KEATON DADA III @ Ponrepo, Prague, Oct 27, 2015
A report of a special retrospective programme on the works of BUSTER KEATON, one of the greatest comedy actors and filmmakers of all time as well as one of the most influential figures in American cinema history, from 1923, which screened at KINO PONREPO in Prague on the 27th of October 2015. The programme featured two short films, THE LOVE NEST and THE BALLOONATIC and KEATON's first even credited feature film THREE AGES.
After witnessing many silent film screenings on authentic film print straight from archives all over Europe and accompanied by live piano - in some instances with a full orchestra - I decided to try my luck and experience a screening at KINO PONREPO of silent slapstick shorts that were not English friendly. This means that the intertitles were only in Czech, a language I do not know, despite me living in Prague. By doing so, I guess I was also indirectly challenging the perception of silent cinema as the most universal form of cinema.
I must say, however, that in my mind I knew that this being a restrospective of some works by the great BUSTER KEATON, one of the most highly regarded figures of the golden age of slapstick, would help, as at the very least I knew that the spectacular physicality of KEATON was sure to at least keep me entertained. I was pleasently surprised to find that, despite this being the very first time I had seen any of the three films featured in this particular programme, I was more than entertained but had no particular problem following the story and only occasionally wished that I could fully understand the stories portrayed in them.
I guess the piano helped, as the musician in question whose name I forgot to ask, was particularly inspired. A while back I had the pleasure of interviewing a pianist who is somewhat of a specialist in providing live soundtrack to these silver oldies, and he openly admitted that a lot of the times, they would be watching the films themselves for the first time during the screening in along with the live audience. Which also makes me think that this type of improvisation is why jazz is so openly identified with music to silent films, although I do argue that the often riveting mixture of this improvisation falls somewhere in between classical and jazz music that there must be some kind of study carried out, one which might sanctify silent film movie as belonging to a category of its own.
The program that took place on the night of Oct 27 was entitled KEATON DADA, and it was the third such programme. I did not attend the previous two. I'm not sure what the title represents. Dada seems to be a reference to the dadaist artform, but that is far too trivial an interpretation to me, as I really do not associate the great comedian with this particular movement, and so would much rather think that the word might have some other meaning in the Czech language.
It was composed of three different films, two shorts THE LOVE NEST and THE BALLOONATIC and one feature, in fact his first, THREE AGES, all of which were produced in 1923. The latter also ties in whith the former retrospective on the works of D.W. Griffith, which I attended a while back at Ponrepo, because it is a parody of his masterwork INTOLERANCE: LOVE'S STRUGGLE THROUGH THE AGES.
Through these screenings, I found out that KEATON was known in the Czechoslovakia at the time as FRIGO, as he sometimes was in France, and perhaps other places. Not sure why, as the only meaning for the word I could find was "refrigerator". I guess it just sounds comedic, and actually there is something endearing about it too.
Then there were things I picked up from watching this film without wasting too much time on the intertitles that always, for some reason escaped me. One of these was KEATON's own stature - he very often seems to be the shortest figure in the shots, which supposedly makes him look apparently weaker and helpless, but also pays tribute to the unlikely audacity with which he meets his challenges. In other words, there is less of a feeling of cowardice from him than perhaps many of the other slapstick comedians, who would be more willing to run away from a fight than our "FRIGO".
I am always happy to report that the screening room in PONREPO was indeed half full, which is not bad for a Tuesday night and is even better when considering that it was a silent film screening. Perhaps with English subtitles and a stronger type of promotion, we might have seen a completely packed house, also because Prague is indeed always more a city of film, and inhabited by an international film community, due to its many highly regarded film courses and the excellent work that the KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL has done in terms of promoting cinematic exhibition on an international level.
Here is a discussion of the three films features in the programme:
THE LOVE NEST (1923) by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline
This is a hilarious short film full of clever gaps, that on top of establishing a certain impulsiveness and adventurous style of storytelling which represents the cinema of BUSTER KEATON also could serve as a testimony for his incredible timing as well as the sheer creativeness of the gags themselves.
The story of THE LOVE NEST follows a man who takes a long trip at sea to forget his sweetheart, but finds himself aboard a whaling ship with a strict captain. Queue the contrast between himself and said captain, who has a tendency to throw any of his men who makes the slightest of mistakes off the ship.
The pacing of this film is sublime. It is far from being as fast as the LARRY SEMON two reelers or as slow as HARRY LANGDON's. Its coating of adventurous bravado is cleverly used for the sake of comedy in what could be one of his best short films to date, somewhat overlooked in favour of other more famous ones.
But if the stunts and physical attributes of the film are certainly praise worthy, THE LOVE NEST is also full of small visual attributes that are worth mentioning and blend the fine line between what is real and what is surrealist. To show the progression of time, KEATON's beard is black facepaint stain, and on another small detail but fantastic devil in the detail moment, he gazes out at another boat on the horizon in what looks like a window but is actually a painting. All this shows incredible awareness, and adds to the excitement of a film that could only get better through repeated viewing.
THE LOVE NEST was also the last two-reeler by BUSTER KEATON, before he would venture into the world of feature film with THREE AGES, and as this short film shows, he was ambitious enough to take on that challenge and go on to make some incredible and unforgettable works.
THREE AGES (1923) directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton
THREE AGES was the first credited feature film by BUSTER KEATON, who once again was backed up in the director chair by EDWARD F. CLINE, though CLINE is often uncredited on screen. This is also one of the earliest instances of parody or film spoof, although this is not so much seen in narrative as much as it is seen in premise, form and setting, and perhaps might point out that KEATON might just have been inspired by GRIFFITH's INTOLERANCE: LOVE'S STRUGGLE THROUGH THE AGES much more than he wished to poke fun at it.
Here, our hero plays the triple role of a caveman, a Roman empire fiend and a modern day sap. In all three instances, the storyline is the very simple and straight forward same, as he challenges another man, played by WALLACE BEERY in all three different time spans, for the hand of his beloved, played by MARGARET LEAHY. In all three different instances, KEATON invents a language of conventions of the times they are setting, from flirting to the childishness of the masculinity challenges with which the two antagonsits are to prove who is worthy of marrying their belle.
Much like INTOLERANCE, the film travels through time and juxtaposes its very different ages through systematic editing. The narrative and intention is of course nowhere near being as ambitious as GRIFFITH's film, but for a comedy flick, it clearly sets KEATON's style aside from other comedian and filmmakers of their times, namely Chaplin, with a more adventurous and differently ambitious kind of plotline.
The editing is obviously ambitious, but not as smooth as one might hope and THREE AGES finds itself stumbling on its tempo. But the sheer creativity of the gags, as usual, is incredible and also excellently cohesive to the progression of the story itself. Therefore, in each of the individual sequences, similar points of the stories are examined in very different ways, which in itself is a very imaginative gimmick. For instance, in the one in which the two men challenge each other, as cavemen they battle each other with clubs; as Romans, they challenge each other to a chariot race, referencing the famous BEN HUR book but predating the first feature length adaptation by two years; in the modern times, they are opponents in a short but hilarious American football match.
Yes, THREE AGES is a lot of fun but never feels superficial. Its historical representations are comic book like, but there is also a sensibility given to the cultural background of these imagined worlds, and one such element can be noticed in the role of the woman and the man. In the stone age, after the woman is wooed by her mand and falls in love with him, she is dragged by the hair into his cave. In the Roman times, we see that she has become a muse figure. In modern times, however, there are hints at a more suffregette type of confidence and strength. Likewise, the concept of machismo is openly ridiculed.
THE BALLOONATIC (1923) directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton
THE BALLOONATIC is one of those slapsticks in which the story itself doesn't necessarily have a beginning a middle and an end, and seems to move forward by a way of reaction of the slapstick gags themselves. This can work and not work. Sometimes, in the case of LARRY SEMON, the whole thing is carried off so systematically that the end is often just a big, gigantic chase. But KEATON has more imagination than that, which is why even THE BALLOONATIC, which is not among his most famous shorts, works.
Here, he plays the role of a hapless amusement park attendant who finds his run away balloon ride has left him in a strange predicament - in the middle of the woods. But all this unfurls with vividness and excitement, and not a half minute goes by without THE BALLOONATIC providing some hearty laughs. Despite a rather abrupt and random start, what one can truly appreciate is KEATON's confidence in his own character, the stone faced sap whose reaction to all the different predicaments he finds himself in is so restrained as to be incredibly unusual and ridiculous.
But what THE BALLOONATIC clearly shows is not only the good handling of its most spectacular scenes, which is wher CLINE's contribution shows, such as in the scenes on the balloon or the scenes on a tiny boat in a river ridden by waterfalls, but also that KEATON and relentlessly moving elements go very well together. Think of STEAMBOAT BILL JR., but most importantly, think of THE GENERAL, or even still, think of the rolling boulders in the final sequence of SEVEN CHANCES. Considering the motion of projected film, one can see that this style of filmmaking, and this element of constant movement that can be admired in KEATON's filmmaking, more so than other comedians of the time, enhances the energy of his film, but not to an exaggerated point.
In the film's final act, we also find KEATON face up to a pretty girl who also happens to be an adventurer who knows no fear, therefore altering the conventions of the sexes that challenge the concept of machismo, a common element in KEATON's cinema, who is often inspired by the resilience and surprising strength of character of women. This inspires some more great gags.