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Tag Archives: Buster Keaton
“All my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, `Look at the poor dope, wilya?” — Buster Keaton
It’s Buster Keaton’s birthday today. As a small boy with a talent for acrobatics (and a high tolerance for pain), Keaton performed with his parents in a family act (an act notorious for its wild violence) before launching off on … Continue reading
“The camera is always where it needs to be with him.” — Interview with Dana Stevens, author of Camera Man
I interviewed Dana Stevens about her wonderful book Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, after a screening of Keaton’s The General last week at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, Rhode … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Movies, writers
Tagged Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, interviews, silent films
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The Books: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town, edited by Lillian Ross; ‘Beckett’, by Jane Kramer
Next up on the essays shelf: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town (Modern Library Paperbacks) is a collection of “The Talk of the Town” pieces in The New Yorker, grouped by decade, which is a … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, writers
Tagged Buster Keaton, essays, Ireland, Samuel Beckett, The Fun of It
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Buster Keaton Running
Mike D’Angelo has a wonderful piece up about the glories of Buster Keaton running, especially in that unforgettable chase scene at the end of Seven Chances, which I’ve written about before. He nails it. I love how he delves into … Continue reading
Johnny Depp: The Mad Hatter’s Context
I have always felt that context was decisive, when it came to acting styles. I have heard it said that an actor should approach King Lear in the same way he approaches a French farce, and while I understand the … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Buster Keaton, Johnny Depp, Michael Mann, Public Enemies, Russell Crowe, Tim Burton
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The Books: “Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat” (Edward McPherson)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat, by Edward McPherson I loved coming back to the house on Cape Cod on a drizzly day, and seeing Cashel curled up in a chair with his laptop … Continue reading
The Books: “The Last Great Revolution : Turmoil and Transformation in Iran” (Robin Wright)
And here is my next excerpt from my history bookshelf: Next book on the shelf is The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, by Robin Wright. Wright, a reporter who first started covering Iran in 1973, writes this … Continue reading
“The hard stare remains, even as every last part of him disappears under the water.”
A wonderful article about the work of Buster Keaton. Thanks for sending it, peteb – You’re right – it describes the whole Keaton thing marvelously. If you’re going to characterise your entire career in cinema by a single expression, the … Continue reading
![“There were so many things I wanted to say, stream-of-consciousness things, designs and patterns while listening to music. I felt I might be able to say [them] if I had an unending canvas.” — pioneering experimental animator Mary Ellen Bute #botd
I wrote about Bute - a fascinating woman whose experimental shorts were shown before features in the 1930s - meaning literally millions of people saw her work. I wrote about her feature film adaptation of FINNEGANS WAKE - and her career in general - for @filmcommentmagazine. As a fellow member of the James Joyce Society, albeit 80 years apart - I feel like I was born to write a piece like this. Just sorry Dad wasn’t here. It was in the print version of the mag (RIP) but it’s online too. Link in bio/stories.
#maryellenbute #finneganswake #animation #jamesjoyce #femalefilmmakers #femalefilmmaker](https://www.sheilaomalley.com/wp-content/uploads/sb-instagram-feed-images/404275042_3458325717738885_453663892225035689_nfull.jpg)
