The General (1926)

As I have mentioned many times I am pretty shallow when it comes to films. I normally pre judge a movie long before I even see the cover, and a silent film was no exception. I was automatically thinking that I was not going to enjoy it, and once again Dr. Carreiro proved me wrong. The General, by Buster Keaton turned out to be pretty good. Although it is a silent film, what it lacks in audio is made up for with its powerful use of cinematography, music, and of course the occasional subtitle. This film gave me a better understanding and appreciation of silent films, especially considering that I could not help but to compare it to something of Maya Deren’s, who completely confuses me. To say the least, after watching it I can understand why people enjoyed it, and how it definitely stimulated your imagination.
The General as the text even points out is a restricted narration (258) because it gives the experiences and thoughts of the civil war, confined to the personal perceptions of the main character, Johnnie Grey. Just to clarify, I use the term civil war loosely. In fact, Grey was rejected from enlisting when he first got word of the attack on Fort Sumter, as the subtitles pointed out. He was considered more valuable to the south remaining as an engineer than joining the militia, this bothered him and as the point-of-view (396) was carefully pieced together throughout the film, it was easily visible that he felt small compared to those who were able to enlist. In addition to his damaged pride, when he told his girlfriend, the love of his life second to only his train The General, that he was not able to enlist, she called him a liar and told him to not speak to her again unless he was in military uniform for the south. This is where the real story begins.
As the camera angles and the cinematography suggest at the beginning of the silent film, he absolutely loves two things, his engine, and his girlfriend. When his engine was stolen, girlfriend on board, Grey knew, whether enlisted or not, whether alone or with the help of soldiers, he was going after the stolen train. During this low-speed pursuit it almost seems that Grey is faced with some impossible obstacles, the biggest of which being his own clumsiness. Aside from tripping over his own feet, and single-handedly blowing a couple of good opportunities, the thieves had a few tricks up their sleeves. I could not help but to laugh at the silly mistakes he continuously made making his mission that much more difficult. All these things helps easily classify this film as a good example of a slapstick comedy (344).
At the end of the film there is a medium close-up shot (111) of Johnnie Grey that emphasizes his sense of satisfaction with himself that was not evident at the beginning of the film. He managed to obtain all three things that he struggled to get throughout the movie: his girl, his engine, and being able to join the military. As the text puts it, and I consider an understatement, the 1920’s, the era this film was made is the years of “refinement of Cinematography” (99).

Works Cited
Davidson, David. “The General.” Photo Blogger.com 19 Jun. 2009. Accessed Mar. 31, 2010. www.blogger.com/davidson/general.
The General. Dir. Buster Keaton Perfs. Buster Keaton. Buster Keaton Productions, 1926.
Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White"The Film Experience: An Introduction". Boston, Ma. Bedford/St. Martins Publishing. 2009 (text)