Blu-ray Review: The Buster Keaton Collection – Volume 2

Distributor: Cohen Media Group

Release Date: July 09, 2019

Region: Region A

Length:

Sherlock Jr. — 00:45:31
The Navigator — 01:06:11

Video: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC)

Main Audio:

Sherlock Jr. —

2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio

The Navigator —

5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio

Subtitles: None

Ratio: 1.32:1

Notes: A DVD edition of this Volume is also available.

Charles Chaplin once went on record about his particular film aesthetic by saying, “I don’t need interesting camera angles, [because] I am interesting.” It’s a true enough statement, but Buster Keaton’s early career proves that it is unnecessary to choose one over the other. Buster Keaton was always interesting, but his approach to filmmaking was also incredibly cinematic. Andrew Sarris probably articulated this best when he wrote:

“The difference between Keaton and Chaplin is the difference between prose and poetry, between the aristocrat and the tramp, between adaptability and dislocation, between the function of things and the meaning of things, eccentricity and mysticism, between man as a machine and man as angel… There are those who would go further and claim Keaton as pure cinema as opposed to Chaplin’s essentially theatrical cinema.” –Andrew Sarris (The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968)

It’s impossible to improve upon this comparison. Both men epitomized the silent comedian, but Buster Keaton epitomized silent cinema. He is recognized not only as one of the silent cinema’s most hilarious comedians but as one of the cinema’s most brilliant silent filmmakers.

Sherlock Jr.

Sherlock Jr. features one of Buster Keaton’s best comedic performances. It tells an incredibly simple story, and this ends up being a terrific advantage as it allows Keaton to organically and efficiently move from gag to gag while moving the story forward. Buster portrays a movie projectionist who hopes to become a great detective. After being accused of stealing a pocket watch from the father of his sweetheart, he daydreams himself into one of the movies that he is projecting and merges with the figures and the backgrounds on the screen. He “snoops out brilliant discoveries” as he imagines that he is a “master detective” named Sherlock, Jr. The result is a lighthearted film fantasy that is certain to please fans of the silent screen.

The Navigator 

While Sherlock Jr. was considered a failure upon its release, The Navigator was one of Keaton’s biggest box-office hits. In fact, Keaton claimed that it was his best feature. This reviewer respectfully disagrees with this assessment and prefers a great many of his other efforts (including Sherlock Jr.). It is certainly an amusing film, but the ship setting doesn’t allow Keaton to showcase his impressive comedic stunts with the same level of abandon. What’s more, the story required quite a few scenes that were purely expository. His skill at moving his stories forward organically with his gags takes a backseat to “adventure,” but this adventure isn’t nearly as suspenseful or as spectacular as it would be in The General.

The story follows a spoiled rich man named Rollo (Buster Keaton) who decides to marry Betsy (his sweetheart) and sail to Honolulu on a whim. She rightfully rejects his proposal, but he decides to go on the trip alone. Unfortunately, he boards the wrong ship—The Navigator—which is owned by Betsy’s father. When her father is taken by foreign saboteurs, she boards the boat to search for him before the aforementioned saboteurs cut the ship loose, and she and Rollo are set adrift. Silliness ensues.

The Presentation:

3 of 5 Stars

The Blu-ray disc is protected by the standard Blu-ray case with insert art framed by the Cohen Media Group’s “C” logo. It seems poor form to criticize their practice of branding their films by framing their art in this manner, but one does wish that they would have included a slip cover that features the art without the C-framing as they did with their release of The Great Buster. It should also be said that their artwork for this release isn’t quite as refined as the art for their Volume One and the upcoming Volume 3. The primary difference is in the font used for the two film titles. The text hasn’t been incorporated into the art and seems to have been added as an afterthought.

The disc’s menu features footage from both films and is both attractive and intuitive to navigate.

Picture Quality:

4.5 of 5 Stars

Both of these Cohen restorations have the edge over the previous Kino release (especially in terms of age related damage), but their transfer for Sherlock Jr. has a slight edge over their transfer for The Navigator.

The majority of Sherlock Jr. was taken from a restored scan of a first generation interpositive safety print, but certain missing shots were taken from a second generation internegative and a third generation safety print. Luckily, there aren’t any noticeable or distracting shifts in the quality or look of these shots. It’s great to report that this transfer looks terrific in motion and has healthier grain resolution than previous releases of the film.

The Navigator was taken from a third generation safety duplicate and was restored from a 4K scan. The third generation elements look nice but are understandably less impressive than the first generation elements that made up the majority of their restoration for Sherlock Jr. There is a bit more fine detail inherent than was seen in Kino’s transfer despite a decidedly thick layer of grain. Clarity is quite disappointing, but one really can’t blame the transfer. The trouble is obviously inherent in the source elements, and one feels that this might be the very best that this particular film can look in this format.

Sound Quality:

4.5 of 5 Stars

How should one go about scoring the sound transfer of a silent film? Both films feature a new score. Timothy Brock has composed a score for Sherlock Jr. and Robert Israel composed the score The Navigator. This second feature is actually given two mixes of Israel’s score. The 5.1 mix is noticeably more dynamic, but either choice is adequate for the film in question. We can’t say that either score faithfully represents their respective film’s original soundtrack because the original films didn’t have a soundtrack. However, the music does provide quality accompaniment.

Special Features:

3 of 5 Stars

Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face – (04:25)

The Great Stone Face is in keeping with the two featurettes included on Volume One. It’s a charming but decidedly lightweight commentary on Keaton’s comedic stoicism. Like the previous featurettes, this one has been built from mostly unused interview footage from the production of Peter Bogdanovich’s The Great Buster. Leonard Maltin, Bill Hader, Quentin Tarantino, and other carry-overs from the documentary make mostly generalized statements about Keaton’s trademark manner. It’s worth watching and may add to people’s appreciation of Keaton’s work even if it isn’t terribly revelatory.

Buster Keaton: The Comedian – (03:51)

The Comedian follows suit but shifts the focus to Keaton’s comedy and its vaudeville origins. Again, this short clip is fun and might add to the viewer’s appreciation of Keaton’s work, but it isn’t by any means a comprehensive examination of the subject.

Sherlock Jr. Restoration Trailer – (01:23)

The Navigator Restoration Trailer – (01:01)

It is nice to have the restoration trailers included here, but one wonders how these films were originally sold to the public. One wishes that the vintage originals could have been found and included.

Final Words:

The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 2 is an essential release for Keaton fans, but it should also appeal to cinephiles with an interest in silent cinema in general.