The new Blu-ray disc (and re-issue DVD) from Kino Classics presents TWO DIFFERENT versions of THE SAPHEAD, derived from two different camera negatives.
I prefer watching the "Alternate" version, it is way better in the second half with better interior details.
The first version is the standard "Rohauer" version with his re-issues titles and film tinting. The "Alternate" version (accessible from the extras menu) presents what is believed to be the foreign camera negative version that would have been sent to other countries to have the 1-frame dialogue cards translated (Kino inserted the Rohauer dialogue cards that are long enough to read).
The "Rohauer" version has new Rohauer titles and a brief history of the story on stage before the movie starts. The "Alternate" version recreates what the original title card might have looked like. Unfortunately the original title cards have not survived over time.
The "Rohauer" version is 2 minutes longer than the "Alternate" version, but this discrepancy, demonstrated in a brief bonus documentary, is due to slightly shorter cuts of some scenes. Nothing major is missing.
The "Rohauer" version may look sharper at first, but you will notice much more detail in the dark areas of the "Alternate Version". The wedding scene is particularly dark around the edges, Kino tried to compensate for the edge darkness by raising the black levels on the edges, but this does not restore the details, It just gives a weird halo effect that looks unnatural. The "Alternate" version has all details and a smooth grey-tone.
The "Rohauer" version tints all scenes various colors (muted somewhat on this new re-release) while the "Alternate" version only tints the night scenes blue. Which version is correct is unknown as the tinting continuity log is lost. The negative of the "Alternate" version had all of the night scenes mounted on one reel for tinting while all other scenes were edited together. This hints that only the night scenes were originally tinted.
The bonus documentary "A PAIR OF SAPHEADS" compares selected scenes from the two versions, showing how the camera placement differs. Sometimes one version has tighter framing, other times it is the other version with tighter framing. It is obvious that two different negatives, filmed at the same time, survive.
Comparing this new Blu-ray to the old "Art of Buster Keaton" DVD (which only contains the "Rohauer" version) shows an overall sharper, stable image. The old DVD was not bad, this is just a little better. The tints on the old DVD are much more brighter, this new Blu-ray tones them down to a more natural look.
Aside form the above mentioned bonus, there is also an audio recording from May 5th 1962 of Buster Keaton at a private intimate party. The amateur recording is primitive and often hard to hear as the microphone is too far away, so turn up the volume. This peak into his off-screen world shows his joy in social parties.
There is also a collection of stills from the movie.
A miss-named, miss-leading bonus item called "Why They Call Him Buster" would lead you to believe this is a documentary about Buster starting out in show business. But NO this is only a promo for Kino's LOST KEATON DVD & Blu-ray release. Shameful! Why didn't they just call this a promo.
I am sorry there is no audio commentary, I especially like to listen to them on silent movies. They often help you understand out-dated jokes or forgotten cameos.
As far as the movie goes, this is Buster's first feature film. Since the original title card is lost we don't know if he got star billing in the title, but in the cast credits he is last.
While not his best work, Buster is still enjoyable here and this is a 'must-have' for his fans. Buster is the 'comedy hero' in this otherwise dramatic film.
If you are just getting to know Buster, i direct you to his classics like "The General"The General [Blu-ray] and "Sherlock Jr." Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages [Blu-ray].
This collection contains the first 3 films Buster made following the filmmaking apprenticeship he experienced under Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle from 1917-19. After seeing the dissatisfying results of "The High Sign", he was hired to do "The Saphead" while thinking up a better idea for his 2-reeler debut, which eventually came to be "One Week".
THE SAPHEAD (1920): "The Saphead" is based on the play "The Henrietta", which had been a hit on Broadway and starred Douglas Fairbanks in the role of Bertie "the Lamb" Van Alstyne. Fairbanks had recommended Buster for the role in this filmed version, retitled "The Saphead".
Buster's role doesn't start until about 10 minutes into the movie, where we see him wolfing down a big meal and being overly pampered by valets and servants. Bertie the Lamb is the son of a wealthy man who thinks his son is spoiled and soft. Because Bertie has read a book that states that the modern girl is more interested in a dangerous guy than a safe guy, he goes to a gambling parlor and then tries to get himself arrested. In this scene, fans of Buster's are given a rare treat: He opens his mouth and shows his teeth, which almost develops into a full smile! What a cutie!!
"The Saphead" is actually a drama that's peppered with the subjects of infidelity, illegitimate children, death, suicide, and financial ruin. The only comedic moments in the film are supplied by Buster, who is allowed to practice his trademark pratfalls in a few scenes, which help illustrate the depth of his inept character, the Lamb. But because of his role, the film is worth watching simply because he's in it.
THE HIGH SIGN (1920): "The High Sign", a 2-reeler that was shelved after its completion in January 1920, was actually released to the public after Buster had an unforeseen accident that derailed his filmmaking schedule, thus leaving him without a release to fulfill his contract obligations in April 1921. Buster intended "The High Sign" to be his 2-reel debut under his new contract, but was unsatisfied with the results, believing that his debut should have stronger material. "The High Sign" features him as a shooting gallery employee who is forced into the role of "button man" for a group of low-rent gangsters, who use a "high sign" for a password. Although "The High Sign" wasn't up to Buster's standards, it's as good as most of the 2-reelers he made in the future, and I think it deserved a better reason to be released than as an alternative because of the consequences caused by a broken foot.
ONE WEEK (1920): "One Week" is the second 2-reeler Buster made, which did pass his quality control inspection. It's also, to this day, one of his most popular 2-reelers, so he was correct in releasing it first. "One Week" is about newlyweds who are gifted with a house-building kit. Not knowing that the jealous former suiter of his bride has sabotaged the construction directions, they build what turns out to be a cockeyed house (and throughout the film, they don't seem to notice that anything is wrong with it). The gags center around this dysfunctional building until the end, when we get to see one of the most famous scenes of Buster's career (involving a train).
Buy The Saphead: Ultimate Edition (1920) Now
Disclaimer: I am a huge fan of Keaton's work. This is why it pains me to say that "The Saphead" is weak, and not just by Keaton's standards. As much as I love this man skip this film. That said, I gave this DVD three stars because of the short features which follow it. "The High Sign," described by one reviewer as "a lark," is actually one of my favorites. Filled with enough gags for any short comedy, Keaton's acting is a pleasure and the plot is the sort of comedy/conspiracy narrative G. K. Chesterton might have made if silent films were his thing I'm always reminded of "The Man Who Was Thursday." "One Week" is another wonderful short. With the famed, surreal hobby-kit house and a perfect ending, it is another must see Keaton short.
So here's the problem: is it worth getting The Saphead just for the two shorts? If you're a Keaton fan and want to fill out the collection then go ahead, you won't regret it. If you're not a big fan, but like Keaton at his best, go for a DVD of more consistent quality I recommend the Our Hospitality/Sherlock Jr. double feature.
Read Best Reviews of The Saphead: Ultimate Edition (1920) Here
THE SAPHEAD is a rather dull romantic comedy. I'm guessing that if it didn't have Buster Keaton in the title role, this film wouldn't have seen a DVD release for another twenty years. From a historical viewpoint, I suppose we must be grateful to the film, as it established Keaton as a bankable star, thus enabling him to go to bigger and better things. But judging the film on its own merits, I can only say that I was completely bored by it.
The movie has a few major flaws. The most annoying is the fact that Keaton (although the star) doesn't have enough screen time, and the other characters are one-dimensional and simply not interesting. The script is adapted from a play by the name of THE NEW HENRIETTA, and I can only hope that the material was funnier on the stage, because it certainly didn't translate well to the screen. The story takes too long to set itself up, the plot isn't terribly inspired, and, worst of all, most of the jokes aren't all that funny. Keaton does his best with what he has to work with, but, truthfully, there isn't much to this. He livens things up a bit on a handful of occasions, but for the most part, he is overwhelmed by the leaden script.
Also included on the DVD are two short movies. Unlike the main feature, these two were co-written and co-directed by Buster Keaton himself. The difference couldn't be any more staggering. Give the man some creative control, and he turns out material a thousand times better. While the main feature is slow, ponderous and dull, these two shorts are fast-paced and hilarious.
The first short film is THE HIGH SIGN. By cheating his way through at a shooting gallery, Buster finds himself employed as both a bodyguard and a hit man. The movie culminates in a large house with multiple revolving walls and trapdoors. Buster and company leap through them with reckless abandon. I'm quite torn by watching this. Part of me wants to admire the craftsmanship and the effort that went into designing the physical gags and the intricate set. The other part of me just wants to be engulfed by the sheer entertainment.
The second short on the disc, ONE WEEK, starts with a fun gag involving Buster Keaton and his new bride attempting to exit one car and enter another -while both automobiles are still moving. In any case, the newlyweds have been given a house as a wedding-gift. But there's one catch. The "house" is a kit, a do-it-yourself construction job. Thanks to some sabotage from the wife's ex, Buster builds himself a bizarre structure, with several features not found in ordinary homes. Anyone who knows anything about Buster Keaton's style of comedy should salivate at the thought of his baffled but determined character given over to that premise. And the result here is wonderful. The production crew built a giant house prop worthy of Keaton's comedy, and there's a fun gag that involves the moving of an unwieldy piano that rivals the problems that beset Laurel and Hardy in their Oscar-winning short film THE MUSIC BOX.
The picture quality is quite good considering that the material is over eighty years old. The DVD cover claims that the soundtracks are a modern recreation of the original scores, and while I can't independently verify that, it seems appropriate enough. I'm hesitant as to whether I should really recommend this DVD given that I was so utterly bored by the main feature. The two extras (of about twenty minutes each) are worthy of purchase though. Perhaps I should say that this disc will mainly be of interest to Buster Keaton fans. People looking for a solid introduction to the man's work should probably choose one of the other entries in the Art Of Buster Keaton DVD series.
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This DVD contains one feature and two shorts from Keaton's earliest work as an independent filmmaker after he ceased his three year partnership with Roscoe Arbuckle in 1920 after Arbuckle left the Comique company to sign with Paramount.
"The Saphead" does not showcase Keaton the filmmaker, but rather Keaton the actor. The script is from a play, the directors are individuals Keaton never worked with before or hence, and the studio was Metro, predecessor of MGM. Keaton plays Bertie the Lamb, mild-mannered and spoiled son of Nick Van Alstyne, "the Wolf of Wall Street". In spite of the fact that Keaton had no creative input to the film and isn't actually its centerpiece, there is much to like about this film and much that is so Keatonesque. Keaton plays an old-fashioned romantic and someone that is thrust into the role of the fall guy by the actual bad guy a theme he repeats in his own features. He also has down pat the part of being the well-dressed dapper man of the 1920's, which he repeats with more comic effect in "The Battling Butler".
"The High Sign" was Keaton's first two-reeler after he went solo in 1920, but it was not the first film he released. Here he plays a drifter who gets hired by a member of the gang "The Blinking Blizzards" to run a shooting gallery. In a turn of events that can happen only in a Keaton film, Buster winds up being hired to both kill the father of the girl he loves and also to protect him. The film ends with a funny chase sequence through a house that has a series of trick doors, false walls, and traps that could only be designed by the mind of Keaton.
Keaton disliked "The High Sign" and delayed its release. Instead, his premiere release was "One Week". Here Keaton is the groom in the story of a pair of newlyweds that receive a wedding gift of an assemble-it-yourself house. Unfortunately, the bride has a jilted suitor that wants revenge. He gets it by renumbering all of the containers of building supplies that come with the manufactured home. The result is a house that is incorrectly assembled to say the least. The roof doesn't fit, the kitchen sink is on the outside of the house, and the chimney is over the bathtub, among other faults.
I really like the score on all of the Kino Keaton DVDs, and the video, though not perfect, is better than anything you'll find in the public domain. The only bad thing I can say is that there are no extra features or commentary at all. In their earlier DVDs, of which this is one, it seems like Kino didn't really grasp the power of DVD to deliver extra features and just reissued the VHS tapes of many of their silents in DVD form with no upgrades.
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I saw this movie before the first Steve Martin "Pink Panther" movie. This movie is definitely worth watching...as Abraham Lincoln said, "People who like this sort of thing will find this to be the sort of thing they like". At any rate, I just really like "The Pink Panther 2"...not sure how to describe it...it's just funny and fun.
