Underplayed Gems

Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987)

Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow poster
Directed by
David Gill, Kevin Brownlow
Genre
documentary film, documentary television film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
2h 40m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 11 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

This documentary series tells the story of Buster Keaton's life and career. It uses Keaton's own words from interviews and shows clips from his movies. The series covers his silent film work and his personal history.

informativenostalgicthoughtfulbiographicalarchivalmeasuredreverenthistoricaleducational

What happens

Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow is a three-part television documentary series made in 1987, charting the life and career of Buster Keaton. The series was written and produced by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill for Thames Television and narrated by Lindsay Anderson. It was one of three such series produced as follow-ups to Brownlow and Gill's epic documentary series Hollywood (1980), falling between Unknown Chaplin (1983) and Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius (1989). The series makes extensive use of Keaton's own words, taken from various radio and television interviews. Clips from Keaton's movies are taken from the best available sources (though without the benefit of modern digital remastering techniques), and clips from Keaton's silent films are shown at their original speed. Keaton's widow Eleanor and his business associate Raymond Rohauer worked closely with Brownlow and Gill in the production, and appear in the documentary. PBS aired the film in the U.S. as part of its American Masters series in 1987, and it has more recently been aired on Turner Classic Movies. It is currently available on DVD in the United Kingdom, as a companion to the Buster Keaton Chronicles movie box set. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.