Synopsis
The Laugh Special of the Age. See It.
The just out of college effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was little.
1928 Directed by Buster Keaton, Charles Reisner
The just out of college effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was little.
Cadet d'eau douce, Steamboat Bill, Junior, El héroe del río, Wasser hat keine Balken, Marinheiro de Encomenda, Mand over Bord, Armastus ei tunne piiri, Laiva-Kalle Nuorempi, Apofoitos kollegiou, Az ifjabb gőzös, Io... e il ciclone, De schout bij nacht, Stürmische Zeiten, 스팀보트 빌 주니어, Пароход Билл, младший
Despite the racial caricatures--and that's a big despite--this remains remarkable. Buster Keaton goes from, as I said to my friend, looking clumsy to looking incredibly acrobatic in his pratfalls. My friend called him "a ferret made of spaghetti and rubber bands." I am in awe of how he goes from standing upright to whirling on his own head without transition. Edit: worth noting that Buster's queerness is explicit.
Steamboat Bill, Jr. Is not only the final genuine classic from Buster Keaton’s independent production team but it also stands, in many ways, as one of his most unparalleled silent films. Keaton showcases his incredible and extraordinary talent for timing and physical comedy alongside his capabilities as a stuntman as he plays college student William Canfield, Jr who enrols with his father's crew aboard the paddle steamer, Steamboat Bill.
It's now rightfully applauded and frequently heralded as one of Keaton's masterpieces, it astonishingly missed the mark at the box office when it was initially released and sadly proved to be his last film as a self-reliant artist, and as he was mainly self-financing his movies, the financial loss enticed him…
This film definitely felt weaker than Keaton's other films, at the end of the day it just wasn't as funny and I don't like boats that much.
The best part was Keaton hiding tools in a pastry but Grand Budapest Hotel already did that so they stole the best joke. How unoriginal.
to make up for the lack of action, buster keaton takes his stunts to a completely insane degree in the last ten minutes of the film. the rest is great “don’t talk to me or my son ever again” vibes.
Part comedy, part romance, and part disaster-movie adventure, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is an uproariously entertaining genre mash-up from cinema's early days. Directed by Charles Reisner and, though uncredited, Buster Keaton, the film weaves a classic narrative together with hilarious comic beats and breathtaking set-pieces. It is a well-assembled, handsomely visualized, and wholly satisfying experience.
Buster Keaton stars as the son of a steamboat captain whose shipping lanes, not to mention entire town, are being taken over by a competitor. The story finds Keaton's character falling for the competitor's daughter, alienating his father, and trying to save dear old dad's ship from a terrible storm. It is a classic star-crossed lovers tale punctuated by clearly communicated themes and comic bits that…
One of the best feature movies of Buster Keaton, if it isn't the best one.
A really original movie. I enjoyed it, everything is perfect, the plot, the story, its teaching, the characters... it’s a masterpiece of the silent era. I could be talking about each gag, each movement, each stunt or each non spoken word which is not needed with that smart text boxes, but I won't, just watch it and you'll see how it talks by itself.
Here we see how old things have better quality despite their simplicity than more modern and sophisticated ones, in this case it’s an ancient and resistant boat but the concept can be extrapolated to other fields.
Highly recommended long silent movie, I'm afraid that this one is better than The General, it deserves to be in the AFI list, in my opinion.
There’s a marginally interesting plot to “Steamboat Bill Jr.,” but whatever drama it supposes is minimal compared to the actual great dilemma of the film:
When will someone please bring Buster Keaton a helmet?
The setup to “Streamboat” feels more laborious than Keaton’s best efforts. Partially, because it takes the man himself a long while before he finally strolls onscreen.
Possibly he was too humble to admit it, but the draw of Buster Keaton films was - naturally - Buster Keaton. So, to spend a half hour watching old riverboat men bicker is a half an hour without seeing one of the best faces in all film history.
But when Keaton does appear, “Steamboat” chugs along at a steady pace until…
A Buster Keaton flick a day keeps the doctor away! The man was a genius in visual and physical comedy. His work is timeless. Though this is not the best stuff i've seen from him, it is still so delightful and enjoyable with an absolutely brilliant third-act. The moment where the house falls around Keaton as he gets through the window frame will never fail to astonish me, and the following storm sequence is so so good. I'll never stop admiring Keaton.
Part of my Top 100 Directors Challenge
This is one of many uncredited works made by Buster Keaton after his expensive gamble on "The General" (1926) caused him to lose control over production of his own films. Here, despite co-directing with Charles Reisner and contributing greatly to the script, he was billed only as the lead actor and had no acknowledged part in the writing or directing. His younger sister, Louise Keaton, also worked on this film as a uncredited script supervisor and as a stunt double for the lead actress, Marion Byron.
The story takes place in a town called River Junction, where William "Steamboat Bill" Canfield (Ernest Torrence) is the skipper of an aging riverboat called the Stonewall…
i just want someone to hold me the way buster keaton gingerly holds that loaf of bread in his arms.
More Buster, more brilliance. There are sequences in this film that demand your respect. Notably, those stunts in the climax have yet to be topped, even if many artists over the years have attempted to replicate that famous falling house. Not as transcendent as The General, but still remarkable.
I've seen gory gags that have inspired less of an 'oof' than Keaton getting his moustache sliced in two clean blade movements.
Just magic. Complete and utter magic. Perfect Sunday afternoon viewing.
Always a delight with Buster. Gags start off pretty small before going absolutely ham in the last 20 minutes, including the legendary falling house gag.
There's a scene where Buster tries on a ton of different hats and if this movie was only that scene I'd still be satisfied.
i put on a face mask when there was about 30 minutes left of this, a uniquely terrible idea
March Sadness Day 5
Very boring until it's a masterpiece. Buster Keaton has a top ten face of all time.
Storywise not very interesting, the stunts were nice and it got an occasional chuckle out of me, but to be honest, it was mostly boring. The music was repetitive and definitely made things worse.
Watch the Kino Lorber remastered version
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