Buster Keaton's "The General"

by Richard J. Anobile (Editor)

Presents the most accurate and complete reconstruction of a film in book form. Over 2,100 frame blow-up photos shown sequentially and coupled with all the original dialogue frames from the film.

Genres: Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Anobile pioneered the use of the movie frame blow-up technique to recreate entire films in book form. His books were valuable resources especially in a time before VCR's and DVD's and the internet. While they might be viewed as simplistic picture books now, they were an attempt at curating film at a time when it was often still an after-thought. Anobile has spent much of the rest of his life in film production.

Reviews

[Ian Laird]

Frame by frame, well, selected frames, of the famous Keaton masterpiece and, as it happens my best, and favourite film. We get the lowdown on all Buster's stunts, which are marvellous to behold. Ripper story as well. I have seen the film at least twenty times and I keep seeing new things I have not noticed before.

[Surreysmum]

[These notes were made in 2004]. A still-by-still retelling of the Buster Keaton film (co-starring Marion Mack). Introduction by Raymond Rohauer, and a special interview with Marion Mack. In some sense a stand-in in the absence of the film itself; flipping through it, you can't help but smile at the remembered jokes.

[J. Gaudet]

The whole series provided a way to study a classic frame by frame before computers.

[Wendy Schill]

What a quaint idea: The General, in book form. Bought as a curiosity, but enjoyable for the adorable interview with Marion Mack that precedes the 2100 frames of the film.

[Julia]

It is somewhat difficult to describe this book, which was published 1975, from a time before videos, dvds and blu-rays made it possible for people to own their favorite films. This is 2,100 pictures of the classic silent film from 1927 "The General." This book tells the story of that film, as a flip book might with some fraction of every shot from the movie in the book. Is it the film? No, it's a book. Is it a screenplay? It's more of a screenplay than Buster Keaton and Clyde Brukman wrote at the time, but it's not a screenplay, as we are used to reading them.

[J. Gaudet]

The whole series provided a way to study a classic frame by frame before computers.