I was recently mesmerised by Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality and Sherlock Jr and was really looking forward to seeing the film that is generally regarded as his best and wasn't disappointed.
Buster's love of trains comes to the fore again here and they do allow plenty of scope for his breathtaking physical comedy. He really does these stunts as they look- it's literally inconceivable. The film takes time to get going, but once the chase begins (Buster is an engineer whose train is stolen and the film depicts his recovery of it- and the girl, Marion Mack) then it becomes amazing stuff. The stunts, as I've mentioned already, are phenomenal and generate real drama. The gags are constantly funny and inventive. Buster's performance shows an impressive ability to express a range of emotions with very little expression on his famous 'stoneface'- confusion, frustration, anger, happiness, adoration, rejection; all with a movement of one eyebrow. Like Roger Moore only good.
Most importantly, though, the direction- again by Buster- is excellent. The balance between action, comedy and romance is finely judged. The narrative is clear and the choice of camera shots is sublime. 8/10
