Collections/March 2023

Buster’s Beginnings

Before he established himself as the most daring director-star of the silent era, Buster Keaton got his start in films as a sidekick to the wildly popular comedian Rosce “Fatty” Arbuckle, honing his soon-to-be-iconic deadpan persona and learning the art of moviemaking from the inside out over the course of more than a dozen two-reel shorts that they made together, often passing the director’s megaphone back and forth to frame each other’s gags. Representing the meeting point between Arbuckle’s exuberant slapstick style and Keaton’s understated subtlety, these works stand as milestones in the evolution of silent comedy.

13 films — 0 on the Channel, 13 unavailable