In other words, when it comes to the representative of the silent film era, I believe that the first name that comes to mind of many people will be Chaplin.
Admittedly, it is no exaggeration to say that he supported half the sky of the comedies of the silent film era, because his comedies were extraordinary at the time and unforgettable.
However, a comedian of Chaplin's contemporary is not known to so many people. But he, on a par with Chaplin, conquered countless audiences with an alternative and perpetually dangerous style of performance. He's Buster Keaton.
If Chaplin interprets comedy in a plot-like way, buster interprets comedy from a unique perspective of action and danger. However, this is not the style that Buster groped for at the beginning, but the "nature" learned in the process of growing up.
Buster was born into a vaudeville family in Kansas, USA, so when he was only 3 years old, he performed with his parents. However, due to the dangerous style of the performance at that time, the father would constantly throw Buster to the background board, and even the audience, so such projects could easily lead to the injury of the young actor and be boycotted.
But Buster learned to land like a cat in the process, with minimal bruises, and he was praised in the audience as "a little boy who can't be hurt."
(6-year-old Buster shared the stage with his parents)
Buster has the title of "The Great Stone Face", "Cold Face Laugher", and the reason for this transformation is because of the performance as a child.
He found that when his father threw himself into the audience, he enjoyed it and laughed a lot, but the audience laughed less, so this planted a seed in Buster's heart as a child, and gradually developed the iconic expressionless performance.
No one knows whether it was because of this reason for his childhood that he finally embarked on the road of performance full of "danger" at all times. But it is undeniable that he pioneered a new style of performance at the time.
Because in the era of silent films, actors cannot express the inner feelings of the characters and convey emotions through any line, so everything that needs to be expressed can only be conveyed through expressions, actions and scene construction.
So at the time, Buster's still-self-indulgent, unsmiling style of body comedy soon became his signature image.
Another unique style of Buster is his "sword walking sideways". In contrast to the cookie-cutter content of silent films of the time, Buster puts himself in danger all the time.
A lot of the action seems fairly simple to watch in front of the screen, like jumping from one building to another, but it was very dangerous in the conditions at the time.
(Three Ages)
Bumps, falls, sprains, bruises, these are all very easy to appear on Buster. Moreover, during the shooting, Buster will signal the photographer not to interrupt no matter what happens to him, and continue shooting, even if he is in pain and unable to stand up.
Just like in the above scene of the "Three Ages" movie, Buster from trying to climb the roof to slipping down to falling down in three awnings, such a shot without a single deletion, completely presented to the audience.
Of course, this isn't Buster's only dangerous cast. In fact, whenever you watch Buster's films, you will have two feelings combined.
The first is hilarious. Because this face without a smile and the various funny actions made, with the shaping of various scenes, people can't help but laugh.
What is fused into it is the second kind, which makes the audience's heart "pinch a handful of sweat". As mentioned earlier, Buster will let the photographer shoot a series of actions from preparation to progress to the end, so the seemingly funny movements in front of the camera are accompanied by unimaginable dangers, and many times the damage to the body is only known after Buster.
(Plot from the movie "Day Dreams")
In the 1924 film Sherlock Holmes II, there is a scene in which Buster hangs from the outlet of a tank.
This is not a dangerous plot, but Buster adds a plot in this plot where water gushes out of the outlet, adding tension. But it was this gushing water that slammed Buster's neck into his back, causing damage.
Although he was fortunate to be alive, the injury pained him for many years, causing severe migraines, and it was not until years later that doctors diagnosed the injury caused by this dangerous performance at the time. It can be seen that Buster really uses his life to shoot movies.
In 1928, Buster signed with MGM, and it was this decision that set him on a different path, which he called "the most wrong decision of his life".
By the time he realized that the major studios, represented by MGM, were severely limiting the creativity he had incorporated in his own shooting process, it was too late.
"Improvisation", the term used to describe Buster is the most appropriate. Because during the filming process, Buster himself had an interpretation of the direction of the plot, so many times he would improvise the plot, but MGM asked Buster to strictly follow the script, not one more expression, less action. At that time, Buster felt like a bird imprisoned.
At the same time, in order to protect its investment, MGM forced Buster to use a stand-in in some dangerous scenes, which was a practice that Buster had never adopted in its heyday, and a practice that Buster himself could not accept.
In response to such a request, Buster angrily replied: "Using a stuntman will not get the laughter of the audience." This sentence is also enough to confirm Buster's brilliant achievements in his acting career, which is no accident!
(Plot from the 1926 "The General")
As Leo McCarry, a well-known American director at the time, recalled in 1988 what he said of Buster when he was working with Him: "We all want to poach ideas from others. But it didn't work at all with Buster, because his best ideas came up with him, and we couldn't poach him! ”
Although there are many screenwriters and plot writers behind Buster, often the most imaginative jokes are conceived and executed by Buster himself.
(Buster and his own team of writers)
So some of the most bold and funny ideas required dangerous stunts to complete, and Buster filmed all of them at great risk of injury.
It's as if there's a scene in Captain II that asks Buster to run from the outside of the camera to the center of the camera, and then a wall of a two-story house falls from behind him, and Buster's character goes right through the open window on the second wall unharmed.
This stunt shot is extremely precise in terms of standing, because the wall weighs two tons, and the window only reserves a few inches of space next to Buster, and the slightest shift in position can have irreparable consequences. This scene has also become one of the most classic shots in Buster's films.
After entering MGM's deprivation of independence, Buster's career entered a low point and began to become tainted with the vice of alcoholism, which destroyed his family life. It wasn't until the 1940s, when Buster remarried, that he regained his strength.
(Buster, 1939)
Since Buster's revival, the comedy world has once again ushered in this actor who does not smile, but makes the audience laugh, and he has once again participated in many comedy film shootings until his death.
It can be said that Buster himself is a comedian born to be a comedian and was born for comedy.
But he has made unimaginable efforts to this end, and he has interpreted the ideal work in his heart with dangers and unbearable pain that ordinary people cannot bear. Success is what he deserves, not because of talent and is luckier than others.
Perhaps, after walking through his life in comedy, it is the best home for Buster, and it is also the best gift for the audience!