Rerelease: The General Review

There’s a clip on YouTube in which an elderly Buster Keaton grabs a train as it pulls into the station, making it look as if the veteran silent film actor is physically forcing the train to stop. After a brief moment he grabs the train again and throws it back along the track in the other direction. In this split second, Keaton perfectly demonstrates what made him such a master of his trade. Intensely curious, Keaton had an understanding of his surroundings and a sense of comic timing that few actors have come close to matching over the last century.  ‘The great stone face’ could make a joke out of seemingly anything, and this was never more evident than in The General, now widely regarded as Keaton’s greatest film, which is rereleased this week following a stunning 4K restoration.

It wasn’t always so highly praised, on its original release The General was a critical and financial failure which led to Keaton being forced into a restrictive deal with MGM, losing much of his creative control on future projects. As time passed though opinions swiftly changed, Orson Welles called it “the greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made, and perhaps the greatest film ever made.” The General has gone on to feature highly in countless greatest film lists, and this new restoration by The Cohen Film Collection is the centrepiece of a retrospective at London’s BFI Southbank.

Keaton plays Johnnie Gray, a train engineer for the Western & Atlantic Railroad. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Gray attempts to enlist for the Confederate Army in order to win the heart of Annabelle Lee, the only person more important to him than his beloved engine, The General. Too valuable in his current job, Gray is blocked from signing up, but when his train is hijacked with Lee on board he embarks on one of cinema’s greatest chases, lasting for the majority of the film, which proves to have far reaching consequences for the war effort.

Keaton’s awareness of the world around him results in some fantastic set-piece gags, some of which have since become iconic. While not always laugh-out-loud funny, one can’t help but marvel at Keaton’s playfulness, his ability to pull a gag from the most mundane of situations. His style isn’t as obvious as other greats of silent comedy such as Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd, and there are spells in The General with relatively few laughs, but the film chugs along at a fairly hefty pace, never really lingering on one idea long enough to become dull.

A masterpiece of silent comedy, The General is a film vast in scope but often subtle in execution. While it’s not Keaton’s funniest film (that accolade goes to Sherlock Jr.), the chance to watch one of cinema’s greatest ever actors at work on such an ambitious project makes The General essential viewing. The new 4K restoration looks spectacular, making this a perfect opportunity to see a wonderful film, from an actor whose influence on countless comedians is still felt today.

[Rating:5/5]