MovieChat Forums > The General (1927) Discussion > So first it flops and everyone hates it

So first it flops and everyone hates it

posted 14 years ago by hbfilmz
8 replies | jump to latest

but of the sudden its one of the greatest movies ever made? Besides the technical aspects of it and the stunts, what is great about this movie? and why did people change their mind?

[–] Disardor 14 years ago

Art/literature/music/film history is full of similar situations in which a work of art/literature/music/film is ignored or panned at the time of its release and then somewhere down the line it's re-discovered or re-examined and a sea change occurs in the perception of it. I think in large part with The General the expectations at the time would've been for a Buster Keaton film to be more of a straight-ahead, laugh-out-loud comedy and, while The General is funny, it's not hilarious in the way that many of the earlier Keaton comedies are and is much more ambitious than the public and critics would have liked. I've read contemporary reviews that criticize The General for being "very well made but not very funny."

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] hbfilmz 13 years ago

At least you guys agree that it's not funny.
As far as aging is concerned my friends and I are all 20 and none of us ever watches Keaton. Everyone watches Chaplin. People still do. Only film buffs watch Keaton.

[–] SinemaGirl 13 years ago

Can't we enjoy both Chaplin AND Keaton? And really Lloyd, too? Because if we want to talk popularity, Lloyd's films were far more popular in the 1920s than either Keaton or Chaplin (based primarily on his prodigious output compared to the other two). Chaplin's best films can be very sentimental, Lloyd's embody the go-getter of the Jazz Age, but as much as I enjoy those, Keaton's humor strikes me in a different way. It's difficult for me to describe, but I heard Richard Lewis talk about Keaton's appeal on TCM yesterday, and he was far more eloquent (Richard Lewis eloquent? YES!) than I can be here.

We've shown Keaton movies to non-film buffs, and his films go over huge! The General remains one of the most booked silent films at rep cinemas (and filled the Fox Atlanta a year or so ago). The General is not the relentless joke-fest like most of his other films, but IMO, is the most balanced of his features, with all elements meshing perfectly in service of the story. And the jokes in The General are funny, IMO.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] jtyroler 13 years ago

If you're wanting funnier stuff by Keaton, check out some of his shorts and earlier films. The General has some funny moments, but in some ways, it's more of an action or war film.

[–] bootblack987 11 years ago

At least you guys agree that it's not funny.

It's an action adventure movie. Why would it be funny??

[–] TheSilentMovieLady 12 years ago

First of all I have to say I love Keaton. But the truth is that it all comes down to availability. This was my first Keaton film when I found it in a $5 bin as a double feature with Steamboat Bill Jr. In all reality I think this is the easiest one to find of his on dvd and, so saying, is the most popular. I have to say my favorite of his was The Camerman. The Navigator was great too and that underwater scene was awesome!