I must disagree with Leonard Maltin; Steamboat Bill Jr. is one of Keaton's best, and as a very fluid and well-plotted example of late-silent filmmaking, it makes an excellent intro to his work for neophytes-better perhaps than some of the more deliriously surreal comedies such as Sherlock Jr. Keaton's performance as the college boy son of a riverboat captain is generally regarded as his best acting, and the 20-30-minute hurricane sequence is one of his most remarkable feats of solo pantomime (it includes the famous clip of a building front falling on him, the window landing exactly where he stands). This tape is also worth noting for the presence on it of a recently discovered complete version of the short Convict 13, one of the last missing bits of silent Keaton.
I have most of the Buster Keaton DVDs and this is one of the most fun. "Steamboat Bill Jr" is the typical Buster Keaton plot, with twice the stuntwork. The hurricane scene is one of his most famous and shows the talent, genius and dexterity of this man. Incredibly fun and entertaining for the whole family.
The first short, "Convict 13" is not a very high quality print, and some parts of it get very hard to decipher, but you must remember that 1 complete reel of this film was considered lost forever until recently. At least we get to see the short in it's entirety. "Convict 13" was one of Keaton's first starring movies for Metro studios and shows him in a very slapstick-ish role; His trademark dean-pan expressionism and personality have not quite evolved at the time of this film. It's still very fun, but not as sophisticated as his later work.
The final short on this DVD "Daydreams", is another 'nearly lost' classic. The DVD states that some of the footage is unavailable and they took the liberty to piece a few extra stills and title cards to make the movie flow with a comprehensible storyline. Once again, the transfer quality is not high, but better than "Convict 13". "Daydreams" is classic Keaton, complete with the chase scene of 20-30 police officers, ala "Cops" (See 'The General' DVD). There is an implied attempted suicide in "Daydreams", but it's all completely off screen.
Once again, I have yet to be disappointed by a Buster Keaton DVD from Kino International. I recommend it highly.
Buy Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Now
As one of his last great silent films, Steamboat Bill Jr.(1928) is one of Buster Keaton's finest. Nearly a third of it's 69 minute running time is comprised of some of the most spectacular and funniest stunt work Keaton ever did. The General, Our Hospitality and the 45 minute Sherlock Jr. are better films but none are any more entertaining than Steamboat Bill Jr .
Bill (Ernest Torrence) is the tough Captain and owner of the old and somewhat run-down Stonewall Jackson river boat. He is about to be run out of business by the richest man in town, King (Tom McGuire). King has built a huge, fancy river-boat and gets the Stonewall condemned.
Bill then gets word that his son is going to visit him. He has not seen his son for many years-Bill Junior aka Willie, has been in college back east-and Bill Sr. imagines his son must be bigger than he is. He's pretty disappointed that not only does his son look like a 90 pound weakling, but he's got a city slicker hat on that has got to be replaced pronto. Father decides its time to make a man out of his son, while son Willie, has his eyes on a beautiful young lady (Marion Byron) who happens to be chief rival King's daughter.
Father Bill ends up in jail, and Buster Willie tries to break him out. He succeeds, but is almost accosted himself so Father turns himself back in and Willie is sent to the hospital with a minor injury. Just when it looks like the old Steamboat is doomed for extinction, and Willie won't get the girl the weather changes.
The final extended sequence of the film begins at the front porch of the King Hotel. King is warned that a wind storm is coming and the pier is not going to be strong enough to hold his fancy boat against the wind.
The wind blows and the death defying stunts, and inventive sight gags begin. A man tries to start his car, the wind blows the hood of the car up which makes the car into a land sail boat-with the man being dragged down the street holding onto his cars bumper. The car comes to a halt in front of the King Hotel. The Pier collapses and the King Steamboat breaks away and some of its crew leap for their lives. The entire front of the King Hotel collapses into splinters and is blown away. People on the street struggle as they run for cover and shelter.
Buster Willie who is in the hospital, remains in his bed as the patients and nurses flee out the hospital which is then entirely blown away. Buster tries to leave the area with remarkable calm but must leap onto his bed as it is propelled through the ruins of the town's streets and through a horse stable. In the middle of the street, Buster goes under the bed for cover. A man leaps from the second story of his house onto the bed. The Bed collapses on Buster. The wind blows the escaping man and the bed away.
Then the somewhat confused Willie rises to his feet, in front of the house that will be ripped apart by the winds and give us one of the most infamous and death defying stunts in all of movie history. As he stands groggy and confused, the entire two ton facade of the house falls and crashes over him. A small window opening just happens to have passed over the very spot he is standing. Buster had positioned himself with only inches to spare so that the facade would crash over him but avoid crushing him to death. If he had missed his mark by a few inches, or if something had gone wrong, Buster Keaton would have been crushed to death.
Realizing how close he has come to death, Willie tries to run, but the wind is too strong and soon he is sliding and tumbling and being blown as if he is a tumbleweed down the street. Eventually he winds up amongst stage props at what remains of the theater. More inventive gags follow leading to an exciting finale in which he must rescue his father from drowning in the Jail,the woman he loves, and more.
Keaton did all of his own stunts. He designed many of them to be shot in longshots, choreographing movements so he tumbled or was dragged from end of the frame to the other. His acrobatic ability continues to amaze. It should come as no surprise that one of Keaton's biggest fans is Jackie Chan, who carries on old stone-face `s tradition quite well.
The credits list Charles F. Reisner as the director of Steamboat Bill Jr., but it is unlikely Reisner even co-directed the feature with Keaton (Keaton did collaborate with Eddie Cline on several shorts). Keaton actually directed all of his feature films, sharing or giving away credit to a string of studio assigned directors who did very little work on Keaton's films.
Also featured on the wonderful KINO DVD (and video) are two wonderful Keaton shorts. Convict 13 and Daydreams. Convict 13 (1920) contains some clever physical slapstick choreography while Daydreams (1922) shows the early genesis of ideas that would be fully realized in the classic Sherlock Jr., and ends with an exciting chase scene in New York City.
Steamboat Bill Junior was the last film Buster made for producer Joseph M. Schenck. He would then begin his ill-fated contract with MGM. After The Camera Man and during Spite Marriage, the sound era began and MGM would team Keaton with Jimmy Durante (bad idea) and then in several mediocre comedies completely mis-using Keaton's talent and forcing severe restrictions on him. Keaton already in a bad marriage and an alcoholic, allowed his career to be destroyed.
Buster Keaton is one of the top directors, and comics who ever lived. He experimented with film in ways that none of his contemporaries even dreamed of and in doing so surpasses even Chaplin and Lloyd in terms of genius. Some of the innovations he explored continue to be used by modern film-makers today.
Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You
Read Best Reviews of Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Here
When we think about Buster Keaton, we think of one of the kings of slapstick comedy during the silent era. The master of physical comedy, a talent known for his deadpan expression and his films, well-revered today as one of the best actors and directors of all time and beloved by many.
But in 1928, Buster Keaton was going through one of the most problematic times of his life. A marriage to Natalie Talmadge (of the popular Talmadge family and sister to actresses Norma and Constance) which was going south and to make things worse but two years prior, Keaton had learned that Joseph M. Schenk (the man in which Keaton was contracted to) would be taking the job as President of the new United Artists (created by D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks).
And with Keaton now losing independence as a director/actor and becoming part of the new studio mentality, in the three year period, he would create three films which would be his final films he would have complete control over and that was "The General" (1926), "College" (1927) and his final film with United Artists, "Steamboat Bill, Jr" (1928).
Like "The General", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is considered one of the best films that Keaton had created but in 1928, people didn't feel the same way. People were now getting read for the talkies (which was in its infancy) and slapstick comedy was phasing out and people were wanting something new and different.
Eventually like many silent era stars, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is considered as Keaton's last great silent film and is now considered today as not just one of the top Keaton comedy films ever created but one of the top comedy silents of all time.
VIDEO:
"Steamboat Bill, Jr." is quite literally the best looking version of the film available and for an 82-year-old film, Kino International has once again done a spectacular job on a silent film release on Blu-ray.
Before I discuss the picture quality of "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", it's important to note that because this is a silent film, it's important to emphasize that each silent film has been handled and stored differently. With that being said, I also want to add that there are only so many very good silent films still around, many destroyed from fires started by the Nitrate film or mishandling (or improper storage). Fortunately, a good number of Keaton films have strong film elements that have led to Kino International wanting to release more Keaton films on Blu-ray and to also make sure the film has not been digitally tampered.
Similar to "The General", Kino International has done a a great job with bringing this film to Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p High Definition, black and white, yes, the film is not pristine (no silent film in HD will be) looking as it does have scratches, dust, hair and other damage that the film has gone through within the last 80-years. But this is to be expected, if anything, many silent films on nitrate were not well taken care of, so each time I see a film in which the films are much better than I expect, I'm quite pleased and for "Steamboat Bill, Jr." in HD, it's definitely a major improvement over its original DVD counterpart.
I have watched many silent films that have had considerable nitrate damage but this film still looks fantastic for its age and you will not see the nitrate damage or acid buildup in the film's sides. Yes, it's not pristine but it's the best looking version of the film that I have seen so far. There is a good amount of detail where you can actually see detail on the ground, on the wood of the Steamboat bill ship, the curvatures and bark on a tree. It's important to note that some elements of the film do show its change in black levels but by no means was this distracting for me. I know of one review that said that contrast was blinding and I think that comment was a bit excessive. There are changing levels but by no means was it blinding or over-contrast. I found the black levels and contrast more distracting on the DVD but I believe that KINO did a wonderful job in fixing it on the Blu-ray release (and I am assuming it was fixed also on the ultimate collection 2-disc DVD that was released simultaneously on the same day as the Blu-ray).
The differences between the Buster Keaton Estate version and the Killiam Shows Archives version is quite interesting as the films show different takes. Because the film were handled by different properties, the picture quality is slightly softer in the Killiam version but personally, both looks good and I'm very grateful that both films are included in this release.
Many have wondered if the film does have any DNR and Bret Wood posted on Nitrateville.com:
When we transferred THE GENERAL, we had the grain-reducer turned down to zero, assuming that would kill it. But when we QC'ed the Blu-Ray, we saw traces of digital artifacts. As a result, we re-transferred THE GENERAL for Blu-Ray, with the grain-reducer not just turned to zero, but completely by-passed (and we followed the same technique for STEAMBOAT BILL JR.).
By this time, the DVD of THE GENERAL had already been released, so it has a slight amount of digital noise reduction, but it's virtually undetectable on a SD monitor.
But despite its having its share of dust and particles and other things that do show up in the video, comparing both this Blu-ray version to the DVD version in my Kino "Art of Buster Keaton" set, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." looks fantastic on Blu-ray!
On the DVD, there is constant flickering and there were times that blacks look quite deep and were hard to see faces at times. Also, seeing how much cleaner the print looks on Blu-ray vs. the original KINO DVD is quite amazing.
Iknow some Blu-ray purists that have never seen a silent film can be alarmed that silent films are not clear and pristine but the fact is many of them aren't but if we can get something as close to perfect, for an 82-year-old film, I'm quite impressed with the results!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
With any release of silent films on Blu-ray, one thing that I have always wanted to see is more musical scores that people can select for their own viewing and personal preference.
For "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", you get the The Biography Players music presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, an organ score by Lee Erwin and a piano score by William Perry. Unfortunately, the music by Gaylord Carter presented on the original DVD is not included.
It's important to note that the Buster Keaton Estate version comes with The Biography Players DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 score and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo version and the Lee Erwin mono organ score. The Killiam Shows Archive version only features the William Perry Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score.
The Biography Players lossless score was well-done! I enjoyed Gaylord Carter's score from the original, so to hear another score, I was quite impressed of how the orchestra carried on various instruments during a scene's most emotional or hair-raising moments. It is important to note that the score is presented on all five audio channels. But just in case, you don't like that, you can always select a Dolby Digital 2.0 version of the score.
I also enjoyed the organ score by Lee Irwin (presented in Dolby Digital mono) and you get the Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score by William Perry.
There are no subtitles in this Blu-ray release.
SPECIAL FEATURES
"Steamboat Bill, Jr." comes with the following special features:
* Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Killiam)(1:10:29) The second version of the film which is similar to the Buster Keaton Estate version but the Killiam Shows Archive version does feature different cuts of scenes (such as the trying on a hat scene). The Killiam Shows Archive version only features the William Perry Dolby Digital 2.0 piano score.
* Visual Essay (12:20) A short documentary explaining Keaton's mindset during the filming of "Steamboat Bill, Jr." and the challenges that Keaton faced at this time in his life.
* Steamboat Bill: The Song Early recordings of a folk song that created the persona from which the film was derived. Performed by Edward Meeker (1911, 2:10) and Irving Kaufman (1919, 2:48).
* "Why The Call Him Buster" (1:11) A musical montage of pratfalls and stunts created to promote the upcoming release of KINO's "Lost Keaton".
* Stills Using your remote, you can cycle through various stills from the film.
EXTRAS:
"Steamboat Bill, Jr." comes with a slipcase.
JUDGMENT CALL:
As a big fan of Buster Keaton films, from his silents to his talkies, I do feel that Kino International has done a fantastic job with this Blu-ray release of "Steamboat Bill, Jr.".
While I really enjoyed "The General", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is a film that I enjoyed even more. I felt the physical comedy by Buster Keaton was fantastic! The scenes when the hurricane hits the town literally makes your jaw drop and makes you wonder how they created those scenes in 1928. Hurricane-like winds, watching Keaton risk his life and putting his life into this crew's hands as homes and buildings collapse all around him, houses falling on him and literally escaping harms way to seeing him on a tree and being carried away by the hurricane (of course, a crane whisking him away from land to ocean). The fact is for this film, Keaton put his life in jeopardy and just the slightest miscalculation could have either killed him or maimed him. Fortunately, Buster and his crew prepared quite well for those scenes.
Keaton including his third wife have said in past interviews that he didn't care about doing those scenes because at the time, he was fighting off depression. His marriage had failed (which would actually hurt him severely a few years later), his financial problems were mounting and the lifestyle that his wife had wanted was taking its toll (it's important to note that in their bitter divorce, Natalie Talmadge literally took all his money and his children away from him and leaving him a broken man driven to alcoholism).
As much as I love the film, I can't help but feel saddened that this incredible film was a box office failure and literally stripping away Buster Keaton's control over his films. But the fact is that Keaton was one of the casualties of the crossover from silent films to the talkies. Without Joseph Schenk, without the support of his wife, without control over his films. But he took the advice to close down his own studio from Schenk and to move to Columbia Pictures. This slapstick comedy king had his whole role reduced when he went to MGM (which Buster would say was the worst decision he made all his life) but the truth was, whether he kept his studio or not, the movies would never be the same for these silent film stars. And while Keaton would go on to make commercially successful films, the days of Keaton showcasing his physical comedy (which the studio would not allow and he had to work with a stunt double) was over.
So, in many ways, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." can be seen by many of us today, as his final silent film in which we got to see the actor at his most daring. Exciting, captivating, and doing things that not even Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd would ever dare do. But the attitudes towards cinema during those final silent years were not kind to these silent stars and for many people watching this film, its difficult to imagine how this film did terribly because it's a fantastic film that you can't help but respect Keaton for what he accomplished.
As for this Blu-ray release, once again, Kino has done silent film fans a big service. Another wonderful Keaton film in HD and their continuing dedication of bringing silent films to the masses, especially to those who are now discovering silent films for the very first time. The fact that you get both the Buster Keaton Estate version and the Killiam Shows Archive version is a major plus (same film but both have different takes and alternate scenes). Also, I was quite pleased with the features presented in this release.
I will say that if you are planning to buy this release, you're going to read different reviews about "Steamboat Bill, Jr." on Blu-ray and you are going to see reviews that are positive and negative due to the way the video is presented. I am on the side that feels the presentation of "Steamboat Bill, Jr." was well-done and I know there will be those who will debate the black-levels and the contrast and so forth. In my case, the contrast was not blinding but again, we all have different equipment.
But for the film alone, what was included on this Blu-ray release and its' over all presentation, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is a winner and is highly recommended!
Want Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Discount?
STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928): Never having seen each other before, preppy college student Buster arrives to meet his father at his father's riverboat town along the Mississippi River. Buster's burly father expects a tall blue-collar guy he can pass his riverboat business on to inherit but is disappointed to find a prancing Buster in pantaloons, ukulele, and a ridiculous French beret which comes to irritate his father. It's bad enough that Buster is an incompetent wreck on the boat, the worst thing he had done is get involved with the daughter of his father's enemy. Later, Buster's father gets sent to jail for trying to slug his enemy and this becomes an opportunity where Buster gets to prove himself. The last third of the movie contains some of the most classic scenes Keaton ever filmed, which involve the destruction of the town in a cyclone. Scene after scene shows Keaton bouncing around town trying to survive the desecration swirling around him. I've never seen him more athletic. This movie contains the famous scene of Keaton going through the glassless-window of the side of a 2-story house, which slams to the ground around him. You can see that the wall missed his left shoulder by about an inch. The film did not do well financially when it was released in 1928, but I think it was due to a distribution problem. As an independent filmmaker, Keaton did not release all his films from one single company, such as a good one like MGM which turned his films into hits. I think Steamboat Bill, Jr. was released by United Artists, which was a troubled company. However, Steamboat Bill, Jr. is a definite classic and deserved to be a hit.
One of the offhand things I found amusing in this film is that there's an actual typo on one of the title cards! After seeing numerous silent films, I noticed that the punctuation and grammar in them is always perfect, so I was surprised to see a typo here! The title card that says "That must of happened when the dough fell in the tool chest" should read "That must've happened when the dough fell in the tool chest".
CONVICT 13 (1920): Another one of Keaton's early shorts, this one has the rambunctious quality similar to the shorts he did with Arbuckle a few years earlier. Buster gets kicked out of his golfing clothes by an escaped convict and winds up in that guy's stripes. He ends up in prison where we are shown quickly-paced gag after gag involving prisoners and guards. The print on this DVD is OK, but there are a few shots that appear mushy and unfocused. Still, Convict 13 is well worth a watch numerous times.
DAYDREAMS (1922): Daydreams shows Buster trying to win his gal by claiming through letters that he's a successful career-guy-on-the-go, when actually he's the opposite and most of the film shows him getting into trouble in the jobs he's too embarrassed to admit he has. There's a warning at the beginning that a few scenes from the original print have been lost, but it doesn't really matter, unless you've seen those scenes and know what you're missing. I noticed that a classic scene of Buster on the paddlewheel of a boat was cut a little but it didn't bother me much. Daydreams shows a lot of filmed-on-location scenes, which I prefer over his studio soundstage filmmaking.
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American audiences tend to resist foreign films for some good reasons. Sure, its tough to keep up with subtitles at times, and yes, sometimes the translations are lacking the depth the filmaker intends to convey. But this is a film that can and should be enshrined in the Movie Hall of Fame as one of the funniest, most endearing films ever released. Audiences who are willing to put up with subtitles will quickly find themselves hysterical and at last, on DVD, "La Cage Aux Folles" deserves to find a new audience, a new generation that appreciates broad humor, with a few good lessons thrown in. 
