Wednesday, December 15, 2021

FILM MOVEMENT : SILENT FILM COMEDY

Silent film comedy was a very popular genre  in the silent era  ( 1895-1928 ) in the USA and UK

It still exists as an art form in the modern era and has influenced much modern physical and visual comedy.


Silent comedy is predominantly based on physical and visual gags and jokes
 with occasional written puns and jokes in the title cards.


It was heavily influenced by the broad "slapstick " humour of the popular  vaudeville theatre of the 19th century ( where Buster Keaton started) and included standard routines such a "custard pie in the face " , " tripping on banana peel " as well as much comedy physical violence and acrobatics.


Buster Keaton's work in his early short films was in many ways typical of silent comedy : the influence of vaudeville, the use of  slapstick, the representatation of police, the use of  personae such as the outsider, everyman or romantic suitor, and  the modernist use of formal and technical experimentation .

Keaton's deadpan persona was his unique selling point and he stands out in silent comedy for his careful and precise use of framing, his general refusal to repeat  jokes and falls and his general  refusal to fake stunts and physical jokes  through editing : Keaton usually allows his jokes to take place within the frame rather than cutting.






 One of the major contributions of American popular cinema to European art cinema, especially in the Soviet Union, was Silent Comedy. American Silent Comedy produced a significant body of work, now regarded as of great importance in film history. The key exponents of this movement (Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd) all knew each other, influenced each other’s work and were always experimental, pushing at the boundaries of film form and film technology. In particular American Silent Comedy further illustrates the preoccupation with modernism in the film movements of this period. In this latter case this can be seen in a similar interest to the Soviet constructivists in the machinery of cinema and the mechanics of acting. Just as German Expressionism was repeatedly engaging with genre cinema, so American Silent Comedy marries formal experimentation from popular culture, in particular vaudeville, exploiting the possibilities of cutting edge cinema technology available in Southern California in the 1920s. It is possible to place American Silent Comedy in the wider frame of the 1920s avant-garde, with particular connections to the emerging art forms of Dadaism and Surrealism in Europe, as well as its strong impact on Eisenstein and others in the Soviet Union.


KEY PRODUCERS

Mack Sennett

Hal Roach

KEY STARS 

Buster Keaton



Charlie Chaplin

The Keystone Cops

Harold Lloyd


The narratives in silent comedy often developed in length and complexity from 1910s onwards as the films became longer :  one reel films of  about  10 minutes  developed into feature length 3-4 reelers of 40+ minutes and longer.
 Keaton's 20-minute 2 reel shorts of the early 1920s form a part of this process.

During this time  cinematic, narrative and genre conventions,  editing techniques , technical methods  and other uses of film form were  being developed alongside changing  audience expectations and understanding of narrative cinema.

The invention of sound in cinema in 1927/8 meant that original silent comedy became less popular and was generally phased out in the industry  but  its influence on modern film comedy and action remains. The conventions of physical and verbal humour established in the silent era can still be seen in a range of filmmakers and stars.





LINKS


Paul Merton's film about early screen comedy is good at its origins and early technology and conventions and key early figures like Max Linder

Merton's documentaries about the key stars of the silent era ( including Buster Keaton )

Context of silent comedy in history of film comedy


The wikipedia page for silent comedy is an ok starting point for some background information.





Tuesday, December 7, 2021

OVERVIEW :Buster Keaton




video essay 1


His flexible and layered persona included the following elements and recurring motifs :

           • Deadpan humour and neutral expression• Acrobatic  skill and heavy use of stuntwork.
• Interactions with physical objects and locations ( sometimes skilled,occasionally clumsy)


He developed a combination of various personae : 


        The outsider clown , not integrated in or subject to the rules of  everyday society or                    underworlds 


         The everyman trying to join in or get ahead• 


          The suitor : Seeking a soulmate and competing for a woman's attentions










article on  his persona and work, with a focus on Cops


YOUTUBE PLAYLIST OF VIDEOS ( Buster Keaton ,silent cinema, contexts.,issues and debates)








Other scenes  from other films







Car on train tracks ( Parlor,bedroom and bath 1931)





                     
                                                      Dream scene from Sherlock Jr (1924)



                                                  Motorcycle chase from Sherlock Jr



Buster Keaton wikipedia


THE SHORT FILMS

                 Here are the texts for the Silent Film section of the exam :


                                                                     One Week ( 1920)


In 2008, One Week was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

                                                                                                         
                                                 
                                                                 




                                                           The Scarecrow  ( 1921)








                                             


                                                        The High Sign ( 1921 )



                                                                 








                                                                     Cops ( 1922 )






                                                         





                                                     
 KEY  ANALYSIS OF THE SHORT FILMS

                                 How do each of the short films apply the following elements ?

 

Use of Film  Form

 use of cinematography ,lighting and framing : e.g  framing to fit the joke, use of 2d , naturalistic bright lighting

style of editing ( invisible/when necessary ) , use of cuts and special effects, 

use and role of mise-en-scene, e.g props and background used actively as part of narrative and jokes

 performance ( body language, facial expression , size and contrast in physique )



Buster Keaton's film persona

e.g aspirational everyman, romantic suitor or outsider clown , links to performance 


Representations

e.g gender roles , police, class, social institutions/rituals  such as marriage and religion



General Silent comedy  conventions

e.g use of stunts, chase scenes , falls, props, animals , slapstick humour, vaudeville tropes and routines e.g banana peel



Keaton's specific use of conventions and techniques

 "postmodern" techniques such as breaking fourth wall , cartoon gags , layering and building of jokes, subverting classic vaudeville routines and expectations, interest in technology/media 



Cultural  contexts and references 

e.g advertising, art , technologies, vaudeville, political and news events 





             
                                                   







article about 'One Week'



blog review of  some of the short films

film essay on 'The High Sign '





Friday, December 3, 2021

SILENT CINEMA : Star persona of the 1920s


Film studios would create personas for actors and actresses, crafting a celebrity  image for each performer – they created regulations such as morality clauses and built gender stereotypes into their persona.








Guardian article on silent era film stars


This was a precursor to the emergence of the Studio System with Hollywoodland dominating cinema with its use of vertical integration from 1930s-1960.





Buster Keaton bypassed this by having creative control on his productions (not just an actor, but producer, writer and director as well) – essentially, Keaton crafted his own persona.





His flexible and layered persona included the following elements and recurring motifs :

           • Deadpan humour and neutral expression• Acrobatic  skill and heavy use of stuntwork.
• Interactions with physical objects and locations ( sometimes skilled,occasionally clumsy)


He developed a combination of various personae : 


 The outsider clown , not integrated in or subject to the rules of  everyday society or underworlds


          The everyman trying to join in or get ahead• 


          The suitor : Seeking a soulmate and competing for a woman's attentions


.




Wednesday, December 1, 2021

SILENT COMEDY : Cultural contexts

Cultural contexts :  other art forms and movements, Keaton's background and own influences, new technologies , social roles and expectations,  wider social events,contexts and representations.... and  their impact on the texts , genre, filmmaking process . audience experience , knowledge and expectations.






FURTHER LINKS


VAUDEVILLE  wiki









Rube Goldberg ( 1920s cartoonist )   wiki 


Ford 's prefabricated homes ( 1919 video)




CUBISM : Definition 




SURREALISM :   Definition

Buster Keaton was admired by the surrealistic art movement :  academic article





Wednesday, November 10, 2021

EXAM QUESTION EXAMPLE 1



Discuss how far your chosen film or films reflect cultural contexts associated with a particular film movement  

( 20 marks )    30 minutes  approx







FILM MOVEMENT  = SILENT COMEDY 


CHOSEN FILMS =  4 short films by Buster Keaton  You should make reference to at least two of the films if it is this type of question


CULTURAL CONTEXTS =   can include the history and conventions of the film movement iteself ( i.e silent comedy , social and historical factors, the influence of vaudeville, the influence of art and cultural movements e.g surrealism, modernism. DON"T FEEL YOU HAVE TO COVER EVERYTHING


PARTICULAR SEQUENCE =
an extended scene ( ideally in one location ) This can be up to 10 minutes approximately so may be half of  the short film . You should briefly make it clear where the scene fits in the film's narrative


e.g     One week :   building a house sequence, destroying a house sequence etc.

       The Scarecrow  :  the multipurpose room sequence, the dog chase sequence, etc.

                 Cops : police chase sequence

         The High Sign  :  shooting gallery sequence ,  assassination/ action chase sequence  


YOU SHOULD INCLUDE ANALYSIS OF  AT LEAST TWO OF THE SHORT FILMS IN YOUR ANSWER , UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED TO FOCUS ON A SINGLE KEY SEQUENCE.