Silent Films: The General by Buster Keaton. 1926
The importance of sound in colorless, silent cinema should not be underestimated. The experience of watching a film without a supporting musical score or any audio element would be dry and impersonal. The ability to hear the rhythm of the characters’ voices helps the viewers to pick up on the emotional atmosphere of the film. Just the use of visually displayed dialogue, in silent cinema, would not be enough to fully demonstrate the true essence of what the characters are feeling, and how they are expressing it. It would also make it difficult to understand the overall mood that is suggested within the scenes.
According to Silent Era:
“Early age cinema production companies, while presenting professional silent film screenings, used instruments like piano, theatre organ, and even chamber ensemble symphony orchestra accompaniments to provide their audience with a potent experience of sound.”
While researching Buster Keaton’s 1926 film, The General, I found that it is unrealistic to recover its original supporting score. The DVD versions of Buster Keaton’s blockbuster use a score that was added by its distributor years after the film had been released. (The Internet Movie Database.)
While watching the film, I was completely taken away by cinematography, camera work and Buster Keaton’s incredible performance. The score by Carl Davis proved to be truthful to the scenes, even though it was designed decades after the film’s release.
After viewing of the film and listening to the Carl Davis’s score during two separate occasions, I discovered a very interesting relationship between the two. Though I truly enjoyed the sound of the orchestra as I was viewing the film, at times, I was slightly distracted by what I was hearing. Certain musical moments and scenes did not seem to match up. I was originally under the impression that the film’s soundtrack consisted of separately selected musical compositions, and not an intentionally designed score. However several weeks down the road, I reviewed just the recording of the film’s score. I was pleased to find out that the sound narration was just as powerful as the visual narration. Without any visual help, I was able to follow the music and let my imagination do the work. Carl Davis’s representation of the characters through the sound was outstanding. I could easily figure out which composition was designed for which character and which scene. I felt though the overall score was a fantastic fit for a comedy intended to take place during the Civil War era. The sound was not only light on the ear and emotionally uplifting, but also dramatic and powerful, which is the best sound one can imagine for a silent comedy.
Today, purchasing silent film DVD’s can be a bit tricky, due to the fact that it is not always easy to find a film with a musical accompaniment that properly fits the scenes.
The Internet Movie Database states:
“The quality of music in silent film DVDs varies from distributor to distributor. Some record original scores, some carefully piece together a score from public domain sources, and some slap on an irrelevant soundtracks.”
Work Cited
"The General (1926) - FAQ." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/faq>.
"Silent Era : People : Composers and Musicians : Dennis James." Silent Era : The Silent Film Website. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.silentera.com/people/musicians/James-Dennis.html>.
"Carl Davis Pic - Image of Carl Davis - AllStarPics.Net." All Star Pics, Pictures of the Stars, Celebrity Pics, Entertainment Photos. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.allstarpics.net/0067965/012651838/carl-davis-pic.html>.
"Google Images." Google. Web. 1 June 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://rjbuffalo.com/images/buster/gen-quiet.jpg>.
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