Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Playhouse

"Not long ago a friend asked me what was the greatest pleasure I got from spending my whole life as an actor. There have been so many that I had to think about that for a moment. Then I said, "Like everyone else, I like to be with a happy crowd."
Joseph Frank ‘Buster’ Keaton
The Playhouse, 1921, wrtitten, starring and directed by BusterKeaton.
At one point, Keaton is the entire audience, a minstrel revue on stage and the orchestra.
He worked in front and in back of the camera and in the editing room. If you had an original vision in film making back in 1921, you had to invent the technique. Here we see one of the first and most original uses of split screen editing. Keaton was a totally original American Genius. I still think that his film, The General is one of the greatest films ever made!

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