Sherlock Jr.

Sherlock Jr._360P

Like i said before i'm not a huge fan when it comes to silent films. The music playing in this movie felt like it was the same tune playing over and over again. it was annoying. The movie was short so thank god for that. The story and how the movie was made on the other hand was actually entertaining. Still i don't know how they did it since technology wasn't advanced back in the day as today is so i give it a two big thumbs up for that. Buster Keaton expressed himself very well on the message he was sending across. just like Charlie Chaplin, i called out everything Buster was going to do before he did it and now i see where Charlie got some of his ideas from.

This 93 year old movie tells the story of Sherlock Holmes's son. That sounds awesome, but I could really say otherwise. I found the nearly the whole thing to be dull. There are simply better mystery movies I have seen: The Great Mouse Detective.(Disney Movie.) Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler(VeggieTales show.) Monk(TV show about a detective with OCD.) Nancy Drew(assuming it's still good, it's been like a decade since I last saw it.) There are better mystery movies than this. See my bulleted titles instead of this.

This movie is breathtaking and astounding. You've heard those things before, but not from me. Today we have few films that combine special effects with a riveting story. Some would say Star Wars did so, and I'd agree to a certain extent, but no movie that I've ever seen work a story integrated with special effects like this one. If you aren't as amazed by this tour de force as I am, check your pulse. You're dead.

Monday September 12, 2005 7:00pm The Seattle Paramount Theater "Say Mr. Detective, before you clean up any mysteries, clean up this theater." In an age before computer generated effects Sherlock Jr's out of control ride on the handlebars of a motorcycle is astonishing. It is a sequence that could never be duplicated in the modern era. Buster plays a theater projectionist with dreams of becoming a master sleuth. When he loses his girl to "The Local Sheik" Buster retreats to a dream world where he literally steps into the movie he is screening and becomes the "world's greatest detective". As "Sherlock Jr." he dodges exploding billiards, falling blades and poisoned drinks, finally ending up on the motorcycle in what has to be Keaton's best and most unbelievable stunt. As Buster runs down a street he encounters a cop on a motorcycle. The cop threatens to write him a speeding ticket and Buster solicits his help. Jumping on the handlebars they speed along. Why is he running? It doesn't matter. The chase is central to most of Keaton's films. The bike goes over a bump and the cop is bounced, leaving Buster on his own but unaware no one is driving! Attempting to understand how Keaton filmed this sequence is confounding. There are shots in which we can assume he is in control and driving (Keaton's coattails hide his position at one point). There are other shots when the bike is obviously on a truck (a wonderful shot shows Buster racing a train to a crossing). There are still other shots that seem impossible or at least extremely dangerous (Buster speeds along a road as ditch diggers fling dirt in his face). Years later, after an accident, x-rays of his neck revealed spinal fractures that may have been caused by the spills he took shooting this picture. The brilliance and originality of visual gags throughout Sherlock Jr. make it one of Keaton's very best feature films alongside The Cameraman and Seven Chances. Buster finds himself adrift "Three-and-a-half miles higher than a kite" in The Balloonatic. While he's there he washes his socks! When the balloon crash lands in the woods Buster is menaced by bears and rescued by a stream fishing cutie in one of Keaton's simplest and most charming two-reelers

The best silent I have seen yet.. Buster Keaton's a film genius for making a movie like this.. the scenes where the film surroundings change while Buster is in the film is hilarious and even seems hard to make as a realistic special effect today. His stunts are great and its amazing that he did them himself. They're all perfectly timed and done and look as hard as they must be. This movie is one of the best.. Not a single sound the whole movie and I enjoyed it greatly.. Keaton is without a doubt the best comedian.. better than Chaplin or anyone else.

My second silent film for the class that I viewed for my class was just as entertaining as the first, which was Charlie Chaplin's The Circus. Buster Keaton playing the role of the movie projectionist Sherlock Jr. was very entertaining. The story is simple, yet interesting and fun, and the movie comes in at much less than one hour, 44 minutes to be exact. While there are a few points in the movie that are disjointed and not as fun, overall you can stay engrossed enough until you get to some really cool and innovative special effects, which given the technological limitations when this was filmed in the 1920's are simply amazing.

To get myself prepared on watching this movie, I read up on Buster Keaton so I had an idea of what I was getting myself into. I read great things about his acting skills and how well he has done. Once I actually watched the movie I was not as impressed. He acting skills were mediocre compared to watching other actors of his time. When it came down to a joke or a punch line I was not impressed. The story also went too quickly and I felt it was hard to keep up with the story line. I would have to go back to catch what was happening and ask myself what was happening. The story line was not my favorite either. It doesn't seem like they brought the story to life. Even though I was not impressed by busters acting skills I was impressed with the scenery they used. The background was pretty impressive and where they chose to shoot really helped with the story line.

You can only marvel at the craft of Buster Keaton. The choreography and precision in coordinating these stunts and sequences would be astounding and breathtaking whatever period of cinema they came from but more so here as the medium was still in its infancy. For an imagination to conjure up such things, with the practice and patience to perfect them, can genuinely be considered genius. A performance by an absolute legend of silent picture perfection.

"We are lost! He is sending for the world's greatest detective - Sherlock Jr.!" After watching several of Chaplin's classic films, I decided it was time to give Buster Keaton an opportunity beginning with one of his most revered movies, Sherlock Jr. Keaton and Chaplin dominated the silent movie era, but most people are divisive as to who was the most talented actor-director of that time. So far I'm on Chaplin's side although I still have to give Keaton another shot with The General. Perhaps the problem I had with Sherlock Jr. is that I'm not a big fan of surreal films. I know everyone seems to love this genre, but there are very few surreal movies that work for me. I can see how Buster Keaton garners recognition for his magical work in this film, being one of the first to actually incorporate dream sequences into his movie. Many other films (and especially cartoons) were inspired from several scenes in Sherlock Jr, like the one in which Keaton's character jumps into a movie screen and becomes a character in the movie that is being projected (better known as "the movie within a movie" sequence). There are several action scenes including some spectacular chases that make you wonder how Keaton could have shot them way back in 1924. I was more impressed with this wizard like aspect of Keaton than on his comedic performance. His deadpan expressions were outdone by the gadgets he devised to create such advanced special effects. Despite being bored by the story, I have to give Keaton credit for his inventive and magical sequences. At the beginning of this silent film, written by Jean Havez, Joseph Mitchell, and Clyde Bruckman the title card reads: "There is an old proverb which says: Don't try to do two things at once and expect to do justice to both. This is the story of a boy who tried it. While employed as a moving picture operator in a small town theater he was also studying to be a detective." We are then introduced to the projectionist (Buster Keaton) who is reading a detective book instead of cleaning up the theater. After work, he goes to visit his girl (Kathryn McGuire) and buys her a ring. Another man (played by Ward Crane), who is also fighting for the girl's affection happens to be at the house and steals her father's chain watch and incriminates the projectionist. The girl's father (Joe Keaton) kicks him out of his home and tells him never to return again. The projectionist sadly returns to work where he falls asleep and dreams of being a detective in the film that is being projected. In his dreams, he becomes the hero of the film and the adventure begins. Buster Keaton's film has some brilliant and magical sequences, and I think it is a bit unfair to compare him with Chaplin because he has a very different style. Chaplin has a more humane approach, writes his own stories and composes them as well, while Keaton does some impressive work behind the lens using some trickery. As performers they both have different styles, Chaplin uses a lot of physical comedy while Keaton uses deadpan humor and incorporates a lot of action scenes doing some risky stunts (in the train sequence he actually fractured his neck). Depending on which style you like best, you will probably claim Keaton or Chaplin is better, but it would be unfair to say one is less talented than the other because they both proved to be geniuses during the silent era and have left us with a rich legacy. I can see sparks of both in contemporary film making. Despite not being a fan of this film as much as others I still need to watch Keaton's The General to get a clearer picture of his style.