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The Art of
Buster Keaton
(1921-1962)

Contents: One Week (1920), The Saphead (1920), Convict 13 (1920), The Scarecrow (1920), Neighbors (1920), The Haunted House (1921), Hard Luck (1921), The High Sign (1921), The Goat (1921), The Playhouse (1921), The Boat (1921), The Paleface (1922), Cops (1922), My Wife’s Relations (1922), The Blacksmith (1922), The Frozen North (1922), The Electric House (1922), Day Dreams (1922), The Balloonatic (1923), The Love Nest (1923), Three Ages (1923), Our Hospitality (1923), Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924), Seven Chances (1925), Go West (1925), Battling Butler (1926), The General (1926), College (1927) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928).

Since there is no such thing as too much Buster Keaton, Kino International has collected together their ten previously-released discs of Keaton feature films and shorts into a quality DVD boxset, and added a new compilation disc. All of Buster Keaton’s pre-MGM feature films are represented in the set, along with nearly all of his independently-produced silent comedy short films. With the quality video transfers presented in this set, you’ll enjoy 20-plus hours of nearly crystal-clear Buster Keaton at his finest.

Original keepcase packaging

Reissued in slimline keepcases

Kino on Video
2001 DVD edition

The Art of Buster Keaton (1921-1962), color-tinted black & white, color-toned black & white, black & white and color, approximately 1300 minutes total, not rated, including One Week (1920), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated, The Saphead (1920), color-toned black & white, 77 minutes, not rated, Convict 13 (1920), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, The Scarecrow (1920), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated, Neighbors (1920), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, The Haunted House (1921), black & white, 25 minutes, not rated, Hard Luck (1921), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The High Sign (1921), black & white, 21 minutes, not rated, The Goat (1921), black & white, 23 minutes, not rated, The Playhouse (1921), black & white, 23 minutes, not rated, The Boat (1921), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 22 minutes, not rated, The Paleface (1922), black & white, 21 minutes, not rated, Cops (1922), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, My Wife’s Relations (1922), black & white, 24 minutes, not rated, The Blacksmith (1922), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Frozen North (1922), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated, The Electric House (1922), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Day Dreams (1922), black & white, 22 minutes, not rated, The Balloonatic (1923), black & white, 22 minutes, not rated, The Love Nest (1923), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, Three Ages (1923), black & white, 63 minutes, not rated, Our Hospitality (1923), black & white, 75 minutes, not rated, Sherlock Jr. (1924), black & white, 44 minutes, not rated, The Navigator (1924), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated, Seven Chances (1925), color-toned black & white and color, 56 minutes, not rated, Go West (1925), black & white, 69 minutes, not rated, Battling Butler (1926), black & white, 71 minutes, not rated, The General (1926), color-toned black & white and black & white, 75 minutes, not rated, College (1927), black & white, 65 minutes, not rated, Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), black & white, 69 minutes, not rated, and Keaton Plus (1921-1962), color and black & white, 200 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, unknown catalog number, UPC 7-38329-02312-6.
Eleven single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 and letterboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 4.5 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo and mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; eleven standard DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase (rereleased in eleven slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase); $199.95.
Release date: 20 November 2001.
Country of origin: USA

If you are considering buying Keaton in quantity, we highly recommended this boxset, despite its daunting cost, rather than the legion of cheapy discs, available individually or in tempting multidisc sets. Since the release of this boxset, the enclosed DVD editions have been surpassed by Kino’s Blu-ray Disc releases. Cheap Keaton DVD editions are often mastered from subpar 16mm reduction prints and feature cobbled-together prerecorded music. This Kino boxset featured transfers from some of the best-available 35mm prints, and were presented with custom music scores.

The bonus disc, Keaton Plus, contains 200 minutes of Keaton silent and sound shorts, television appearances, commercials, home movies and late movies, in exerpts and complete releases. The discs themselves are now housed in plastic keep cases rather than the previously available, and annoyingly easy to scuff, snapper cases.

For our reviews of the individual films, see our pages: One Week on home video, The Saphead on home video, The Scarecrow on home video, Neighbors on home video, The High Sign on home video, The Goat on home video, The Playhouse on home video, The Paleface on home video, Cops on home video, My Wife’s Relations on home video, The Balloonatic on home video, Three Ages on home video, Our Hospitality on home video, Sherlock, Jr. on home video, The Navigator on home video, Seven Chances on home video, Go West on home video, Battling Butler on home video, The General on home video, College on home video, Steamboat Bill, Jr. on home video, and Keaton Plus on home video.