But I give him credit for at least trying to most of his own stunts.
I am in awe of Keaton. His ability to deadpan through the crazy shit going on around him is unmatched. "The General" is a freakin' masterpiece.
But one of my favorite silent movie gags is from Chaplin, whom I generally don't enjoy that much. It's pure genius and it really only works in a silent film.
The gag is: He's playing a wealthy man in a mansion (not the Little Tramp). He enters his grand living room, in full tux. He finds a note from his wife that she's leaving him. He reads the note, turns his back to the camera. His shoulders start to heave. It looks like sobs. Heaving and heaving. Then he turns around and he's not crying, he's shaking a cocktail, utterly unmoved. It works because you can't hear whether he's sobbing, and can't hear the drink being shaken. Genius.
And of course, Harold Lloyd was as daring as anyone. "Safety Last," amazing.
Dane, your post made me think of this scene from Modern Times.
But I give him credit for at least trying to most of his own stunts.
I am in awe of Keaton. His ability to deadpan through the crazy shit going on around him is unmatched. "The General" is a freakin' masterpiece.
But one of my favorite silent movie gags is from Chaplin, whom I generally don't enjoy that much. It's pure genius and it really only works in a silent film.
The gag is: He's playing a wealthy man in a mansion (not the Little Tramp). He enters his grand living room, in full tux. He finds a note from his wife that she's leaving him. He reads the note, turns his back to the camera. His shoulders start to heave. It looks like sobs. Heaving and heaving. Then he turns around and he's not crying, he's shaking a cocktail, utterly unmoved. It works because you can't hear whether he's sobbing, and can't hear the drink being shaken. Genius.
And of course, Harold Lloyd was as daring as anyone. "Safety Last," amazing.
Didn't Keaton also have a badly mangled hand ??
8 crazy stunts - ( New Window )
I am in awe of Keaton. His ability to deadpan through the crazy shit going on around him is unmatched. "The General" is a freakin' masterpiece.
But one of my favorite silent movie gags is from Chaplin, whom I generally don't enjoy that much. It's pure genius and it really only works in a silent film.
The gag is: He's playing a wealthy man in a mansion (not the Little Tramp). He enters his grand living room, in full tux. He finds a note from his wife that she's leaving him. He reads the note, turns his back to the camera. His shoulders start to heave. It looks like sobs. Heaving and heaving. Then he turns around and he's not crying, he's shaking a cocktail, utterly unmoved. It works because you can't hear whether he's sobbing, and can't hear the drink being shaken. Genius.
And of course, Harold Lloyd was as daring as anyone. "Safety Last," amazing.
Charlie Chaplin - Factory Scene - Modern Times (1936) - ( New Window )
I believe that the film crew couldn't bear to watch the falling facade stunt because they were so worried about it crushing him.
Before he hit it big, Chaplin was in an English comedy troupe.
His understudy? Stan Laurel.
Insane.
I am in awe of Keaton. His ability to deadpan through the crazy shit going on around him is unmatched. "The General" is a freakin' masterpiece.
But one of my favorite silent movie gags is from Chaplin, whom I generally don't enjoy that much. It's pure genius and it really only works in a silent film.
The gag is: He's playing a wealthy man in a mansion (not the Little Tramp). He enters his grand living room, in full tux. He finds a note from his wife that she's leaving him. He reads the note, turns his back to the camera. His shoulders start to heave. It looks like sobs. Heaving and heaving. Then he turns around and he's not crying, he's shaking a cocktail, utterly unmoved. It works because you can't hear whether he's sobbing, and can't hear the drink being shaken. Genius.
And of course, Harold Lloyd was as daring as anyone. "Safety Last," amazing.
The Chaplin gag - ( New Window )