I think the train-bridge crash scene was so effin epic. Honestly, with all the CGI out there nowadays, making 'destruction' scenes extraordinary and huge, none of it is as entertaining than actual trains collapsing actual bridges. Most of the action in The General was far better than all the greenscreen crap in movies today.
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Yes, the final train is epic but unfortunately it would lead to his downfall into MGM arms. The General was his most costly movie especially with the train scene. Because of the high cost and only average gate receipt;s, it would lose money for the the Producer. Therefore, Buster purposely made College a much cheaper movie that had even lower receipts which meant Schneck producer lost money on two straight movies. This would lead Joseph to get out of independent producing and he pushed Buster into the arms of MGM.
Still worth watching the movie though.
so after watching the General, i thought the movie has some good action and some well round humor in it. the one thing that looked fun was sitting on that bar that holds the train wheels together and going for a ride haha. but overall the story plot was written well and always enjoy war movies no matter what year its in.
jp
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Too true, but maybe were being idealistic in expecting todays societies to challenge their brains and not just accept getting fed on such tawdry material which they end up paying premium prices for aswell!?
For your exploring, it'll be worth having a look at www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000.htm if you havnt already, as you might find some admirable films which may engross you.
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I used to see silent film buffs as artsy-fartsy wine-and-cheese snots who feigned much more interest than they felt in order to show how sophisticated they were. (Perhaps because the only silent films I'd ever seen were Chaplin, and Chaplin leaves me cold. He does absolutely nothing for me. I'd as soon watch paint dry.)
I loved "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and reviewers would mention how this was the last film of silent film great Buster Keaton. I just lumped Keaton in with Chaplin as one of those people who did quaint old stuff that people pretended to be interested in.
Then Netflix recommended "The General". I liked the picture of Buster Keaton on the train. I remembered that he'd been very funny in "Forum". I could just instant stream it. Why the hell not?
Within fifteen seconds I forgot I was watching a "classic silent film" and was totally engrossed in letting Buster tell me a story.
I talk about my introduction to Keaton the way a newlywed tells about how she met her husband. I fell in love. There's no going back now.
Though Chaplin still leaves me cold.
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I love the appreciation of old movies. However, the funny thing is that a lot of people complain about the "crap" put out these days. Well, the truth is movies like The General weren't put out every week back in the day. There's a reason films like this become classics.
I flipped through some ancient issues of LIFE, and read all the movie reviews. Nothing's changed. There was just as much crap put out then as there is now.
It takes true classics like The General to survive the unending loads of crap put out during it's time. And then all the crap gets forgotten about, leaving only the classics, giving the impression that "certain times" were so much better.