One Scene The Train example essay topic

The General (1927) was one of Buster Keaton's more famous films and one of his personal favorites that he made. He was known as the Great Stone Face but Buster Keaton was just able to keep his composure in the center of mass destruction and chaos. Many other silent actors like Charlie Chaplain often used facial expressions and reactions to get a point across but Keaton always remained calm and relaxed whenever he was on screen. The General (1927) was an epic war film and one of the most expensive films of its time.

When the film opens war has just been declared by the South on the North and Johnny Gray was denied enlistment because he was more valuable as an engineer than a soldier. Annabelle, his fiancee states that she will not speak with him until he is in uniform. Time passes and one day his locomotive, the general, is stolen by Union spies with Annabelle trapped inside. Johnny sees his train stolen and chases after it, not knowing that his love is trapped inside. Johnny chases after the general by any means necessary and finally is able to switch trains and chases the other train to a hideout where Union generals are planning their next strike.

Johnny hides out under the table and sees Annabelle through a hole in the tablecloth burnt by one of the general's cigars. This filming technique really makes the scene stand out because I have not seen that used yet. Johnny rescues Annabelle and the chase continues, one train chasing after the other and eventually ending with the Union train, the Texas, dropping into a gorge. The opening sequence shows the two loves of Johnny's life, his engine and Annabelle Lee, his fiancee.

The next scene shows Keaton walking in his dress attire to Annabelle's house unaware that two young boys are following him and that following the two young boys is Annabelle herself. When he arrives at the door he waits and polishes his shoes while Annabelle looks on unnoticed. By chance, Keaton looks around and sees her behind him. Most silent actors would react with an overacted movement and an overemphasized surprised expression, but Keaton plays it normal and his only reaction is a look of expressed heightened interest. They go inside and as they sit on the sofa, he realizes that the boys were following him and he shows a slight disgust with them. Instead of reprimanding th boys and yelling at them to get out, he stands up, puts his hat on and, opens the door for the boys to leave.

Showing such courtesy to the boys, you would think that they were his guests. Buster Keaton obviously does not act for the laughs but rather he takes it very seriously and that is what makes his work so funny. This couldn't be any more obvious in the scene when he has just been rejected by Annabelle and he sits on the train wheel and it begins to move and he doesn't notice that it has begun to move because he is in such deep thought about Annabelle. In the scene when his train passes by the water chute and it is knocked aside and he is soaked by it, he remains calm and where most other actors would overreact to make the scene come off comical, Keaton reacts like any normal person would and is upset and surprised by the water soaking him and it comes off just as funny.

It would normally seem highly illogical to have a chase seen involving two trains because one would always be ahead of the other but Keaton defies logic with one mind blowing stunt after another. It should be noted also, that Keaton performed all of his stunts, never using a double, and he performed them with a calm face and little of expression. In one scene the train ahead of him is throwing rail ties on to the track and Keaton climbs on to the front, picks up one and drops it on another, clearing both off of the track. During this very dangerous stunt sequence you will notice that Keaton's face remains calm and collected throughout the whole scene, never showing any fear at the inherent danger ahead of him. This scene illustrates better than any other, Buster Keaton's revolutionary style of comedic acting that I have not seen repeated in film history. This makes him one of the most influential actors of all time and why so many of today's actors still look up to him.

Buster Keaton's work has a gracefulness to it that no other silent actors have been able to do. The combination of story and characters is like no other of its time. He was able to make the audience relate with him through little expression and that is what made him known as one of the greatest actors of his time. While he was known as the Great Stone Face, his non-expressive style was a revolutionary style of acting and through that he has influenced many of today's biggest actors.