Buster Keaton gets symphonic in Oakland

By Thomas Gladysz
San Francisco Silent Film Examiner

Buster Keaton is one of the great geniuses of the cinema. And his work during the silent era remains among the high points in film history. If you have not seen one of his silent films, then you’re missing something truly extra-ordinary.

Just how great is Buster Keaton?

“The Great Stone Face” (as he was sometimes called because of his never smiling always deadpan expression) was named the seventh-greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. And that’s just for starters. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Keaton the 21st greatest male actor of all time. And in 2002, a worldwide poll by Sight & Sound ranked Keaton's The General as the 15th best film of all time. (Three other Keaton films also received votes in that landmark survey, Our Hospitality, Sherlock, Jr., and The Navigator.)

In 1989, The General was selected for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It made it into the registry in the first year it was enacted, being listed with such films as Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, and Sunset Blvd. (Keaton has a brief role in this latter film, as well.)

Roger Ebert, who ranked The General in his all-time top 10, wrote of Keaton's “extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, [when] he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies.”

Convinced?

If not, then see for yourself and head down to the historic Paramount Theater in Oakland, where on March 19th and March 21st the Oakland East Bay Symphony will present The General with live organ accompaniment. The Friday evening performance is set for 8 pm. The Sunday afternoon performance is set for 2 pm. Christoph Bull, the acclaimed concert organist, will play his original score for Keaton's masterpiece on the Paramount Theatre's "Mighty Wurlitzer."

Set during the Civil War and loosely based on the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, The General tells the story of Johnny Gray (played by Keaton), a shy and awkward locomotive engineer who loves both his train ("The General") and a local girl named Annabelle Lee (played by Marion Mack). When the Civil War begins, Gray is turned down for service because he's considered more valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it's because he's a coward. Union spies capture The General with Annabelle on board, and Johnny must rescue both.

The General (1927) is filled with remarkable stunts and lots of trains. Some have called it the greatest train film ever made. Keaton starred in the film and co-directed with Clyde Bruckman. (Keaton also helped adapt the story, along with Bruckman and others.) The film was a box-office flop at the time of its original release, but is now considered by critics one of the greatest films ever made.

Following The General, the Oakland East Bay Symphony will join Bull for the second half of the program for a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" (1886), a work widely recognized as the main theme in the 1995 Academy Award-winning movie Babe. The Oakland East Bay Symphony will be led by Michael Morgan.

This combination of film and music, of the classic and the popular, and of pipe organ and orchestra is sure to make this special event an unique Paramount Theatre experience. Each performance will be preceded by a pre-concert talk by music educator John Kendall Bailey. The talks start one hour prior to the film.

In November 2009, Kino International released The General on Blu-ray. It was the first American release of a silent feature film for the high definition medium.

For more info: Ticket availability and additional information on this special event can be found at http://www.oebs.org/page/march19-21.htm

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