IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

In 2019, the Cohen Film Collection began releasing new double-feature Blu-rays of Buster Keaton’s independently-produced silent classics, utilizing new 4K restorations by the Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory. While this was not the first time that Buster’s silent movies had been released on Blu-ray, the image quality of Cohen’s discs surpassed that of previous releases, so the double-dip was worth the effort. The first disc, The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 1: The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr., was quickly followed the same year by Volume 2: Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator and Volume 3: Seven Chances and Battling Butler. A full year passed before Volume 4: Go West and College arrived in December of 2020. Unfortunately, at that point, it appeared that the project had been abandoned, with the Cineteca di Bologna’s restorations of The Saphead (1920), Three Ages (1923) and Our Hospitality (1923) unreleased in the United States.

Happily, The Buster Keaton Collection Blu-ray series has started up again with the November 2023 release of Volume 5: Three Ages and Our Hospitality. The new disc features the two earliest feature films that Buster Keaton produced independently (after having starred in The Saphead for another director). Taken together, these two films, which were produced only a few months apart, display a amazing degree of growth for Keaton as a filmmaker.

While Keaton had co-written, produced, and directed several comedy short subjects, Three Ages was the comedian’s first attempt at directing a feature. He conceived of the film as a satire of D.W. Griffith’s epic Intolerance (1916), concocting a narrative that would tell the story of love through the ages by cross-cutting between three eras in history — the Stone Age, Roman times, and the Modern Age (the 1920s). In each era, a love triangle plays out between our hero (diminutive Keaton), the object of his affection (Margaret Leahy), and his rival (burly Wallace Berry). The storyline is constructed to be repetitive, as the protagonists find themselves in similar situations in each time period.

While the idea of veering back and forth between eras sounds complex for a first feature, Keaton was actually playing it safe. If Three Ages should flop as a feature, he could always re-cut it and release it as three separate (if suspiciously similar) short subjects. Buster also wasn’t venturing far outside his comfort zone, because Three Ages is filled with the type of impossible, cartoonish gags that populated his short comedies. While it is undeniably funny, Three Ages is disjointed by nature. It plays very much like three Max Fleischer cartoons (with Popeye and Bluto fighting over Olive Oyl) stitched together.

Our Hospitality (also 1923) was created with a completely new mindset.  Buster realized that in order for audiences to care about his characters at a feature length, he would have to use more realistic stakes and situations. Going forward, he would avoid cartoon slapstick (except in the case of dream sequences), and would instead build laughs organically out of character traits, comic situations, misunderstandings, misdirection, and other natural means. It was a tremendous leap in sophistication, and Our Hospitality, if not Keaton’s first feature, was his first masterpiece.

After an audacious opening prologue played completely seriously (and as effectively as other straight dramas of the time), we are introduced to Willie McKay (Keaton), a young man who must travel to his family “estate” to take possession of his inheritance. Along the way, on the most ramshackle train in film history (a replica of Stephenson’s Rocket), Willie makes the acquaintance of a beautiful woman (Natalie Talmadge) and love begins to bloom. Unfortunately, the lovely lady turns out to be the daughter of Joseph Canfield (Keaton regular Joe Roberts), the patriarch of a family that has been tied in a blood feud with the McKays for generations.  When the smitten Miss Canfield invites Willie to dinner, it is uncertain whether the rules of Southern hospitality will protect McKay from the wrath of the Canfields.

This smart, comedic take on the famous Hatfield/McCoy feud was the beginning of Keaton’s most creative period, and it is one of his most enjoyable features. It contains many excellent sequences, with the train trip and the waterfall climax as standouts. And while Keaton dispensed with cartoon gags in favor of a realistic, coherent storyline, in no way did he skimp on the laughs or on his signature acrobatics. The film is hilarious throughout, including several darkly comic bits that were a bit ahead of their time.

Taken as a whole, I would rank Our Hospitality as my second favorite Keaton feature, following The General (1926).  In other words, it is one of the greatest comedies ever made. Fans of silent comedy should consider it essential viewing.

As for the new Blu-ray, The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 5: Three Ages and Our Hospitality displays the same strengths (picture quality) and weaknesses (lack of extras) as the prior Cohen Film Collection volumes. Check out the video section below for more info on the disc itself. In short, the release is recommended.

USA/B&W-71m./Dir: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline/Wr: Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph Mitchell/Cast: Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Berry, Joe Roberts, Lillian Lawrence, Kewpie Morgan

USA/B&W-76m./Dir: Buster Keaton and Jack Blystone/Wr: Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph Mitchell/Cast: Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Roberts, Francis X. Bushman Jr., Monte Collins, Craig Ward, Joe Keaton, Kitty Bradbury, Buster Keaton Jr.

For Fans of: If you know and love Buster Keaton’s The General (1926), you owe it to yourself to see the comedian’s earlier features, especially Our Hospitality (1923).

Video: I previously reviewed Kino Lorber’s standalone Blu-ray release of Our Hospitality, based on a 2K restoration by France’s Lobster Films. That release looked quite good, and I think it’s going to be a toss up amongst film fans as to whether they find the Cohen release preferable. It is certainly different. The Lobster restoration is tinted in sepia for the daylight scenes and blue for the night scenes. Whereas, the Cineteca di Bologna restoration is untouched black & white nitrate. Both display film grain, but both are also a little soft in comparison to some of the other Keaton restorations.

The main difference for me is the score. The Kino release featured a new orchestral score composed by Robert Israel, and the Cohen release uses the existing Carl Davis score from the Thames Silents series. They are both good, but I prefer the Carl Davis score, in part because I am familiar with it from the Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow documentary series. However, when it comes to the presentation of Our Hospitality, you really can’t go wrong with either Blu-ray.

On the other hand, there is no comparison when it comes to Three Ages. The new restoration is the best the film has ever looked on home video. That’s not to say it’s perfect. The surviving elements of the film are not in great shape, so there are still sections of the print (especially the chariot race and football scenes) that display a good deal of decomposition. However, the Cineteca di Bologna have done the absolute best with the available elements, and none of the decomp takes away from the enjoyment of the film.

The new score by Rodney Sauer of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra is an excellent compliment to Three Ages, and I found it preferable to the musical accompaniments provided on prior releases. My one complaint with the Cohen Media Buster Keaton releases is the lack of any worthwhile special features. The only extra in the package is a rerelease trailer for Our Hospitality.

Streaming: At the time of this review Three Ages and Our Hospitality are currently streaming on Kanopy. They can also be digitally rented or purchased through KinoNow, Vudu, and Amazon

More to Explore: As mentioned above, the Cohen Film Collection, in conjunction with Kino Lorber, has distributed Blu-rays of all of Keaton’s self-produced silent features, in new restorations by Cineteca di Bologna.  I consider all of the discs essential.

Trivia: Our Hospitality was a family affair for Buster.  His love interest was played by his wife at the time, Natalie Talmadge. The high-kicking train engineer was his father, Joe Keaton. And the baby in the prologue was Buster Keaton Jr.

For More Info: There are several excellent books on Buster Keaton and his work. The gold standard biography is Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life by James Curtis. A couple more of my favorites are Buster Keaton Remembered by Buster’s wife, Eleanor Keaton, and film historian, Jeffrey Vance, and The Complete Films of Buster Keaton by Jim Kline.