**SPOILER ALERT**
Have
you ever watched the 1926 silent film The
General starring Buster Keaton? Some view this film as one of the best in
history. The story revolves around Johnnie Gray (Keaton) who loves two things
in life: Annabelle Lee and his train (The General). When Union spies steal his
train with passenger Annabelle Lee, Johnnie must fight to save them.
While
this film does not contain a score of its own, many distributors over the years
have set it to various musical selections. While some are quite tasteful,
others are absurd and unrelated. Below you can view the film in its original,
silent form. Do you think the film stands on its own without music or do you
think it would help enhance the plot to have some sort of music?
A
random or inappropriate score affects this classic film and does it a
disservice. A thought-out score, however, can add quite a bit to the onscreen
action. I recently viewed a release of The
General that allows viewers to choose one of three scores to accompany the
film. One is symphonic, the second is derived from traditional silent film
scores, and the third is for organ. Below you can view a trailer to The General with music accompaniment. Do
you think it adds or takes away from the plot?
