Steamboat Bill Jr by United Artists, Buster Keaton - 9 out of 10

 

Steamboat Bill Jr by United Artists, Buster Keaton

9 out of 10

 

 

Buster Keaton was one of the most astounding thespians ever, and his performance as Steamboat Bill Jr is a clear proof, he is also one of the directors, albeit we find from IMDB that he was not credited with that position – a very amusing film, demonstrating that silent movies could be stupendous…

 

It was made in 1928, almost ninety four years ago, and it beats any of the Marvel productions if you ask me, it is a classic that has been aired by our local TVR Cultural, honoring the mission of the public, state funded channel – indeed, the only reason why such a media outfit should exist is to offer art and culture

As it is, we have about two hundred various offers on cable, news, folklore (maybe thirty), sports, jobs, religion (another ten, perhaps), farmers, disco, rock music, you name it, it is on the remote, but in terms of culture, maybe we could refer to the likes of National Geographic, History Viasat and just History.

 

Alas, what they put on is often anti –culture, instead of making one better informed, maybe a bit more ‘cultivated’, there are shows that seem designed for the Dumb and The Dumber, just like Maher http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-decider-by-bill-maher-10-out-of-10.html was joking on his show

He talked about TLC aka The Learning Channel, which is a disgrace, just like the History Channel, were for most of the time they appear to have those fellows rummaging through garages, looking for the odd piece of valuable (moneywise) antique, and we get to see the negotiations over some memorabilia…

 

A spoiler alert, warning, disclaimer has to be inserted, however clear would be for the regular guy that this is moving, sailing away from Steamboat Bill and ending up on who knows what remote shore, without the slightest connection with the alleged purpose of these lines…I may get evicted, if I do not stop

Recently, there was a complaint, and Goodreads has deleted one of my hard thought notes (just kidding, they are mostly useless, as it is obvious) telling me it is spam – by the way, furious and vengeful, I keep including the link to that spam http://realini.blogspot.com/2023/07/cleo-from-5-to-7-aka-cleo-de-5-7-by.html which was supposed to be about Cleo from 5 to 7 and most likely was about anything but

Nevertheless, if the under signed is clearly not your best source of information on books, films, this site is just about amateurs pouring (mostly) nonsense, they liked or not one work or another, but these are not professionals, and what they say is biased, subjective, amateurish by definition, except in rare cases

 

And there is massive fraud – in my country, dominating the charts at Number One is this goodfella, from Bacau, who has decided to put online hundreds of ‘reviews’ per day, as in he copies and pastes, and voila, you have a thousand opinions from the lucky fellow, only he has nothing to say to you, or anybody else

These are just Stolen lines and yet, he is maintained at Number One, although I draw the attention of the team to the matter, and the absurd volume of theft, necessary to claim he has some four thousand (maybe more) books on which he has something to share with the public, he does not and this is an outrage

 

Let us say a few words about Steamboat Bill, before it gets out of hand, the premise is that Steamboat Bill is waiting for his son to arrive, and at the train station, they have arranged as a sign a flower on the jacket, only when the febrile papa looks at the train passengers, they all have flowers and it is funny

Buster Keaton is the awaited son, they call him ‘effete’ on the IMDB description of the movie, and he is an extraordinary character, combining what looks like deep sadness with a jocular attitude, he has the flower, and eventually, father and son get together, however much the former is disappointed in the latter.

 

The parent is tall, massive, while the son is quite feeble, there would be some clashes were Junior is trying to escape, while the father is confrontational – in an instance, they are competing with another boat on the river, and one man working for JJ King, the foe, comes to face Buster, who is not in the game

However, Steamboat Bill would have none of that, he takes one fist of his son and hits the enemy in the face, boasting about what a pugilist the junior is, when in fact it was the captain doing it all…then he tries to show his child the ropes, the way the vessel moves, only the incompetent apprentice keeps making mistakes

 

He pulls  the lever that makes the big boat move, and then it hits the JJ King boat, and the passengers on that one fall on deck, and this is repeated, to the amusement of the audience…they fall in the water, naturally, one, then another, but we have to keep in mind that these were the pioneers.

This is a good decision, to have Buster Keaton, Chaplin and their work aired, though for the latter, due to his political inclinations I have much less respect…he was a titan alright, but if he had communist sympathies, I am sorry, but no!

 

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world   – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”

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