The General (1927)

The General starring Buster Keaton is generally regarded as one of the greatest silent films of all-time. This film depicts a railroad conductor during the American Civil War. He tries to join the Confederate army but is considered too valuable and is not allowed to enlist. Nonetheless, he ends up becoming a major hero when a train he was in charge of is taken over by Union soldiers and he helps thwart a would-be surprise attack.

While technically a comedy, I found this film to be more of a mix between comedy and drama. It certainly had its funny moments, but it was not at all like a Chaplin film in which every moment attempts to be funny. This certainly isn't a bad thing as the plot was genuinely dramatic.

Upon its release, this film received terrible reviews and was generally regarded as an absolute failure. This upset Keaton as he felt it was perhaps his best film. To make matters worse, this film was quite expensive and required numerous costly stunts. The scene where the bridge collapses and the train falls into the river was possibly the most expensive stunt of the silent film era. Today, this film is much better received. Silentera.com considers this film to be the greatest silent film ever made and most every other poll lists it as amongst the best. I would agree with the critics and rank this second only to The Battleship Potemkin in my list of silent films. It is also worth noting that the score for the version I saw, by Carl Davis, is perhaps the best I have ever heard for a silent film.

90.5/100
A-