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The General (The Ultimate 2-Disc Edition) (1926) | 
 enlarge | Director: Buster Keaton;clyde Bruckman
Actors: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack
Studio: KINO INTERNATIONAL
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $18.58
You Save: $11.37 (38%)
New (28) Used (5) from $18.58
Rating:  88 reviews
Sales Rank: 4497
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Silent
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 6372
UPC: 738329063726
EAN: 0738329063726
ASIN: B001E18222
Theatrical Release Date: 1927
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED!
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Product Description
Studio: Kino International Release Date: 11/11/2008
Amazon.com essential video
Buster Keaton's career reached its creative apex with this rousing comic adventure. Not merely one of the finest silent films, this remains one of the great film comedies of all time. The Great Stone Face stars as Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray, a man with only two loves: the sweet Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) and his trustworthy engine, the eponymous General. When Fort Sumner is fired upon he's one of the first to enlist, but when the war office rejects him (he's too valuable as a trained engineer) his sweetie rejects him as a coward. Johnny has the opportunity to prove his bravery when Yankee spies steal his engine and inadvertently kidnap Annabelle, and Johnny pursues with all the resources at his disposal: handcar, bicycle, and finally railroad engine. Keaton's love/hate relationship with technology and machinery shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and wrestles with a finicky cannon that threatens to blow his engine off the tracks; with tremendous dexterity, he nails the humor with inimitably deadpan takes. Spunky Marion Mack makes a perfect partner for Keaton, not merely a foil but a gifted comedienne in her own right. Other Keaton films contain more laughs and inspired comic stunts, but none combines romance, adventure, and comedy into a solid story as seamlessly as this silent masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
 Good Product, Fast Shipping January 7, 2009
The Product was sent in the condition described and was mailed to me in a timely fashion. 5 stars.
 Good movie, bad music December 8, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Funny movie with great facial expressions. The orchestral music ruined the mood in numerous ocasions. There is a version of this movie with piano music that is much better, get that one instead.
Brilliant November 30, 2008
"The General" and "The Twilight Zone" are, in my opinion, the two most brilliantly conceived films ever made. "The General" keeps you glued to the screen, with sight gag after sight gag. Keaton was a genius and this was never more evident than this movie. Kino did a super job of offering three different music scores, each giving new life to the film. I personally recommend Robert Isreal's score as it's more comical than the "adventuresome" score Carl Davis did. Don't buy the cheap release with generic music score and non-restored film print. It is this Kino print that you want to view.
"The Twilight Zone" is another of my favorites with brilliant camera angles and cinematography. I have yet to read a Buster Keaton book that reveals a "making-of" of The General but there is one superb book for "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic" by Martin Grams. Also available on Amazon.com. Looking for two Christmas gifts that are top-notch, 100% polished and certain to please any film buff? Get this DVD and that book. It certainly made my birthday last month.
Great Film Great Presentation from Kino Video November 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Kino Video's new two disc version is highly recommendable for the flim itself. The second disc is okay but nothing overly special and most Buster Keaton fans already have the feaures on it. Robert Israel's wonderful score is available as it was on the previous Kino release. Israel's work as so often really makes the movie as he is always able to match the moods and events in silent films he has scored. The real prize here is the Carl Davis score which is very different but equally good and also able to bring the movie alive. What is interesting is to watch the movie back to back with the two scores as you will soon realize they cause you to absorb the film differntly. In one certain scenes strike you differntly from the other just with the change of music. There is also an organ score. While organ scores are probably a more authentic way to watch a film of the 1920's you simply cannot beat an orchestral score such as Davis's or Israel's.
The version to buy November 16, 2008
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
It was with some trepidation and annoyance that I found myself plunking down more hard-earned money for my fourth copy of Buster Keaton's immortal silent comedy,"The General." I am pleased to report that the investment was a worthy one.
The public domain versions of this film are undeserving of comment and should be avoided at all costs. I made the misfortune of buying one of these hack jobs first and was rewarded with a poor transfer with completely inappropriate music. I then purchased the double feature of "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." offered by Image. The picture quality was greatly improved in regards to clarity and contrast. My personal complaint regarding the Image version is the musical accompaniment provided by the Alloy Orchestra. Clanky and mechanical, their score is more a cacophany than a symphony and works against, rather than complements, much of the action in the film. Next, I procured Kino's original version of "The General", which, to my disappointment, was softer and less sharp than the one offered by Image. It does feature a more pleasing score by Robert Israel. This brings me to Kino's updated and restored version, and I can affirm that my quest for the best version of this film has come to an end.
Why go into such nauseating detail regarding the purchasing process? For one, it demonstrates how much I appreciate this film and how important it is to obtain it in its preeminent form. I also hope it will convince those mulling over the different available versions of this film that the Ultimate 2-Disc Edition is the version to buy.
Other reviewers have mentioned the techniques used to restore the film, and it is indeed the most lustrous version I have seen. The nighttime sequences are suffused with a rich dark blue, and the sepia tone used give this version the appearance of a Matthew Brady daguerrotype more than ever before.
Special mention should be made of the three musical scores. Robert Israel's orginal score has been retained, and a fine organ score by Lee Erwin is also an option. But for my money, the film is best enjoyed with Carl Davis' 1987 score for Thames Television. Those familiar with his scores for "Ben-Hur", "The Crowd", "The Big Parade", and many others know how he can elevate the emotion of a silent film. He does the same here, interweaving distinctly Amercian music that works perfectly.
As for the film itself, it is not mere hyperbole to state that it is one of the undisputed masterworks of American cinema and not just the silent period. It was derided by the critics of its age as not being funny. To be honest, it's not funny in a conventional sense, rather it is sublime. Some have criticized Keaton's film as too mechanical, but there is always an insistent humanity fighting against the mighty contraptions Keaton is laboring to free both himself and the woman he loves from.
"The General" is in many ways a cinematic obstacle course. The first half finds Johnnie Gray being deprived of his two loves: Annabelle and his locomotive. He has to negotiate all manner of hardships in order to be reunited with both of them. The second half has him fleeing for home and employing the same sorts of means to discouarage his pursuers that were once used against him.
In terms of narrarive, chronology, and geometry, "The General" is a mirror image. It is also a film that must be watched closely and patiently in order to be fully appreciated. Beause of this, it merits repeat viewings and provides new insights each time. It is a film for the ages that has at last received the proper format to be fully enjoyed and appreciated.
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