BD 221-226 The Navigator, Seven Chances, Battling Butler, Our Hospitality, Go West & College

[swo17]

Presented from stunning 4K restorations, The Masters of Cinema Series presents three more films by the great Buster Keaton in their UK debuts on Blu-ray.

The Navigator (1924, dir. Buster Keaton & Donald Crisp) – Wealthy Rollo Treadway (Keaton) suddenly decides to propose to his neighbour across the street, Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire), and sends his servant to book passage for a honeymoon sea cruise to Honolulu. When Betsy rejects his sudden offer however, he decides to go on the trip anyway, boarding without delay that night. Because the pier number is partially covered, he ends up on the wrong ship, the Navigator, which Betsy’s rich father has just sold to a small country at war. Keaton was unhappy with the audience response to Sherlock Jr., and endeavoured to make a follow up that was both exciting and successful. The result was the biggest hit of Keaton’s career.

Seven Chances (1925, dir. Buster Keaton) – Jimmy Shannon (Keaton) learns he is to inherit seven million dollars, with a catch. He will only get the money if he is married by 7pm on his 27th birthday, which happens to be that same day! What follows is an incredible series of escalating set-pieces that could only have come from the genius of Buster Keaton.

Battling Butler (1926, dir. Buster Keaton) – A rich, spoiled dandy (Keaton) pretends to be a champion boxer, “Battling Butler”, to impress the family of the girl he loves. When the real Butler shows up, he decided to humiliate the imposter by having him fight the “Alabama Murderer”!

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition Hardbound Slipcase [3000 copies]
1080p presentations of all three films from the Cohen Film Collection’s stunning 4K restorations, with musical scores composed and conducted by Robert Israel
The Navigator – Audio commentary by silent film historians Robert Arkus and Yair Solan
New and exclusive video essay by David Cairns covering all three films
The Navigator – A short documentary on the making of the film and Keaton’s fascination with boats as sources of comedy, by film historian Bruce Lawton
A selection of rarely heard audio interviews with Buster Keaton (Runtime TBC)
FURTHER DISC EXTRAS TBC
A LIMITED EDITION 60-PAGE perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing on all three films; and a selection of archival writing and imagery

[Glowingwabbit]

Amazon UK says March 30th

[TMDaines]

My copy arrived today. It has a slightly different cover. Nice sturdy hardbox. Looks like MoC are doing these films justice.

[Marwood]

Thanks for the image. Are the films in individual thin amarays like volum one, or some other case?

[TMDaines]

Thanks for the image. Are the films in individual thin amarays like volum one, or some other case?

One standard thick Blu-ray keep case. Book(let) is external next to that case in the box. Basically the same as High Noon and The African Queen.

[Glowingwabbit]

I was hoping they would have gone with the same design as the previous Keaton collection for symmetry sake, but I do like this space saving box on my shelf.

[swo17]

Our Hospitality, Go West & College



The Masters of Cinema Series presents three more films directed by and starring Buster Keaton from brand new restorations.

Our Hospitality (1923) – Often cited as one of his most significant films—as well as one of his funniest—1923's Our Hospitality, which Keaton co-directed with John G. Blystone, is his take on the notorious feud between the Hatfield and McCoy clans (here renamed the Canfields and the McKays). Keaton is luckless William McKay, who must journey down South to view his lacklustre inheritance, only to be seduced along the way by one of the Canfields, Virginia, who lures him to her family's house so that the men of the clan can shoot him down. But William knows that the Canfield men won't kill him as long as he's in their house, so he endeavours to stay put there, against all obstacles. With its attention to 19th-century period detail and emphasis on integrating the gags into the storyline, Our Hospitality was not just a breakthrough in Keaton's career, but it was also noted even during its release as an advancement in the medium, with Variety proclaiming, "It marks a step forward in the production of picture comedies." From a 2K restoration

Go West (1925) – Keaton is at his most stone-faced as the memorably named "Friendless" in Go West, an irresistible blend of deadpan darkness and spectacular comic set-pieces. Friendless abandons city life to ride the rails to an Arizona ranch, where his ineptitude at almost everything only makes his nickname even more accurate. But when his one beloved companion, a cow named Brown Eyes, seems to be headed to a slaughterhouse fate, Friendless intervenes, and the resulting cattle stampede through the streets of Los Angeles is one of Keaton's most understandably famous and acclaimed sequences. From a 4K restoration

College (1927) Keaton follows up The General with a higher education comedy that seems to take a cue from Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925). Keaton is bookworm Ronald, whose high school girl Mary ditches him for someone with the athletic prowess that Ronald lacks. Determined to win her back, Ronald enters college with an eye on sports, but two left feet. From a 2K restoration

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition Hardbound Slipcase [3000 copies]
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from new restorations undertaken by The Cohen Film Collection
• Our Hospitality – new audio commentary by silent film historian Rob Farr
• Our Hospitality – alternate shorter cut of the film [55 mins], with optional commentary by film historian Polly Rose
• Go West – A new video essay by John Bengtson (Silent Echoes / Silent Traces / Silent Visions) on Go West's filming locations
• A new video essay by David Cairns
• The Railrodder – the 1965 short film starring Buster Keaton in one of his final film roles
• Optional audio commentary on The Railrodder with director Gerald Potterton and cameraman David DeVolpi
• Buster Keaton Rides Again – the 1965 documentary about, and produced concurrently with, the filming of The Railrodder
• Optional audio commentary on Buster Keaton Rides Again with director Gerald Potterton and cameraman David DeVolpi
• MORE EXTRAS TO BE ANNOUNCED
• A LIMITED EDITION 60-PAGE perfect bound collector's book featuring; a new essay by Philip Kemp; writing on all three films by Imogen Sara Smith; archival material on the filming locations used for Our Hospitality courtesy of John Bengtson

[swo17]

Just realized that for anyone lamenting the absence of Three Ages from MoC, it's included on the Kino release of The General that has the Hisashi score, so it's an essential supplement to MoC's Vol. 1 anyway. And now I'm wondering if there's any reason I should still keep this old thing (other than for the "Lost Keaton" shorts, which are going for an eminently reasonable price on their own)

[Kauno]

Just realized that for anyone lamenting the absence of Three Ages from MoC, it's included on the Kino release of The General that has the Hisashi score, so it's an essential supplement to MoC's Vol. 1 anyway. And now I'm wondering if there's any reason I should still keep this old thing (other than for the "Lost Keaton" shorts, which are going for an eminently reasonable price on their own)

Three Ages is included on the Kino release of Sherlock Jr.? Right?

[swo17]

You are correct that the old 2010 Blu-ray of Sherlock Jr included it but this 2017 release is what I'm calling essential (for the excellent Hisashi score). It includes both films in 2K restorations

[Kauno]

OK, but you were only more right.

[EddieLarkin]

Kino have released the new Lobster restorations of:

Three Ages
Our Hospitality
The General
College
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Eureka have released/announced the new Ritrovata restorations of:

Our Hospitality
Sherlock Jr
The Navigator
Seven Chances
Go West
Battling Butler
The General
College
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Cohen have released 6 of these same Ritrovata restorations:

Sherlock Jr.
The Navigator
Seven Chances
Battling Butler
The General
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Kino and Eureka both released the Lobster restorations of the 1917-1923 short films in 2016. Ritrovata have done a restoration of the 1920-1923 (non-Arbuckle) shorts, but they are so far unreleased.

This means everything Kino released in 2011/2012, bar The Saphead and the 1934-1937 Educational shorts, has been superseded. Ritrovata have done a restoration of The Saphead, also unreleased.

Criterion's release of The Cameraman and Spite Marriage completes his entire silent era output.

[senseabove]

Kino have released the new Lobster restorations of:

Spoiler

Three Ages
Our Hospitality
The General
College
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Eureka have released/announced the new Ritrovata restorations of:

Our Hospitality
Sherlock Jr
The Navigator
Seven Chances
Go West
Battling Butler
The General
College
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Cohen have released 6 of these same Ritrovata restorations:

Sherlock Jr.
The Navigator
Seven Chances
Battling Butler
The General
Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Kino and Eureka both released the Lobster restorations of the 1917-1923 short films in 2016. Ritrovata have done a restoration of the 1920-1923 (non-Arbuckle) shorts, but they are so far unreleased.

This means everything Kino released in 2011/2012, bar The Saphead and the 1934-1937 Educational shorts, has been superseded. Ritrovata have done a restoration of The Saphead, also unreleased.

Criterion's release of The Cameraman and Spite Marriage completes his entire silent era output.

Thanks for this. I've never been able to keep it clear who released which restoration where.

[dvakman]

This means everything Kino released in 2011/2012, bar The Saphead and the 1934-1937 Educational shorts, has been superseded.

I regret the need to muddy the waters further, but in the case of the Keaton shorts it's a little more complicated, because the two Blu-ray sets of short films that have been released by Kino in the US are sourced from different prints.

The three disc "Short Films Collection 1920-1923" released by Kino in 2011 is sourced from the Douris prints. The five disc "Shorts Collection 1917-1923" released by Kino in 2016 is sourced from the Lobster prints.

Although the 2016 Lobster release benefited from extensive restoration, in a number of cases the results are nevertheless less satisfying when compared to the 2011 release, due to the inferiority of the source prints.

One Week, The Scarecrow, The High Sign, The Goat, The Paleface, Cops, and The Balloonatic are all arguably better visually in the 2011 release (certainly in terms of definition); The Haunted House is more of a draw (although the Douris print is superior, the Lobster restoration is more historically accurate).

[Godot]

Can someone remind me which editions of the shorts have the complete version of Hard Luck? Is this on the MoC Blu-ray and the 2016 Kino but not the 2011 Kino?

Chronologically, here's what I found:

2001 Kino "Keaton ... Plus" DVD: YES. (Preceded by inter-title: "After several years, Buster returns again to the point of impact")
2006 MoC "The Complete Short FIlms 1917-1923" DVD: YES. (Preceded by inter-title: "years later...")
2011 Kino "Short Film Collection 1920-1923" Blu-ray: NO. (Beginning of short has disclaimer reading, in part, "Most of this gag is missing. And may never be found. Only a still remains. Only about 3 minutes are missing." When Buster dives off the board, we see this text: "It was here that Buster did his spectacular dive and missed the pool." Then inter-title: "years later..." Then another text screen: "And it was here that he returned, with Chinese wife and children." According to posters on the nitrateville forum, those two text screens were written by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill for a previous video release, before the missing scene was found, to explain what was missing.)
2016 MoC "The Complete Short FIlms 1917-1923" Blu-ray: YES. (But ... it's preceded by mistaken text "It was here that Buster did his spectacular dive and missed the pool", which came from the same source as on the 2011 Kino. The text makes no sense, since this text is followed by the inter-title: "years later..." and then the scene is then shown with Buster and Oriental wife & kids emerging from the hole he created with the high dive.)

I don't have this one to check, but reviews indicate...
2016 Kino "The Shorts Collection 1917-1923" Blu-ray: YES.

[swo17]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

[Godot]

You're welcome and Happy Father's Day! I find it apropos to be discussing this once-lost scene today, as Buster's suicidal inclination is remedied by marriage and paternity. Having watched that ending multiple times last night to check for the above post, I found it uplifting and touching, and even progressive. It seems pretty daring to show miscegenation in 1921 Hollywood, as it was illegal in CA until 1948 (CA becoming the first state since 1887 Reconstruction era to strike down miscegenation laws, according to Wikipedia). Keaton lines up the Oriental kids and spouse to face the camera to ensure the viewer gets the joke (which Keaton would tell interviewers was one of his best gags, getting the biggest laughs of his career). It's a nicely satisfying ending, after all the emotional strife and humiliation Buster's been through in this short. But he wasn't so progressive that he doesn't use a miscegenation joke in Seven Chances ... do I need to spoiler-protect this? Seems like we've discussed

Spoiler

the scene where he approaches a potential bride but recoils and beats a hasty retreat when she's revealed as dark-skinned ... here's the shot from John Bengtson's wonderful "silent locations" website

By the way, the inter-titles are noticeably different between the Kino and MoC "Hard Luck" versions, and one of my favorites from the Kino is at the end, before Buster ascends the stairs to the impossibly-high diving platform, when he picks a four-leaf clover, glances at the growling husband that Virginia just introduced him to (crushing his spirits as he pitches woo to her), and says, "Here, you need this more than I do." The MoC has "Here's a present", which doesn't have that same snide kiss-off flavor.

Another interesting page from the John Bengtson site shows the T-shaped pool Buster dives into, and reveals it was used for the waterfall stunt in the end of Our Hospitality! I have long enjoyed Bengtson's books (Silent Echoes, Silent Traces, Silent Visions) and video essays, so glad when he's included on Chaplin/Keaton/Lloyd disc releases; if you have a few hours, his website is a treasure trove.

[Roger Ryan]

...I don't have this one to check, but reviews indicate...
2016 Kino "The Shorts Collection 1917-1923" Blu-ray: YES.

Not certain if this is the same source used on the MOC, but the final poolside shot of Keaton and his family is extended by a couple of seconds on this most recent KINO release, allowing for a smoother fade out (ostensibly this is the complete shot as originally seen in 1921 - it was truncated on the previous KINO releases of the short). Also, the KINO does not have the mistakenly-included explanatory text.

[TMDaines]

It looks like the latest Keaton set is already unavailable from Amazon UK.

[eerik]

It looks like the latest Keaton set is already unavailable from Amazon UK.

They still have not shipped my order from 4th June (day of announcement). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TMDaines]

I’m weighing up whether to order from Base.com or direct if numbers are short. Could have been an excellent mover on pre-order.

[willoneill]

I bought mine from Base and it’s on its way.

[Ribs]

I would say there’s essentially no chance this is approaching selling out, seeing as we have two sets of exactly the same material that both took around six months to a year from release to move. Even if demand increased each time I have a hard time seeing this changing that much. I think it’s just Amazon release weirdness.

[Florinaldo]

They still have not shipped my order from 4th June (day of announcement). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They are having problems with their ordering system. The last two shipments i received (in July and August), no e-mails had been sent to confirm shipment. I realised the items were on the way only by checking my account. Perhaps that is the case here.

I also did not get a confirmation e-mail when I ordered, even though the order had been correctly received by them. When I contacted customer service i was told that they are aware of the problem but do not know yet why their system's automatic e-mail function does not work for some accounts.

[kindaikun]

I just received a Dispatch Notification for an order that arrived yesterday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯