This is the highest ranked addition to the list. Again, it's really interesting to me when a movie is added to the anniversary list, even though it was around when the original list was put out. But, I support this addition. It's kind of interesting because it centers on the Civil War, and Buster (the protagonist) is from the South. And, since I've spent 99% of my life in Union states, it was really foreign for me to be rooting for a Confederate. So, in case you don't know, the American Civil War was one of (if not the) first industrial war. Which, along with a lot of other things, means that the railroads played a very important part in the war. And, turns out, that The General is a type of train. And, the entire story pretty much takes place on trains.
It was actually highly entertaining. Maybe I need to rethink my opinions about silent films. Because for hating them, I think I have actually liked the majority of the ones I've watched so far. And, the silent comedies are actually really good. Because they don't really have much dialogue, almost all of the comedy is physical comedy, which is hilarious. And Buster Keaton is hilarious.
Maybe I should talk about him for a little bit... Or, I guess write, since I'm not actually talking. Anyways... Buster was a nickname that Harry Houdini gave him. How awesome is that? he started his career in a vaudeville act with his parents. You can google vaudeville, but it was a theater type of entertainment, so people would go to a theater/arena/venue of some king and they would watch the acts. But, the big thing that Buster was known for was always having a solid poker-face, which was typically described as deadpan. I didn't research this, but I'm pretty sure he did all of his own stunts. He definitely did this really epic one in a movie called Steamboat Bill Jr., where a whole side of a house falls on him, and he miraculously is standing right where the window will be, so he doesn't get hit. You should watch it on YouTube. That scene is actually referenced in an episode of Arrested Development, when the 2nd model home falls apart and Buster Bluth is standing right where the window is.
But, back to Buster Keaton. He was a great comedy, and extremely well know in his time and still today. Well, he's probably not that well know by the public, but he is covered in any TV special about the great comedians of all time. The guy made over 100 movies. That's kind of ridiculous. And I would know about triple digits of movies.
Anyways, back to the review of The General... It was pretty good. It had a good mix of comedy with a little drama, a love story, a lot of action. I would watch it again, but I think there needs to be maybe a year or two in between viewings just because the entire movie follows this train around, so it really is this long continuous train ride. So you do need a little time as a view to recover from that.
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