3 HN users recommended this explainer3 months2019–2025score 3
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Recommended as a short, excellent analysis of Keaton and visual comedy.
An Every Frame a Painting video essay on Buster Keaton's visual comedy, examining how he built and framed his gags. It uses clips from his silent films to show the thinking behind them.
“a great Every Frame a Painting film essay on his work” (HN, 2025)
The Every Frame a Painting channel on YouTube has an excellent short piece on Buster Keaton covering some similar themes, but with more of a focus on camera frames than architecture: [this video]
Reminds me of some of the videos from Every Frame a Painting about visual comedy in film. Specifically "Edgar Wright - How to Do Visual Comedy" [1] and "Buster Keaton - The Art of the Gag" [2]. They give and explain some great examples from different movies. [1] [link] [2] [this video]
Video of some of his better stunts: [link] And a great Every Frame a Painting film essay on his work: [this video] He was truly an innovator that makes today’s “films of people talking to each other” look amateurish. A few months ago the local theatre was playing Sherlock Jr. with a live band, and it was awesome. Try to see it in similar circumstances if possible.
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