I was also struck by how skillfully it kept the focus on its subject without wavering off too much into, say, extensive backgrounds on the people Keaton encounters or long explanations of various historical events. The portrait of our Buster finally feels full and complete. Unlike many prior books on Keaton, Curtis devotes over half the book to his post-silent years, if not more–which is fantastic considering that “post-silent” spans about four decades of Keaton’s life. You’re swept up in Buster’s life (beginning with his parents’ backgrounds) right away, and if you can bear to put the book down before blasting through a few chapters you’re a stronger soul than me. Curtis doesn’t waste a sentence, packing in names, dates, locations and trivia in a breezy, easily-digestible style. Hurrell’s sumptuously-lit portraits–more like glamour shots–were some of the finest in Hollywood, and the choice of this portrait is both eye-catching and hints at the book’s high standards.Īnother marvelous Hurrell portrait from the same session.Īnd did Curtis ever live up to those standards…! It only took the first paragraph of Chapter 1 to convince me that this biography was a milestone. (These were commissioned by the MGM studio.) No makeup, no flat hat–just the man himself, up close and personal, in a simple white sweater. The first clue that the Curtis bio (as we shall now call it) is going to be more than your standard march through the usual Keaton tales is the front cover, featuring one of Keaton’s George Hurell portraits from the early ’30s. And, it would be ready to go in February 2022, sooner than I expected!Īnd now, having carefully waded my way through its 800 pages (yes, this is a substantial tome!) I can say that Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life was not only worth waiting for, but it’s the kind of book that Buster fans needed–indeed that anyone interested in film history needed. It was going to be An Event, you might say, the first truly major biography on Buster in years. And not only that, but it was going to be a very long, detailed, and thoroughly professional biography by James Curtis, author of acclaimed books such as Spencer Tracey: A Biography and William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.It was late last year when I first heard the welcome news that a new Buster Keaton biography was on the way. of Georgia, AthensĬopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Recommended for large public and academic libraries. But while the biographical material and film synopses are less scintillating than the photographs, they do not detract from this gorgeous testament to a legend and to the often overlooked achievements of film curators and preservationists. As a result, the book doesn't delve into Keaton's technical prowess as an innovator of films whose complex sight gags, integrated narratives, and overall visual style transcended slapstick comedy so much as it celebrates his achievements as a performer. Whereas in the former publication, Kevin Brownlow provided a thorough retrospective from both historical and critical standpoints, here he contributes only the afterword. In contrast to the Pickford book, however, the quality of the text and illustrations is not entirely balanced. Comprising formal and behind-the-scenes stills, staged publicity shots, and previously unpublished personal photos, this book is the most comprehensive pictorial retrospective on Keaton to date. As it did with 1999's Mary Pickford Rediscovered (LJ 9/15/99), the publisher raids the archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present a lavish photographic tribute, in this case to silent film comedian Buster Keaton (1895-1966).
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