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TechnoTV - The General (The Ultimate 2-Disc Edition) (1926)
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $18.58
Your Save: $ 11.37 ( 38% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
Directed By: Buster Keaton;Clyde Bruckman
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0738329063726
Format: Color
Label: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Manufacturer: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-11-11
Running Time: 78
Studio: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Theatrical Release Date: 1927
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, bad music
Comment: Funny movie with great facial expressions. The orchestral music ruined the mood in numerous ocasions. There is a version of this movie with piano music that is much better, get that one instead.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Comment: "The General" and "The Twilight Zone" are, in my opinion, the two most brilliantly conceived films ever made. "The General" keeps you glued to the screen, with sight gag after sight gag. Keaton was a genius and this was never more evident than this movie. Kino did a super job of offering three different music scores, each giving new life to the film. I personally recommend Robert Isreal's score as it's more comical than the "adventuresome" score Carl Davis did. Don't buy the cheap release with generic music score and non-restored film print. It is this Kino print that you want to view.
"The Twilight Zone" is another of my favorites with brilliant camera angles and cinematography. I have yet to read a Buster Keaton book that reveals a "making-of" of The General but there is one superb book for "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic" by Martin Grams. Also available on Amazon.com. Looking for two Christmas gifts that are top-notch, 100% polished and certain to please any film buff? Get this DVD and that book. It certainly made my birthday last month.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Film Great Presentation from Kino Video
Comment: Kino Video's new two disc version is highly recommendable for the flim itself. The second disc is okay but nothing overly special and most Buster Keaton fans already have the feaures on it. Robert Israel's wonderful score is available as it was on the previous Kino release. Israel's work as so often really makes the movie as he is always able to match the moods and events in silent films he has scored. The real prize here is the Carl Davis score which is very different but equally good and also able to bring the movie alive. What is interesting is to watch the movie back to back with the two scores as you will soon realize they cause you to absorb the film differntly. In one certain scenes strike you differntly from the other just with the change of music. There is also an organ score. While organ scores are probably a more authentic way to watch a film of the 1920's you simply cannot beat an orchestral score such as Davis's or Israel's.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The version to buy
Comment: It was with some trepidation and annoyance that I found myself plunking down more hard-earned money for my fourth copy of Buster Keaton's immortal silent comedy,"The General." I am pleased to report that the investment was a worthy one.
The public domain versions of this film are undeserving of comment and should be avoided at all costs. I made the misfortune of buying one of these hack jobs first and was rewarded with a poor transfer with completely inappropriate music. I then purchased the double feature of "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." offered by Image. The picture quality was greatly improved in regards to clarity and contrast. My personal complaint regarding the Image version is the musical accompaniment provided by the Alloy Orchestra. Clanky and mechanical, their score is more a cacophany than a symphony and works against, rather than complements, much of the action in the film. Next, I procured Kino's original version of "The General", which, to my disappointment, was softer and less sharp than the one offered by Image. It does feature a more pleasing score by Robert Israel. This brings me to Kino's updated and restored version, and I can affirm that my quest for the best version of this film has come to an end.
Why go into such nauseating detail regarding the purchasing process? For one, it demonstrates how much I appreciate this film and how important it is to obtain it in its preeminent form. I also hope it will convince those mulling over the different available versions of this film that the Ultimate 2-Disc Edition is the version to buy.
Other reviewers have mentioned the techniques used to restore the film, and it is indeed the most lustrous version I have seen. The nighttime sequences are suffused with a rich dark blue, and the sepia tone used give this version the appearance of a Matthew Brady daguerrotype more than ever before.
Special mention should be made of the three musical scores. Robert Israel's orginal score has been retained, and a fine organ score by Lee Erwin is also an option. But for my money, the film is best enjoyed with Carl Davis' 1987 score for Thames Television. Those familiar with his scores for "Ben-Hur", "The Crowd", "The Big Parade", and many others know how he can elevate the emotion of a silent film. He does the same here, interweaving distinctly Amercian music that works perfectly.
As for the film itself, it is not mere hyperbole to state that it is one of the undisputed masterworks of American cinema and not just the silent period. It was derided by the critics of its age as not being funny. To be honest, it's not funny in a conventional sense, rather it is sublime. Some have criticized Keaton's film as too mechanical, but there is always an insistent humanity fighting against the mighty contraptions Keaton is laboring to free both himself and the woman he loves from.
"The General" is in many ways a cinematic obstacle course. The first half finds Johnnie Gray being deprived of his two loves: Annabelle and his locomotive. He has to negotiate all manner of hardships in order to be reunited with both of them. The second half has him fleeing for home and employing the same sorts of means to discouarage his pursuers that were once used against him.
In terms of narrarive, chronology, and geometry, "The General" is a mirror image. It is also a film that must be watched closely and patiently in order to be fully appreciated. Beause of this, it merits repeat viewings and provides new insights each time. It is a film for the ages that has at last received the proper format to be fully enjoyed and appreciated.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buster Keaton Masterpiece
Comment: The problem with great films of the silent era is decomposition. Often, original negatives are incomplete or unavailable and prints must be made from the best positives available. Quality degrades at each step. Kino On Video has pioneered the remastering of silent classics by ferreting out negatives, often from several countries, subjecting them to methodical restoration, and releasing them in crisp editions, looking better than ever.
"The General: The Ultimate Edition" is a two-disc set that showcases one of the funniest American films ever. Made in 1926, when the silent film industry was at the peak of its artistry, "The General" is based on an actual Civil War incident, embellished to highlight the comic talents of its star, Buster Keaton. At the time, Keaton was second only to Charlie Chaplin as America's favorite funny man.
Playing Southern Confederate train engineer Johnny Gray, Keaton engages in some of the most amazing sight gags of his career. Johnny is rejected by the Confederate army and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle (Marion Mack). When his treasured locomotive and his lady-love are taken hostage by a band of Yankee spies, he has a chance to redeem himself and prove his bravery to the world. Johnny wages a one-man war against the hijackers, a cannon with a mind of its own, and the unpredictable hand of fate as he rolls along the iron rails.
Though the movie is filled with laughs, it is also Matthew Brady-like in the way it captures the look and feel of the Civil War, which ended a mere 60 years before "The General" was shot.
"Silent" films were never meant to be shown dead silent. There was always musical accompaniment, either by a full orchestra or a piano. This new edition contains three different musical scores that can be selected to accompany the movie.
This new edition was remastered in High Definition from a 35-millimeter archive print struck from the film's original camera negative. It is sharper and more stable than any previous edition. During transfer, some nitrate decomposition on the original negative was digitally painted out and corrected. The film's contrast was also brought back to its original condition. Bonus extras include a video tour of the authentic General locomotive, a tour of the movie's locations, filmed introductions by Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, a montage of train gags from Keaton's career, and a photo gallery that includes glimpses of a deleted sequence.
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Editorial Reviews:
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NEWLY MASTERED IN HD FROM A 35MM ARCHIVE PRINT STRUCK FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
THE NUMBER 18 GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME (AFI 100 YEARS... 100 MOVIES)
Consistently ranked among the greatest films ever made, Buster Keaton s THE GENERAL is so brilliantly conceived and executed that it continues to inspire awe and laughter with every viewing. This Kino Ultimate 2 Disc Edition was mastered in HD from a 35mm archive print struck from the original camera negative. Rejected by the Confederate army as unfit, and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), young Johnny Gray (Keaton) is given a chance to redeem himself when Yankee spies steal his cherished locomotive. Johnny wages a one-man war against hijackers, an errant cannon and the unpredictable hand of fate while roaring along the iron rails. Every shot has the authenticity and the unassuming correct composition of a Mathew Brady Civil War photograph, wrote film historian David Robinson, No one not even Griffith or Huston and certainly not Fleming (Gone With the Wind) caught the visual aspect of the Civil War as Keaton did.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Three musical scores to choose from:
(1) Music composed and conducted by Carl Davis, performed by The Thames Silents Orchestra (in 5.1 Stereo Surround or 2.0 Stereo)
(2) Music arranged and directed by Robert Israel
(3) Theatre organ score by Lee Erwin
- A video tour of the authentic General, presented in association with The Southern Museum
- A tour of the filming locations, presented by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes
- Behind-the-scenes home movie footage
- Filmed introduction by Gloria Swanson
- Filmed introduction by Orson Welles
- The Buster Express, a brisk montage of train gags from throughout Keaton s career
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