Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A celebration of the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians—Buster Keaton—whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary.
Peter Bogdanovich's affectionate documentary on Buster Keaton is a solid, well-assembled tribute that benefits from rich archival footage and enthusiastic talking heads, but it follows a fairly conventional biographical-documentary format—chronological career survey, expert interviews, clip showcases—without breaking new ground in the form. The subject himself (Keaton) is endlessly fascinating and the silent film clips are visually spectacular, elevating the cinematography category slightly, but the documentary's own visual language is unremarkable. Acting is not really applicable beyond interviewees who are earnest but not exceptional. The ending feels warm but somewhat abrupt. Novelty is modest: the film celebrates a genuinely singular artist but is itself a fairly standard celebration doc. A respectable, enjoyable watch for cinephiles but not a documentary that distinguishes itself formally.