The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The Navigator / Steamboat Bill Jr. / College / Three Ages / Battling Butler / Go West / The Saphead / Seven Chances / 21 Short Films)
Buster Keaton was arguably the cinema's first modernist, an old-fashioned romantic with a 20th-century mind behind a deadpan visage. His films  brim with some of the most breathtaking stunts and ingenious gags ever put on  film, all perfectly engineered to look effortless. And, as Kino's magnificent  11-disc boxed setThe Art of Buster Keatonconclusively shows, they are  among the funniest ever made. Keaton warped gags until they left the plane of  reality in such shorts asThe Playhouse(1921) andThe Frozen  North(1922), and takes a logic-defying leap into the very nature of cinema  itself in his hilariousSherlock Jr.(1924). He takes on the mechanical  world with Rube Golberg ingenuity inThe Navigator(1924) and perfects  his match between man and massive machine inSteamboat Bill Jr.(1928),  which features the funniest hurricane scene ever put to film, andThe  General(1927), one of the greatest comedies of all time.In addition to the previously released 11 features and 19 shorts from the peak  of Keaton's career, this set boasts the exclusiveKeaton Plus, a  collection of rarities and tributes. The greatest find is the long-lost ending  toHard Luck(1921), now restored to complete the film's final inspired  gag. Other highlights include newly discovered scenes fromDaydreams(1922) andThe Love Nest(1923), entertaining excerpts from Keaton's 1951  TV showLife with Buster Keaton(he's still got it!), and his rare  dramatic turn in the 1954 television playThe Awakening.--Sean  Axmaker