Go West (1925)

A fascinating alternative to the manic stunt work and elaborate sight gags that distinguish the films of Buster Keaton. "Go West" (1925, 69 min.) offers a rare and satisfying glimpse of his talent for more expressive comedy: charming moments of intimate humor flavored with rich pathos. Setting traditional ideas of romance and masculinity on their ears, "Go West" is uniquely graceful and characteristically hilarious especially in the film's dynamic finale as hundreds of cows are unleashed upon downtown Los Angeles. Included on this DVD is one of Keaton's most mind-boggling mechanical comedies, "The Scarecrow" (1920, 19 min.), which follows two roommates vying for the affection of a young lady. Also added is "The Paleface" (1921, 20 min.), in which Buster helps a Native American tribe defend their land from greedy developers.

Keaton's most lyrical and surreal comedy

In his memories Luis Buñuel mentions Keaton's films as the surrealist group's favourite comedies: " Go west" is not an exception, and what's more, it inspired a little play to Lorca and a delicious surreal poem to Rafael Alberti. A young man whose precarious economic situation forces him to move permanently decides to go West to make fortune after a brief and discourageous stop in the overpopulated New York. He accidentaly arrives to a ranch in the middle of the desert and try to make a living as cowboy. With a cow named "Brown eyes" as his best friend he'll try everything to avoid that his "lady" be carried to the slaughterhouse.

" Go West " is at time the most subversive and lyrical of all Keaton films. In it Keaton satirizes western movies' platitudes and dynamites many topicals of romantic melodrama through the unusual "romance" between the protagonist and his peculiar female partner ( a cow ) and the use of discontextualization techniques. He introduces too one of the most sarcastic and fine satires against the law and order forces and the practice of all kind of authority ( and now we can understand why the group leaded by André Breton adored this movie ): the climactic slapstick scene in which Keaton try to take the cattle through the streets of Los Angeles provoking the panic of the citizens and the hilarious chase with the cops running away of the cattle unable to stop the angry herd and stopped by the water of the firemen ( for Keaton is obvious that the truly menace are the cops ) figure for me as one the most memorable and subversive moments in film history. But under this comic scenes we find a a dark and disaffected satire about human condition: in many ways " Go west " reminds me Werner Herzog's " Stroszek ". As Bruno Stroszek, the character who plays Buster is an uprooted: he moves from a quiet provician town to the convulsed and dishumanized New York to finally try to get his place in a ranch in the middle of the desert where the hard work and climate do people also tough: so, surrounded by this " fauna ", our sensible hero 'll find in a cow his closest allied . For other part, the abstract landscape of the desert and the habitual use of long shots emphasizes the solitude of the character, an exiled in the " promised land " . In short, surreal poetry and subversive humour in this untemporary and beautiful movie.

Kino DVD edition of this film also contains two splendid Keaton shorts: " The paleface " (1920), probably the first pro-indian "western" in film history and " The scarecrow " (1920), one of the best Keaton's two-reels comedies with an hilarious chase with Buster disguised as a scarecrow and an unforgettable comic scene in which take part ingenious gadgets the protagonist couple has invented to do most bearable the housework.








July 29, 2006

Nice mix of Keaton themes

The two short films and one feature in this set span four years (1922-25) of Buster Keaton's rise as a comic film star. They amply illustrate that, of all the great comics, Keaton was able to mine visual humor from the widest range of situations. The Scarecrow, the earliest of the three, is a charming, innocent romp, from a mechanized "house with all rooms in one room", to a love triangle with Joe Roberts and Sybil Seely, to a wild chase involving Luke the dog (who was at his best either chasing someone or being chased), to a happy climax involving a wedding ceremony on a motorcycle. The style and pace of this film is not far removed from the Fatty Arbuckle-Buster Keaton period just completed, and Joe Roberts, Buster's rival, suggests Fatty at least in girth, if not in comic style. It is a perfectly charming and often very funny outing. By the way, the scene in which Buster disguises himself as a scarecrow was used later by Max Linder in Be My Wife.

The Paleface, from 1922, shows more maturity and coherence. The chases here are more refined; for example, Buster eludes his pursuers by moving a bridge, piece by piece, between two mountains. Hilarious sight gags abound, as when after Buster escapes being burned at the stake by wearing asbestos underwear, he casually pulls out a cigarette but can't find a match! This film also has more of the Keaton character's persona: a victim of nature, machine and being at the wrong place at the wrong time, he perseveres by creative use of his environment, as well as his physical grace and athletic prowess.

Go West, from 1925, shows how as Keaton moved into features, his films sometimes took on more dramatic, even darker themes. One recurring theme here is Buster caught in a "stampede", either people, cattle, horses, or barrels on a moving freight train. Many shots of Buster are from a distance, standing alone in a field against a distant backdrop. The mood suggested here is a lonely lost individual trying to survive with no friends and no prospects. Unlike Harold Lloyd in a film like the Freshman, Buster's character does not conquer by winning society over to his ways; he wins alone, in this case, successfully leading a cattle drive single-handedly through the streets of Los Angeles! Buster's love interest, Brown Eyes the cow, only increases the sense that his character is incapable of attracting human friendship, that each relationship with a human will be one of conflict. This film does not have the optimistic charm of The Three Ages or Our Hospitality. It has funny moments but the enduring appeal of this film is mostly figuring out how "Friendless" Buster can escape the endless abuse of man and nature. The result is a classic comedy of a unique kind.

You simply can't go wrong owning this set. April 26, 2006

Bizzare stuff from the Bus man

This is one of the Bus man's strangest films. Our man, for reasons never made clear, is known as "Friendless" and is so despised that when he puts his arm around a dog, the dog walks away in disgust. Following Horace Greely's famous saying "Go west young man," he does that and even though he can't milk a cow or saddle a horse, somehow gets a job as a cowhand. Still abused by all of mankind, he does an "androcles and the lion" bit (as he did in "Three Ages" with a lion) with a cow named "Brown Eyes" and and last finds a friend. I'll let you see the rest for yourself. But this is really strange stuff, and the ending ("I Want her." You'll see what I mean.) will leave a particularly odd taste in your mouth. July 18, 2004

Go West, Young Man, Go West!

GO WEST provides cinema with one of its most surreal moments ever: Buster Keaton, dressed as Satan, riding a cow through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, being pursued by a large herd of angry cattle. I thought I'd mention that right up front, so that people know what they're getting in to.

This is a rather sweet film. The driving force behind it is the relationship formed between Buster Keaton's character and a cow named Brown Eyes. Keaton removes a troublesome pebble from Brown Eye's foot, and Brown Eyes saves Keaton from being trampled by a bull. They become firm friends afterwards. Yes, I know that this sounds like something out of a nauseating children's movie, but the whole thing is obviously played for laughs. While it's silly, it never becomes overbearingly so.

After a quick criss-cross dash around the country, Keaton eventually ends up in the Wild West. Dressed as a cowboy (although he forgoes the usual cowboy hat in favor of his trusty porkpie), he quickly goes about subverting many Western clichés. There's the tense poker-game with the cheating scoundrel, of course (where the Great Stone Face finds himself flummoxed when told to smile), and the exciting shoot-outs (where Buster is equipped with a ludicrously small weapon).

As with Keaton's SEVEN CHANCES, the big payoff comes in the final third. But instead of enraged would-be brides, Keaton alternatively herds or flees from hundreds of cattle running through city streets. Cows run people off the road. They create chaos in barbershops and department stores. Let's face it: cows are funny.

One thing I didn't like about this release was the reliance on sound effects. Silent films don't require cymbal crashes during gun battles, nor do slapstick pratfalls scream out for "hilarious" comedy musical riffs. Still, the picture looks quite nice.

THE SCARECROW (the first of the two shorts also included on the disc) is a film that you've seen parts of, even if you've never watched a silent short before. This is the one with Buster Keaton and his large roommate (played ably by Joe Roberts as a nice guy rather than his usual "heavy" role) sharing a mechanized apartment and attempting not to share the farmer's daughter. With utensils and gadgets hovering over their kitchen table, suspended by strings and counterweights, the pair eat their meals in a wonderfully choreographed display of swinging salt and pepper shakers, torpedoing bottles and revolving bathtubs. The rest of the film is composed of various chases: Buster running from a dog, Buster running from the farmer and Joe Roberts, and Buster and the farmer's daughter running from the farmer and Joe Roberts. Wonderful stuff.

THE PALEFACE isn't exactly the most sensitive portrayal of the Native American people that you'll see. Er, I'll leave that aspect of the film at that (though it should be noted that the bad guys are the white corporate types who try to throw people off their land). This isn't nearly as strong a film as the other short on this disc, but it's certainly got some good sequences to offer. The obligatory chase scenes are quite fun. The picture quality is fairly good throughout most of it, but there are a handful of individual camera shots where the image goes completely fuzzy and blurred. I imagine that some sort of reconstruction from various sources was involved.

GO WEST might not be the film that's more representative of Keaton's work, but you'd have to have a heart of stone not to enjoy it. The two short films are quite funny; THE SCARECROW should be required viewing for anyone interested in what made the silent short such an enjoyable art form. GO WEST, young DVD-collector, GO WEST! February 9, 2004

A film for Buster's fans

Go West is not out one of Keaton's very best films, but this DVD should still be a must for Keaton fans. After all, gradually one wants to collect them all. Go West is not consistently funny nor ingenious and thus cannot really compare with either The General or Our Hospitality. Nevertheless, it has many brilliant moments. I particularly enjoyed the parody of the 'smile when you say that' scene from The Virginian. How is stoneface Buster going to smile? His solution is another parody, this time of Lilian Gish in Broken Blossoms. The best thing about this DVD however, is not Go West but the short film The Scarecrow. This is both extremely clever and funny. It is among the very best of Keaton's films. As far as I'm concerned it is worth the price of the DVD on its own. The final short film The Paleface I found the least interesting part of this DVD. The story, even within its own terms, did not quite hang together. Even so, once again, it has moments of great comedy. The quality of the prints on this DVD are fine while the music is appropriate and well played. This DVD is probaly not the best place to start for those new to Keaton's films. However, for those fans who are building a collection it should not be ignored. January 20, 2001

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