Friday, January 31, 2014

great gifs from the silent film era



I wish I caould recall where I found these, but they didn't have any more

thanks Tony for the following:

6 comments:

  1. Ahh... Pure magic. Look up any of Buster Keaton's stunts on You Tube and bear in mind that they were done for real, without a stunt double. Getting drenched by a water tower in Sherlock Junior fractured his neck - he found out later (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl6xs-BSpIo). His most famous stunt, a house falling on him in Steamboat Bill Junior (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2SKWSOdGM) gave him just a few inches clearance all round, actually scraping his arm. He was an acrobat and a comedy genius. Thanks for the clips. Tony

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    1. you're very welcome, and thank you for the info! Keaton and Lloyd were terrific, and the way they crafted the stunts into movies and made it seem plausible that a ordinary Joe could get into such astonishing mishaps was genius... no one seems to have tried to copy or outdo them since. At least we can watch them still and be grateful they went to such great lengths to entertain us. I've rarely found Buster Keaton or Lloyd in photos that worked out that I found them entertaining enough for this vehiclular focus, and these two clips just found me out of the blue. One photo I posted earlier http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/05/buster-keaton.html was cool too, but rare. Thanks for the kids compliment Tony! Have a great weekend

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  2. Jesse, indeed Keaton was pure genius when it came to stunt comedy, but look how close that rail road tie comes to hitting his head. By the way, I don't think those are real ties. Have you ever tried to pick one up by yourself? They are very heavy. These ties were probably made of a lighter weight wood that Buster could handle. I'm not saying he was weak. Anything but. God. You got to marvel at that move while standing on the cow catcher of that train. One slip and your dead!

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    1. They sure aren't real ties, that would be about 300-400 pounds I guess. I grew up with rail road ties being used for everything after the local railroads were dismantled. Rails used to grade roads, ties used for piers, garden walls, etc. What ever he used could not be much more than 75-100 pounds is my guess... but that throw was sweet! Good trick for the movie!
      And you point out the obvious thing I missed in my entertainment.... he was on a damn moving train! You're so right, a slip, and lose a limb or life!

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  3. Hi jsfury & Jesse. Last comment: My favourite Keaton clip isn't a death-defying stunt at all. In a documentary shot will making the Railrodder he stops a train then pushes it backwards; I'm fairly sure it's an impromptu moment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiWEVns7niY. I KNOW he's just hanging on but what I see is him moving the train. What mastery of body language! Cheers. Tony.

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    1. thank you Tony! I added that clip to the post!

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