Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL
Sunday, July 11th at 1:00 p.m.
and Tuesday, July 13th at 7:00 p.m.
Admission: FREE
**Suggested donation: $5.00**
ESSENTIAL CINEMA is The Loft's FREE monthly series of classic art films on the big screen. See old favorites, hidden gems and exciting re-discoveries the way they were meant to be seen - with an audience and on the big screen in glorious 35 mm!
"One of the ten greatest films of all time." - SIGHT AND SOUND
"Only superlatives will do to describe Keaton’s hilarious Civil War dramatic comedy. You have to watch every inch of the frame in a Keaton movie; you’ll find things that will continually delight and surprise. One of the greatest ever film comedies. - TIME OUT FILM GUIDE
"THE GENERAL is an epic of silent comedy ... Keaton's stunts are ambitious and fearless." - Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Consistently ranked among the greatest (and funniest) films ever made, Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL is so brilliantly conceived and executed that it continues to inspire awe and laughter with every viewing.
Rejected by the Confederate army as unfit and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marian Mack), young Johnnie Gray (Keaton, using his trademark deadpan expression to high comedic effect) sets out to single-handedly win the war with the help of his cherished locomotive, nicknamed "The General." What follows is, without exaggeration, perhaps the most cleverly choreographed comedy ever recorded on celluloid. Johnnie wages war against hijackers, an errant cannon, and the unpredictable hand of fate while roaring along the iron rails -- exploiting the comic potential of Keaton's favorite cinematic prop: the train.
Insisting on accuracy in every detail, director Keaton created a remarkably authentic historical epic, replete with hundreds of costumed extras, full-scale sets, and the breathtaking plunge of an actual locomotive from a burning bridge into a river. The fact that Keaton also performed all his own mind-blowing stunts and created such epic mayhem without benefit of optical effects further adds to the film's legacy. "Every shot has the authenticity and the unassuming correct composition of a Matthew Brady Civil War photograph," wrote film historian David Robinson, "No one - not even Griffith or Huston and certainly not Fleming (Gone With The Wind) -- caught the visual aspect of the Civil War as Keaton did."
A landmark in silent film comedy, THE GENERAL is a rare treat on the big screen!