****
This Kino Blu-ray release of Go West and Battling Butler presents two stylistically varied mid-tier Buster Keaton films from his feature filmmaking heyday. Fortunately for the viewer, mid-tier Buster Keaton circa 1925-1926 equates to an extremely entertaining experience by regular filmmaker standards. The films are presented in 1080p high definition video, with subtle improvements over the previous Kino DVD release of Go West due primarily to the high definition upgrade, and much more substantial improvements over the previous Kino DVD release of Battling Butler, which appears to have been transfered from a substantially improved film source element. Extras include a number of still galleries, an hour long archival audio recording of Keaton pitching an episode of Wagon Train, and a vintage Hal Roach studio short featuring trained monkeys enacting a western melodrama.
Go West / Battling Butler
Studio: Kino
Subtitles: None
Release Date: September 27, 2011
The Films
Go West ****
Year: 1925
Rated: NR
Film Length: 68 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Directed By: Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathleen Myers, Howard Truesdale,
In Go West, Buster Keaton plays "Friendless", a lonely young man who finds little financial or social success in small town or big city, so he decides to heed the advice of author Horace Greeley that gives the film its title, and hops a train heading west. before he can complete his journey, he finds himself dumped off of the train between stops in the middle of nowhere. Ever the pragmatist, and eager for income and/or food, he decides to pass himself off as a cowboy and offer his services to the owner of a nearby ranch played by Howard Truesdale. Friendless proves comically hapless as a ranch hand, but his pluck, unconventional thinking, and friendship forged with a cow named Brown Eyes eventually come in handy when improbable circumstances find him responsible for moving several train cars full of cattle through the streets of San Francisco.
Go West is a solid entry in Keaton's filmography with a simple story that proves a suitable framework from which to hang several comic vignettes throughout its first half while also setting up the tour de force cattle drive set-piece that serves as the film's climax. The relationship established between Keaton and the cow is surprisingly heartwarming and predictably the wellspring of several great bits of comic business.
Battling Butler ****
Year: 1926
Rated: NR
Film Length: 75 minutes (Box incorrectly states 85)
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Directed By: Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Snitz Edwards, Sally O'Neil, Tom Wilson, Francis McDonald
Battling Butler adapts a stage play of the same name into an enjoyable vehicle for Buster Keaton. Keaton plays Alfred Butler, a pampered rich boy who is sent out on a hunting and fishing trip by his wealthy father who is concerned that Alfred's idle rich lifestyle is turning him soft. Alfred proves far from capable of bagging any live game, but he does cross paths with a pretty mountain girl played by Sally O'Neil. Smitten, Alfred enlists the advice of his trusted valet (Edwards) in wooing her and winning over her ultra-manly father and brother. The resulting plan involves Alfred claiming to be Alfred "Battling" Butler, a boxer who happens to share the same name. When the real "Battling" Butler (McDonald) defies the odds and knocks out the reigning champion, Alfred is forced to maintain the charade in increasingly elaborate ways as the newly minted boxing champion's every move becomes front page news.
Released ten months after Go West, Battling Butler, viewed together with its predecessor, offers an impressive example of Keaton's versatility as an actor and filmmaker. While the former film had a plot that was simplicity itself, Battling Butler offers a farcical narrative that is every bit as clear, but substantially more complex. Where Go West offered not one, but two elaborate train sequences in addition to its urban cattle drive set-piece, Keaton eschews his mechanically elaborate large-scale signature gags in Battling Butler. The absence of such gags, which he would return to with a vengeance in The General released only a few months later, is likely one of the reasons auteurist assessments of Keaton's career typically underrate The Battling Butler, but he still manages to milk plenty of laughs from smaller scale props such as tents, tables, and, of course, the ropes surrounding a boxing ring. While other top silent comedians of the day such as Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin frequently stuck close to successful personas, Keaton proves equally empathetic as the penniless loner in Go West and the fabulously wealthy but clueless Alfred in The Battling Butler.
The Video ***
The video for both films comes courtesy of AVC encoded 1080p presentations windowboxed to their original theatrical aspect ratios of 4:3. Go West is presented in straight black and white while Battling Butler is presented with sepia tinting. Given the age of the films, one expects a certain amount of film wear and tear, and this appears in the form of just about every type of film artifact known to man at one time or another throughout the two films. That being said, quite a lot of effort appears to have been put into finding high quality film elements as sources for transfer, and lower generation dupe sections (which exhibit the most pronounced artifacts) are carefully integrated with the higher generation source materials that predominate. Battling Butler is in somewhat worse shape overall than Go West, as evidenced primarily by occasional incidences of heavy scratching of the film element, but both presentations exhibit remarkably smooth and deep contrast levels for films of their age. Those familiar with the previous Kino DVD release of these films will notice subtle improvements in Go West due primarily to the compression and resolution benefits of going from standard to high definition, and substantial improvements to Battling Butler due to what looks like the use of a new and much better source element.
The Audio ***½
Audio comes courtesy of lossless 16 bit 48kHz PCM 2.0 stereo tracks for both films. Go West features a playful score from Eric Beheim in which instrumental and percussive sounds are inserted to simulate sound effects in synchronisation with key moments in the film. Battling Butler receives a more traditional (and slightly boring) score from Robert Israel. Both scores sound like they were generated with synthesizers integrated with occasional acoustic instruments.
The Extras **½
Each film is given its own selection of extras from a special features menu that appears after the viewer selects either one of them.
Under the special features menu for Go West, appear the following extras:
Go West (11:58) is a vintage 1923 short from the Hal Roach Studio in which a western themed melodrama is enacted by a group of costumed trained monkeys. It is a surreal viewing experience, but I am sure the ASPCA would have a few questions about how this was accomplished if this were produced today. It is presented in AVC-encoded 1080p video with 48 kHz 2.0 channel PCM stereo audio.
Buster Keaton: Screenwriter (59:20) is an audio recording of an extended pitch/story session in which Buster Keaton can be heard running through a story proposal for an episode of the Wagon Train television series. It is a bit long for non-obsessives to get through, but is worth a listen to get some insight into how Keaton's supremely analytical creative mind worked, even in his later years. Audio is presented in glorious monophonic.
Stills Gallery is a collection of twenty production stills from Go West, including some that illustrate deleted sequences from the film in which Keaton's character first attempts going north and going south before eventually following the film title's advice and going west.
Under the special features menu for Battling Butler are the following extras:
Buster Keaton: Screenwriter present nineteen still frame excerpts from a screenplay Keaton wrote in 1947 for a "talkie" remake of Battling Butler that was never produced. The scene excerpted is the dinner scene from the camping trip early in the film.
Stage Production Photos is a collection of eleven stills documenting a 1922 London stage production of the Battling Butler play from which Keaton's film was adapted.
Stills Gallery is a collection of fifteen production stills from Battling Butler
Packaging
The disc is enclosed in a standard sized Blu-ray case. The cover insert has art on both sides revealing a boxing ring still from Battling Butler through the translucent blue plastic when the case is opened. A paper insert promoting other Kino releases is placed in the interior of the case. The plastic case is in turn held in a cardboard slipcase of moderate thickness that reproduces the exact same cover art and text as the hard case insert.
This Kino Blu-ray release of Go West and Battling Butler presents two stylistically varied mid-tier Buster Keaton films from his feature filmmaking heyday. Fortunately for the viewer, mid-tier Buster Keaton circa 1925-1926 equates to an extremely entertaining experience by regular filmmaker standards. The films are presented in 1080p high definition video, with subtle improvements over the previous Kino DVD release of Go West due primarily to the high definition upgrade, and much more substantial improvements over the previous Kino DVD release of Battling Butler, which appears to have been transfered from a substantially improved film source element. Extras include a number of still galleries, an hour long archival audio recording of Keaton pitching an episode of Wagon Train, and a vintage Hal Roach studio short featuring trained monkeys enacting a western melodrama.
Go West / Battling Butler
Studio: Kino
Subtitles: None
Release Date: September 27, 2011
The Films
Go West ****
Year: 1925
Rated: NR
Film Length: 68 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Directed By: Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathleen Myers, Howard Truesdale,
In Go West, Buster Keaton plays "Friendless", a lonely young man who finds little financial or social success in small town or big city, so he decides to heed the advice of author Horace Greeley that gives the film its title, and hops a train heading west. before he can complete his journey, he finds himself dumped off of the train between stops in the middle of nowhere. Ever the pragmatist, and eager for income and/or food, he decides to pass himself off as a cowboy and offer his services to the owner of a nearby ranch played by Howard Truesdale. Friendless proves comically hapless as a ranch hand, but his pluck, unconventional thinking, and friendship forged with a cow named Brown Eyes eventually come in handy when improbable circumstances find him responsible for moving several train cars full of cattle through the streets of San Francisco.
Go West is a solid entry in Keaton's filmography with a simple story that proves a suitable framework from which to hang several comic vignettes throughout its first half while also setting up the tour de force cattle drive set-piece that serves as the film's climax. The relationship established between Keaton and the cow is surprisingly heartwarming and predictably the wellspring of several great bits of comic business.
Battling Butler ****
Year: 1926
Rated: NR
Film Length: 75 minutes (Box incorrectly states 85)
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Directed By: Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Snitz Edwards, Sally O'Neil, Tom Wilson, Francis McDonald
Battling Butler adapts a stage play of the same name into an enjoyable vehicle for Buster Keaton. Keaton plays Alfred Butler, a pampered rich boy who is sent out on a hunting and fishing trip by his wealthy father who is concerned that Alfred's idle rich lifestyle is turning him soft. Alfred proves far from capable of bagging any live game, but he does cross paths with a pretty mountain girl played by Sally O'Neil. Smitten, Alfred enlists the advice of his trusted valet (Edwards) in wooing her and winning over her ultra-manly father and brother. The resulting plan involves Alfred claiming to be Alfred "Battling" Butler, a boxer who happens to share the same name. When the real "Battling" Butler (McDonald) defies the odds and knocks out the reigning champion, Alfred is forced to maintain the charade in increasingly elaborate ways as the newly minted boxing champion's every move becomes front page news.
Released ten months after Go West, Battling Butler, viewed together with its predecessor, offers an impressive example of Keaton's versatility as an actor and filmmaker. While the former film had a plot that was simplicity itself, Battling Butler offers a farcical narrative that is every bit as clear, but substantially more complex. Where Go West offered not one, but two elaborate train sequences in addition to its urban cattle drive set-piece, Keaton eschews his mechanically elaborate large-scale signature gags in Battling Butler. The absence of such gags, which he would return to with a vengeance in The General released only a few months later, is likely one of the reasons auteurist assessments of Keaton's career typically underrate The Battling Butler, but he still manages to milk plenty of laughs from smaller scale props such as tents, tables, and, of course, the ropes surrounding a boxing ring. While other top silent comedians of the day such as Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin frequently stuck close to successful personas, Keaton proves equally empathetic as the penniless loner in Go West and the fabulously wealthy but clueless Alfred in The Battling Butler.
The Video ***
The video for both films comes courtesy of AVC encoded 1080p presentations windowboxed to their original theatrical aspect ratios of 4:3. Go West is presented in straight black and white while Battling Butler is presented with sepia tinting. Given the age of the films, one expects a certain amount of film wear and tear, and this appears in the form of just about every type of film artifact known to man at one time or another throughout the two films. That being said, quite a lot of effort appears to have been put into finding high quality film elements as sources for transfer, and lower generation dupe sections (which exhibit the most pronounced artifacts) are carefully integrated with the higher generation source materials that predominate. Battling Butler is in somewhat worse shape overall than Go West, as evidenced primarily by occasional incidences of heavy scratching of the film element, but both presentations exhibit remarkably smooth and deep contrast levels for films of their age. Those familiar with the previous Kino DVD release of these films will notice subtle improvements in Go West due primarily to the compression and resolution benefits of going from standard to high definition, and substantial improvements to Battling Butler due to what looks like the use of a new and much better source element.
The Audio ***½
Audio comes courtesy of lossless 16 bit 48kHz PCM 2.0 stereo tracks for both films. Go West features a playful score from Eric Beheim in which instrumental and percussive sounds are inserted to simulate sound effects in synchronisation with key moments in the film. Battling Butler receives a more traditional (and slightly boring) score from Robert Israel. Both scores sound like they were generated with synthesizers integrated with occasional acoustic instruments.
The Extras **½
Each film is given its own selection of extras from a special features menu that appears after the viewer selects either one of them.
Under the special features menu for Go West, appear the following extras:
Go West (11:58) is a vintage 1923 short from the Hal Roach Studio in which a western themed melodrama is enacted by a group of costumed trained monkeys. It is a surreal viewing experience, but I am sure the ASPCA would have a few questions about how this was accomplished if this were produced today. It is presented in AVC-encoded 1080p video with 48 kHz 2.0 channel PCM stereo audio.
Buster Keaton: Screenwriter (59:20) is an audio recording of an extended pitch/story session in which Buster Keaton can be heard running through a story proposal for an episode of the Wagon Train television series. It is a bit long for non-obsessives to get through, but is worth a listen to get some insight into how Keaton's supremely analytical creative mind worked, even in his later years. Audio is presented in glorious monophonic.
Stills Gallery is a collection of twenty production stills from Go West, including some that illustrate deleted sequences from the film in which Keaton's character first attempts going north and going south before eventually following the film title's advice and going west.
Under the special features menu for Battling Butler are the following extras:
Buster Keaton: Screenwriter present nineteen still frame excerpts from a screenplay Keaton wrote in 1947 for a "talkie" remake of Battling Butler that was never produced. The scene excerpted is the dinner scene from the camping trip early in the film.
Stage Production Photos is a collection of eleven stills documenting a 1922 London stage production of the Battling Butler play from which Keaton's film was adapted.
Stills Gallery is a collection of fifteen production stills from Battling Butler
Packaging
The disc is enclosed in a standard sized Blu-ray case. The cover insert has art on both sides revealing a boxing ring still from Battling Butler through the translucent blue plastic when the case is opened. A paper insert promoting other Kino releases is placed in the interior of the case. The plastic case is in turn held in a cardboard slipcase of moderate thickness that reproduces the exact same cover art and text as the hard case insert.
