tom London, Joe Roberts, Natalie Talmadge, Craig Ward
Director: Buster Keaton
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Buster Keaton's second feature, Our Hospitality is his first masterpiece. He plays a New York city boy who travels south to receive his inheritance, only to discover he's in the center of a generations-old feud. While his sworn enemies (the family of the girl he has fallen in love with, naturally) vow to gun him down, Southern hospitality forbids them from harming him as long as he's a guest in their home. Plenty of comic mileage is mined from Buster's desperate attempts to prolong his stay, and highlights include a deliriously surreal train (run by Keaton's father, Joe) and a heroic rescue involving a rope, a log, and a mighty waterfall.

Sherlock Jr. is a delightfully surreal fantasy of a film projectionist and amateur detective who climbs into his movie screen. Like Daffy Duck in the famous cartoon "Duck Amuck," Buster is at the mercy of sudden scene changes, sent from desert to snowstorm to lake in simple cuts while he remains helplessly fixed onscreen. (Even more astounding is that he accomplished this engineering marvel with nothing more than surveyor's tools and an exacting eye.) Settling into his dream role as a master detective and society bon vivant Sherlock Jr., he chases the dastardly villains in a world as wild and unpredictable as the French serial Les Vampires: bombs are hidden in billiard balls and Keaton leaps through the torso of a peddler woman and into nothingness! No other silent film turns logic on its head with such grace and comic hilarity. --Sean Axmaker
Description
The art of Buster Keaton is on spectacular display in two of his finest films. The wonderful film "Our Hospitality" (1923, 75 min.) is in many ways a companion piece to Keaton's 1926 masterpiece "The General." It stars Buster as a New York man who returns to his southern homeland only to find himself embroiled in a longstanding feud between his family and that of the woman he loves. Perhaps no other film offers as exciting a rollercoaster ride as "Sherlock, Jr." (1924, 44 min.). Dramatizing the uproarious exploits of a meek theater projectionist turned amateur sleuth, the film blends the knockabout physical comedy normally associated with slapstick with more subtly crafted moments of humor.

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

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Silent Films | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Used DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
Similar Items:

The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin)

The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Vols. 1-3

Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)

The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)

Buster Keaton - 65th Anniversary Collection (General Nuisance / His Ex Marks the Spot / Mooching Through Georgia / Nothing but Pleasure / Pardon My Berth Marks / Pest From the West / So You Won't Squawk / The Spook Speaks / The Taming of the Snood / She's Oil Mine)

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:

Sherlock Jr.
Movie review for Sherlock, Jr.
No one does physical comedy better than Keaton. No one.
Back When Good Acting Was the Norm!
Unfunny and stupid

Our Hospitality/Sherlock, Jr.
Starring: Kitty Bradbury , Ralph Bushman , Monte Collins (II) , Erwin Connelly , and Edward Coxen
Director: Buster Keaton
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Navigator
The General / Steamboat Bill Jr.
The General
The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)
City Lights (2 Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000021Y7O
Release Date: 1999-11-23

Amazon.com

Buster Keaton's second feature, Our Hospitality is his first masterpiece. He plays a New York city boy who travels south to receive his inheritance, only to discover he's in the center of a generations-old feud. While his sworn enemies (the family of the girl he has fallen in love with, naturally) vow to gun him down, Southern hospitality forbids them from harming him as long as he's a guest in their home. Plenty of comic mileage is mined from Buster's desperate attempts to prolong his stay, and highlights include a deliriously surreal train (run by Keaton's father, Joe) and a heroic rescue involving a rope, a log, and a mighty waterfall.

Sherlock Jr. is a delightfully surreal fantasy of a film projectionist and amateur detective who climbs into his movie screen. Like Daffy Duck in the famous cartoon "Duck Amuck," Buster is at the mercy of sudden scene changes, sent from desert to snowstorm to lake in simple cuts while he remains helplessly fixed onscreen. (Even more astounding is that he accomplished this engineering marvel with nothing more than surveyor's tools and an exacting eye.) Settling into his dream role as a master detective and society bon vivant Sherlock Jr., he chases the dastardly villains in a world as wild and unpredictable as the French serial Les Vampires: bombs are hidden in billiard balls and Keaton leaps through the torso of a peddler woman and into nothingness! No other silent film turns logic on its head with such grace and comic hilarity. --Sean Axmaker

Description

The art of Buster Keaton is on spectacular display in two of his finest films. The wonderful film "Our Hospitality" (1923, 75 min.) is in many ways a companion piece to Keaton's 1926 masterpiece "The General." It stars Buster as a New York man who returns to his southern homeland only to find himself embroiled in a longstanding feud between his family and that of the woman he loves. Perhaps no other film offers as exciting a rollercoaster ride as "Sherlock, Jr." (1924, 44 min.). Dramatizing the uproarious exploits of a meek theater projectionist turned amateur sleuth, the film blends the knockabout physical comedy normally associated with slapstick with more subtly crafted moments of humor.

Customer Reviews:

Sherlock Jr........2007-06-20

Keaton pioneered the frenetic, fast-paced brand of physical comedy that Woody Allen, among others, later improvised upon, and turned it into a crazed art form. "Hospitality," for instance, is an inspired goof on genteel Southern honor. But "Sherlock Jr." goes one step further, utilizing a vast array of witty, brilliant visual tricks--including a dream image of Keaton leaving his body, a torrent of abrupt scene changes, and a railroad-track gag that literally broke the actor-director's neck. Keaton is at his most imaginative in "Our Hospitality" and "Sherlock Jr.," hilarious adventures that will leave you, like the nutty star himself, in stitches.

Movie review for Sherlock, Jr........2007-01-24

"Sherlock, Jr." is fabulously inventive and exellently crafted. Considering when it was made, middle 1920's, it has marvelous special effects. I found it immensely entertaining. Great Buster Keaton! "Our Hospitality" is good, funny in many places, but tends to be a bit long for the plotline. That is, it drags a bit in the middle. The scene near the end in the river and the rescue are, however, vintage Buster Keaton.

No one does physical comedy better than Keaton. No one........2006-10-31

These were two of the most amazing and creative films I have seen in months. Buster Keaton wrote, directed, acted, and did all his own stunts in these two films. He even did stunts for a lot of the other actors in these films too.

"Our hospitality" is the story of a feud between two families that reaches a crisis point when Keaton falls in love with a daughter in the other family. In "Sherlock Jr." Keaton plays an aspiring detective and movie projectionist who dreams that he is a famous and skilled detective. Not only are these two films engaging, well made, and interesting, they are funny!! I go weeks sometimes without laughing at a sitcom or a movie that is supposed to be a comedy. I found myself laughing out loud numerous times during this film.

There are some classic scenes that just stand out when you watch these movies. The whole "floating down the river" scene at the end of "Our Hospitality" is jaw-dropping. These have got to be some of the most dangerous stunts ever attempted. In "Sherlock Jr." there is a pool game where every ball on the table is bounced around except for one which is miraculously untouched, there is the harrowing motorcycle ride, there is the escape from the gangsters, I could go on an on.

These films are like live action Bugs Bunny cartoon. There were several occasions where as I was watching these movies, trying to anticipate what was going to happen next I said to myself, "No way. He's not really going to do that. That's not even possible. No sane man would attempt a stunt like that." And yet...he does.

There are about 4 or 5 scenes from both of these films which are completely seared into my brain. That isn't an easy thing to do. Most films don't have one memorable scene, and to have a single film with 5 or 6 of these scenes is nothing short of amazing.

They just don't make filmmakers like Buster Keaton anymore. I wish I knew where his creativity came from. If directors today could channel even a fraction of the skill that Keaton exhibited, cinema would be an amazing and wonderful place.

Back When Good Acting Was the Norm!.......2006-10-01

It's a real shame Buster couldn't make the transition in the advent of sound the way his contemporary, the late, great Charles Chaplin did but just like Chaplin, Keaton was an excellent exponent of the art of slapstick comedy. Both were great acrobats and athletes and really great actors. It struck me while I was watching this dvd how much better all the actors were in those days; I suppose without the aid of sound, these guys had to convince the audience solely based on their acting skills. To put it another way, Keanu Reeves would fall flat on his face if he had to ply his trade in those days. Alternatively, Jackie Chan would have done very well; he, just like Keaton and Chaplin did, does most if not all of his own stunts and suffered sometimes serious injuries for his art.

The two episodes here though probably represent the best of Keaton's work with Sherlock Jr shading it just a little as the better of the two. While "Our Hospitality" is hilarious and the longer episode, Sherlock Jr has a lot of truly memorable and creative elements one of which has been heavily borrowed and made into the main premise of the not-too-long-ago Schwarzenegger movie, "Last Action Hero" where Keaton literally jumps into the scene of a movie within a movie albeit in his dreams. Keaton's acting on both these episodes is also brilliant and for one grown up on "talkies" all my life, I still found that I could enjoy these silent movies.

The video restoration work is commendable given what must have been the state of the original master tapes. I do however have a beef with the misleading information on the cover: "Digitally Mastered from Archival Prints with ORIGINAL MUSICAL SCORES." The answer to this ambiguous statement is that ORIGINAL here means newly composed and recorded and NOT the original scores as was played in the movie houses of the day. I guess in hindsight it should have been obvious to me as in those days, it was really just the video and some guy playing live on the piano at the movie house and so it would have been unlikely that any sound recording would have been available but they could have at least attempted to stay true to the spirit of the sound of that day. Instead, although the sound quality of this modern recording is very good, we get an anachronistic treatment of the score for the "Sherlock Jr." episode with James Bond themes included in the score which threw me off and which I found off-putting to say the least. Not only did the score not fit the video but it was also very loud and distracts one from the important thing which is the acting.

That aside, any student of film, particularly the history and development of comedy, or indeed anyone interested in the work of Buster Keaton and would like a sample of his best work need look no further. Just remember to turn down the volume on the score though.

Unfunny and stupid.......2006-05-15

I'm going to weigh in on these dreadfully unfunny films. These films are both stupid and terribly dated. I can't understand how even a contemporary audience, back in the 1920s, could enjoy this unfunny nonsense. I wanted to stay til the end, but I found myself fast forwarding because I just couldn't take it. There is absolutely nothing funny about Buster Keaton or either of these terrible waste of time flicks.

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