Conflicted Favorite: The Camera Man

Buster Keaton is not only my favorite silent film actor but he's my all time favorite actor. Just the way he can make people from different generations laugh out loud sets him apart from the others. Where today people try to shock to get laughs, Buster could make a whole theater laugh with just the movement of his eyes.

When it comes to picking a movie there's no wrong answer. They're all great. But the one I'm going to pick is "The Camera man" from 1928. To me it was a masterpiece. It balanced all of Buster's elements into one artistic stroke. However, this was the first movie made under M.G.M. Every Buster fan knows that this was the beginning of the end. So on first seeing it I was unaware that M.G.M was going to give Buster hell later on in his career. The film itself is still brilliant but I'm saddened by the fact that Buster's creativity would be caged and thrown away with. This movie tugs at my conscience. But maybe that's why I picked it as my favorite. Buster Keaton is the ultimate under-dog and he will prevail no-matter what kind of odds are against him. I think that this movie portrays that aspect of his life the best way.