But I'm guessing a lot of our audience has never seen a silent film, beginning to end - kind of don't know this world. I'm excited to talk.ĭAVIES: I have become a Buster Keaton fan, in part because of - the director of our program, Roberta Shorrock, has been sending me videos of his stuff for years. Her new book is "Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn Of Cinema And The Invention Of The 20th Century." Well, Dana Stevens, welcome to FRESH AIR.ĭANA STEVENS: Oh, thank you so much for having me. Stevens is the film critic for Slate and co-host of its long-running podcast called "Culture Gabfest." She's also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and other publications. Our guest, Dana Stevens, is a veteran film critic who's written a new book about Keaton. He fell from stardom and battled alcoholism, then regained his footing and had a long career in show business as a writer and performer. Born in the 19th century and a vaudeville star by the age of 5, his life took some hard turns after his burst of creativity in the '20s. Seven of Keaton's silent films are on the National Film Registry.Īpart from his influence on American cinema, Keaton's story is a fascinating one. Orson Welles, to name one, called Keaton a supreme artist and said his film "The General" is one of the greatest of all time. In the 1920s, Keaton starred in and directed a string of silent films that are cited by a long list of great American filmmakers as inspirations. It's true he had a gift for physical comedy, but that doesn't begin to describe his talent or his influence. If you know the name Buster Keaton, you probably think of him as a guy in old black-and-white silent movies known for slapstick and sight gags. I'm Dave Davies, in today for Terry Gross.
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