The General

Buster Keaton's greatest movie is, some would argue, the finest silent screen comedy ever made. Stone-faced engineer Johnnie Gray (Keaton) loves his vast steam locomotive, "The General", almost as much as his girlfriend Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When he is rejected by the Confederate Army, Mack brands him a coward and breaks off the engagement. Later, he risks all to pursue the train with her on board when it's stolen by Yankee spies. The humour ranges from the gentle to the exhilarating, while the drama of the railroad chase has a visual beauty that puts this comedy into the category of true classic. Keaton's genius lay not just in the nuts and bolts of invention, but in the creation of an endearing character. This 2005 DVD release has been augmented with the clarity of modern telecine mastering, a longer music track, extra sequences and different front and end credits.