"The General" is a silent film starring Buster Keaton. It is his most ambitious work, and probably his best.
"The General" takes place during the Civil War. Keaton is an Southern engineer who has two loves: his steam train and his girlfriend. Because of his occupation, he is refused conscription. He loses his girlfriend, as her family considers him a coward.
One day, Northern agents steal his beloved train.
In a long chase scene, he follows the agents
North in a second train. He later manages to
recapture the train and begins the journey back
South, but this time he is being chased, by
Northern soldiers in their steam train. Keaton
also gets involved in a Civil War battle fought
over a bridge.
All the Keaton hallmarks are in "The General." He
plays an ordinary man forced by events to perform
heroic feats to win his true love (who, by an
amazing coincidence, has been taken hostage by
the same Yankee agents who swiped his train).
There are several excellent gags (my favorite has
Keaton having all sorts of problems loading
lumber on a train car) and one magnificent stunt
(a steam train collapses a burning bridge).
But there are differences between this and other
Keaton films. There is fine cinematography of
steam trains and Civil War armies in the field.
Keaton's love of trains and railways is evident.
The extended "chase" scenes build dramatic
tension and are fascinating in the multiple
obstacles that Keaton's character must overcome.
Some people consider Keaton to be as important a
silent film director as Chaplin. I can't agree
with this. Several Chaplin films were clearly
better than "The General". Chaplin's everyman
character is more charismatic and had greater
emotional range. Also, Chaplin had a greater
social awareness: he was trying to make a
statement as well as to make you laugh. (82/100)
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.