Educate Yourself on Why Buster Keaton is One of the Most Influential Directors Ever

by N/A, 9 years ago | 2 min read

Modern cinema in many ways shapes our concept of the world around us. From cult indie films to mega blockbuster action and superhero movies, the art of filmmaking and acting is a big business as you already know. Well, in many ways, the art of comedy, acting and directing wouldn't be the way it is today if it wasn't for one pioneer of the industry from the silent film era: Buster Keaton.

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This is Buster Keaton. He's one of the original 'clowns' of cinema and he mastered the art of the gag.

His influence still shines through today through directors and actors such as Wes Anderson, Jackie Chan, Bill Murray and so many more. First, let's look at how he stood out in the area of silent film. During this era, title cards were essential to telling a story, but Keaton felt he could do without and let his acting tell the story.

Keaton hated when directors told their story through the title cards. he believed telling a real story involved relying on the actions of the actors. "The average picture used 240 titles–that was about the average. And, the most I ever used was 56."

This is a sample title card, of which you'd rarely see in Keaton films as compared to his contemporaries. So, what was it about his acting and 'gags' that people still feel compelled to pay homage to?

His dead pan acting can be seen from the likes of Bill Murray.

His directing using only going toward or away from the camera is seen from directors like Wes Anderson.

In the shot on the left from Keaton, the entire group runs toward the camera staying within the frame. On the right from Anderson, as you may recall, the entire group runs away staying within the frame.

And finally, one of his most iconic 'gags' is the building falling on top of someone, only for them to be left standing within the window frame.

This has been done countless times, but as you can see in the lower right he was the first to master it. He was so dilligent with his work, he was known to throw out a 'gag' if it couldn't be shot in one take. No editing would be done to pull off his works. It was pure mastery of filmmaking and acting.

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Keaton's influence on modern cinema. Let the host of "Every Frame a Painting" fill you in on how Keaton perfected his craft and the many ways it still shows up in movies we love today.

The video caption reads:

"Before Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson, before Chuck Jones and Jackie Chan, there was Buster Keaton, one of the founding fathers of visual comedy. And nearly 100 years after he first appeared onscreen, we’re still learning from him."

That says it all right there–so, thank you Buster Keaton for making film into what we love in the modern era.