It is important to realize that actors back in the early days of film
really did their own stunts. Comedy and slapstick particularly were
rather dangerous. Here A Montage of Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank Keaton was given his professional name by Harry Houdini. "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966), was an American comic actor and filmmaker. He got his start as part of a vaudeville act and later co-starred with plump actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in "The Butcher Boy". Here's a clip of one of their films. He is best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was farce or physical comedy with a stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face."
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Keaton as one of the greatest male actors of all time. His film The General is listed as one of the greatest 100 films. (You can watch The General in its entirety below).
For those of you most interested in Keaton's life and work, here's an excellent website.
Take a look at some of his work:
Much of comedy (reasons why we laugh) have to do with these things:
HOMEWORK: Please peruse and take notes on Minorities in Film (see post above).
Joseph Frank Keaton was given his professional name by Harry Houdini. "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966), was an American comic actor and filmmaker. He got his start as part of a vaudeville act and later co-starred with plump actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in "The Butcher Boy". Here's a clip of one of their films. He is best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was farce or physical comedy with a stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face."
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Keaton as one of the greatest male actors of all time. His film The General is listed as one of the greatest 100 films. (You can watch The General in its entirety below).
For those of you most interested in Keaton's life and work, here's an excellent website.
Take a look at some of his work:
One Week (1920)
The Paleface (1921)
The Haunted House (1921)
Sherlock Jr (1924)
The Scarecrow (1920)
The General (1927) Full Length Feature Film
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Full Length Feature Film
Comedy:
Much of comedy (reasons why we laugh) have to do with these things:
- Incongruity or Non sequitur. Humans are rational (supposedly) and laugh at anything that breaks a pattern or does not logically follow. Anything we are not expecting as a logical sequence creates incongruity, and so we laugh.
- Farce or physical humor (often pratfalls, slapstick, hurting people, etc.) What doesn't kill us makes us laugh. This is only funny if the victim is not really hurt (consider cartoons!) If the character/victim is killed and we laugh, we fall into black or dark humor (and bad taste!)
- Superiority vs. inferiority (we laugh at those weaker or in a worse situation than us). Usually an underdog or weaker protagonist gets to overcome a stronger opponent. This usually makes us feel better, and in a comedy plot, makes us feel stronger over our own oppression as viewers.
- Mistaken identity. Ever since farce and satirical plays from the Greeks and Roman theater, mistaken identity has been a constant element in farce.
- Absurdity (if it doesn't make sense, we laugh). Similar to incongruity, absurdity is, well, absurd.
- Surprise. Humans will usually laugh is you can surprise them (and they are okay). The adrenaline rush is often accompanied by laughter.
HOMEWORK: Please peruse and take notes on Minorities in Film (see post above).
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