ULTIMATE 2-DISC EDITION

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR.

The last of the independent features made in the prime of Buster Keaton's career, STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. is a large-scale follow-up to The General, substituting a Mississippi paddlewheel for the locomotive, and replacing the spectacle of the Civil War with a catastrophic hurricane. Keaton stars as William Canfield, Jr., a Boston collegian who returns to his deep-southern roots to reunite with his father, a crusty riverboat captain (Ernest Torrence) who is engaged in a bitter rivalry with a riverboat king, coincidentally, the father of Willie's sweetheart (Marion Byron).

Keaton's athleticism and gift for inventive visual humor are in top form, and the cyclone that devastates a town (and sends houses literally crashing down around him) is perhaps the most ambitious, awe-inspiring and hilarious slapstick sequence ever created.

In the silent era, it was common practice for filmmakers to create two separate negatives of their films, each comprised of differing takes and camera angles. This definitive DVD edition contains both versions of STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., each mastered from archival 35mm materials, as well as a thirteen-minute documentary comparing the two.

Extras on DVD:

• Complete alternate version of Steamboat Bill, Jr., comprised entirely of variant takes and camera angles
• Music by The Biograph Players in 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround
• Organ Score by Lee Erwin
• Piano Score by William Perry
• Documentary on the making of the film
• Stills Gallery
• "Why They Call Him Buster," a musical montage of pratfalls and stunts
• Two vintage recordings of the folk song "Steamboat Bill"

--synopsis and DVD image courtesy of KINO. For more great films on DVD, visit the KINO website.

This DVD is being offered at a special price - the Damfino discount does NOT apply.