SYNOPSIS
Capturing Keaton’s first steps in front of a camera, this box set charts his early association with ex-Keystone Kop Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle through to starring in, headlining, and directing his own box office smash hits. Using Chaplin’s old Hollywood studios in 1920, Keaton’s sophisticated technical inventiveness coupled with his haunted-yet-handsome ‘Stone Face’ persona, created a succession of the most timeless, classic comedy shorts ever realised. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present these films on Blu-ray from meticulous restorations.
Featuring: The Butcher Boy (1917), The Rough House (1917), His Wedding Night (1917), Oh, Doctor! (1917), Coney Island (1917), Out West (1918), The Bell Boy (1918), Moonshine (1918), Good Night Nurse (1918), The Cook (1918), Backstage (1919), The Hayseed (1919), The Garage (1919), The “High Sign”* (finished 1920, released 1921), One Week* (1920), Convict 13* (1920), The Scarecrow (1920), Neighbors (1920), The Haunted House (1921), Hard Luck (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), Daydreams (1922), The Electric House (1922), The Balloonatic (1923), The Love Nest (1923)
* Audio Commentary available
SPECIAL FEATURES
4 Blu-ray discs housed in a single case, with slim cardboard packaging
1080p presentations across four Blu-ray Discs
Multiple scores on selected titles
Archival audio commentaries by Joseph McBride on The ‘High Sign’, One Week, Convict 13, The Playhouse, The Boat, and Cops
Version of The Blacksmith containing four minutes of previously unseen footage
Alternate ending for Coney Island
Alternate ending for My Wife’s Relations
That’s Some Buster, video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns
An introduction by preservationist Serge Bromberg
The Art of Buster Keaton, actor Pierre Étaix discusses Keaton’s style
Life with Buster Keaton, Keaton reenacts Roscoe Arbuckle’s Salomé dance performed in The Cook
Audio recording of Keaton at a party in 1962
