Our Hospitality/Sherlock Junior (1924)Director: Buster Keaton
These were two of the most amazing and creative films I have seen in months. Buster Keaton wrote, directed, acted, and did all his own stunts in these two films. He even did stunts for a lot of the other actors in these films too.
"Our hospitality" is the story of a feud between two families that reaches a crisis point when Keaton falls in love with a daughter in the other family. In "Sherlock Jr." Keaton plays an aspiring detective and movie projectionist who dreams that he is a famous and skilled detective. Not only are these two films engaging, well made, and interesting, they are funny!! I go weeks sometimes without laughing at a sitcom or a movie that is supposed to be a comedy. I found myself laughing out loud numerous times during this film.
There are some classic scenes that just stand out when you watch these movies. The whole "floating down the river" scene at the end of "Our Hospitality" is jaw-dropping. These have got to be some of the most dangerous stunts ever attempted. In "Sherlock Jr." there is a pool game where every ball on the table is bounced around except for one which is miraculously untouched, there is the harrowing motorcycle ride, there is the escape from the gangsters, I could go on an on.
There were several occasions where as I was watching these movies, trying to anticipate what was going to happen next I said to myself, "No way. He's not really going to do that. That's not even possible. No sane man would attempt a stunt like that." And yet...he does.
These films are like live action Bugs Bunny cartoon. There are about 4 or 5 scenes from both of these films which are completely seared into my brain. That isn't an easy thing to do. Most films don't have one memorable scene, and to have a single film with 5 or 6 of these scenes is nothing short of amazing.
They just don't make filmmakers like Buster Keaton anymore. I wish I knew where his creativity came from. If directors today could channel even a fraction of the skill that Keaton exhibited, cinema would be an amazing and wonderful place.
My Rating: 5 out of 5
