Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow
Encyclopedia
Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow is a 3-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 film
s 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.
The series was shown in the U.S. 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.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series made in 1987, charting the life and career of Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. The series was written and produced by Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
and David Gill for Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
and narrated by Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
. It was one of three such series produced as follow-ups to Brownlow and Gill's epic documentary series Hollywood
Hollywood (documentary)
Hollywood is a 1980 documentary series produced by Thames Television which explored the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture....
(1980), falling between Unknown Chaplin
Unknown Chaplin
Unknown Chaplin is an acclaimed three-part 1983 British television documentary about the career and the methods of the film luminary Charles Chaplin using previously unseen film for illustration....
(1983) and Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius (1989).
The series makes extensive use of Keaton's own words, taken from various radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television interviews
Interviews
Interviews is:# the plural form of "interview"# a compilation album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, see Interviews # a C++ toolkit for the X Window System, see 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 film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s are shown at their original speed. Keaton's widow Eleanor and his business associate Raymond Rohauer
Raymond Rohauer
Raymond Rohauer was an American film collector and distributor.Rohauer moved to California in 1942 and was educated at Los Angeles City College. Rohauer made a five-reel 16mm experimental film Whirlpool which was not successful. He subsequently became active in film exhibition at the Coronet...
worked closely with Brownlow and Gill in the production, and appear in the documentary.
The series was shown in the U.S. on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
. It is currently available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a companion to the Buster Keaton Chronicles movie box set.