Review: Now Available From Criterion, Buster Keaton's 'The Cameraman' is a Must-Have For Every Cinephile

In 1928, silent comedy icon Buster Keaton signed with MGM and released "The Cameraman," which is considered by many to be the artist acting in top form. However, within less than a year, Keaton lost all creative control over his pictures by MGM and suffered a lasting impact on the remainder of his career. As such, "The Cameraman" is an important piece of film history; in fact, it was added to the National Film Registry in 2005 for being "Culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Now, it's part of The Criterion Collection as well in a stunning, new 4K digital restoration undertaken by the Cineteca di Bologna, The Criterion Collection, and Warner Bros.

The film follows Keaton as a bumbling cameraman trying to make it in the news business, most notably to impress his crush, Sally (Marceline Day), who works for MGM Newsreels. The slapstick-prone, wild journey taken by Keaton throughout the rest of the film takes him to public swimming pools and a Chinatown Tong war to befriending a charismatic street-performing monkey (played by the scene-stealing Josephine). It's a frenzy-filled, fun affair that takes on all the legendary elements of silent comedy and Keaton's unique, stone-faced approach to this style of filmmaking. It's also a highly innovative work for its time, blending a film-within-a-film aesthetic with fantastically unique camerawork.

Among the many features on the Criterion release, a new score by composer Timothy Brock is a particular highlight. The lively score is conducted by Brock and performed by the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 2020, and is presented in uncompressed stereo on the Blu-ray. Other bonus features include an audio commentary from 2004 featuring Glenn Mitchell, author of "A-Z of Silent Film Comedy: An Illustrated Companion." Viewers even get a bonus feature; Keaton's following MGM picture, "Spite Marriage," in a new 2K restoration with 2004 commentary by film historians John Bengtson and Jeffrey Vance. Other bonus materials include:

� "Time Travelers," a new documentary by Daniel Raim featuring interviews with Bengtson and film historian Marc Wanamaker
� "So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM," a 2004 documentary by film historians Kevin Brownlow and Christopher Bird
� "The Motion Picture Camera" (1979), a documentary by A.S.C. cinematographer and film preservationist Karl Malkames, in a 4k restoration
� New interview with James L. Neibaur, author of "The Fall of Buster Keaton: His Films for MGM, Educational Pictures, and Columbia"
� An essay by film critic Imogen Sara Smith

"The Cameraman"
Criterion Collection Blu-ray
$31.96
www.criterion.com/films/29011-the-cameraman