#1033: SEDGWICK, Edward: The Cameraman (1928)

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SEDGWICK, Edward (United States)
The Cameraman [1928]
Spine #1033
Blu-ray


Buster Keaton is at the peak of his slapstick powers in The Cameraman — the first film that the silent-screen legend made after signing with MGM, and his last great masterpiece. The final work over which he maintained creative control, this clever farce is the culmination of an extraordinary, decade-long run that produced some of the most innovative and enduring comedies of all time. Keaton plays a hapless newsreel cameraman desperate to impress both his new employer and his winsome office crush as he zigzags up and down Manhattan hustling for a scoop. Along the way, he goes for a swim (and winds up soaked), becomes embroiled in a Chinatown Tong War, and teams up with a memorable monkey sidekick (the famous Josephine). The marvelously inventive film-within-a-film setup allows Keaton's imagination to run wild, yielding both sly insights into the travails of moviemaking and an emotional payoff of disarming poignancy.

69 minutes
Black & White
Silent
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2020
Director/Writers


Edward Sedgwick was 36 when he directed The Camerman.

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Forty-page booklet featuring an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith and a chapter from Keaton’s 1960 autobiography, cowritten with Charles Samuels.

Commentary

From 2004 featuring Glenn Mitchell, author of A-Z of Silent Film Comedy.

New 2K restoration

Of Keaton’s Spite Marriage (1929), with a 2004 audio commentary by film historians John Bengtson and Jeffrey Vance.

Time Travelers

A documentary by Daniel Raim featuring interviews with Bengtson and film historian Marc Wanamaker.

So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM

A 2004 documentary by film historian Kevin Brownlow and filmmaker Christopher Bird.

The Motion Picture Camera

A 1979 documentary.

Interview

With James L. Neibaur, author of The Fall of Buster Keaton.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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