1923 Directed by Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline
The rituals of courtship, romantic rivalry and love play out three times as a man vies with a villain for the girl. In the Stone Age, the rivalry is set off by dinosaurs, a turtle used as a ouija board, and a round of golf with stones. In ancient Rome, the men display their brawn through a chariot race, using dogs instead of horses. In contemporary times, the man finds himself overcome by modernity, including a very fragile car.
Senti, amore mio, Die Drei Zeitalter, Hat Ben Akiba gelogen?, Ben Akiba hat gelogen!, Három korszak, Три эпохи, Kærlighedens Komedie, 3 vuosisataa, Die drei Zeitalter, Trzy wieki, Les trois âges, Tres edades, Kolme aikakautta, Tro, hopp och kärlek, As 3 Idades, L'amore attraverso i secoli, 세가지 시대, 세 개의 시대
the overall movie itself is not one of his strongest imo but the roman chariot race where he has dogs instead of horses is one of my all-time favourite buster keaton gags. when he pulls out the spare tire dog lmaaoooo. also the fire station fall is obviously one of his most insane stunts
There's a sly feminist joke in this on child-rearing that I found delightful and unexpected. In the age of barbarians Keaton's partner is revealed from her cave with twelve children. In the time of the Romans she has three. In the 1920s she has a dog. Good for her.
As we were watching this my 12 year old just said "Silent comedies are the best comedies." I'm so proud!
One of the last major features I need to see from Buster has been checked off! Three Ages is Keaton’s parody film of D.W. Griffith’s famous 1916 historical epic Intolerance. This is really fascinating to see Buster make a parody film. It precedes what Mel Brooks became so famous for with his Young Frankenstein movie and others he started to parody in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. Did y’all know parody films were a thing in 1923? I didn’t! This just goes to show how creative and inventive filmmakers have been since the invention of the cinematic art form.
Three Ages takes place in three different periods of human history. We have the Stone Age, Ancient Rome, and Modern Day (1920’s).…
Buster’s comedy-spin on D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance isn’t exactly his best work, but it’s steeped in his undeniably genius ideas, and flaunts one of the single-most courageous stunts of his entire career. Beyond that, he travels through time and rides a dinosaur, aces a football match by scoring a touchdown with his feet, and gives a lion a manicure. Nobody lived a life like The Great Buster.
A man falls in love with a girl, but faces competition from a rival suitor. Interestingly, the story is told three times, set in three different ages: the Stone Age, the Roman Age, and the Modern Age (1923).
Best Gag: Challenged to a chariot race, Roman Age Keaton has to find a way to beat his opponent who owns four horses far superior than Keaton’s. It has snowed that day, and the race track lays buried under a white layer. We see the formidable opponent already getting his wheels stuck in it making his way to the start line. Then Keaton enters the colosseum, his wheels replaced with skis, and his horses with sled dogs. In itself, this would already…
Three Terrible Ages for Women
There's just something so good and special about being in a room with a group of people gradually laughing harder and harder at Buster Keaton giving a lion a pedicure.
I think we'd all get over the performance-enhancing drugs issue if we punished cheating players by having them be dragged around by elephants.
Love is the unchanging axis on which the world revolves.
As the marathon of one Blank Check director has come to a close, another one begins. When it was discussed on the podcast that the new filmmaker of choice would be a "Griffin pick," I'm happy with myself that I correctly guessed they would be covering Buster Keaton, and I am just in general happy that they are covering him. When I was in the height of the pandemic, there are two filmmakers whose stuff I really got into that I will forever associate with helping me push through that time: Tsai Ming-liang and Buster Keaton. To boil it down as much as I think I can, both really reminded…
☆"Love is the unchanging axis on which the World revolves."☆
3 Ages -- the first feature Buster Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in -- really does feel like a bridge between the shorts and feature-length films from the rest of the decade, mostly because this 63-minute movie is quite obviously a six-reeler; that is, three two-reelers in a row edited together, but skillfully in such a way to show the common themes.
It unfolds like a parody of D.W. Griffith's 1916 film Intolerance, with each act also serving as a possible standalone short work that the studio would have released individually if the complete movie didn't come together in such a successful way. Now one cannot help but compare…
