Books

I've recently caught up on some much needed reading, mainly of books that have been gathering dust on their shelves for too long. Two of those books were bios of a couple of my all-time favourite people in cinema: Buster Keaton and Luis Bunuel.

Sadly, Edward MacPherson's account of Keaton's journey through famedom, Tempest In a Flathat, turned out to be less a biography and more a review of Keaton's full slate of films. While it starts out well enough, providing details of Keaton's start on the Vaudeville stage alongside his family, the book quickly becomes a checklist of his work in cinema, giving synopses of Keaton's better-known films sprinkled with some behind-the-scenes stories that, while certainly funny, are inexplicably sped through. Sure, I learned a few interesting things about Keaton, but nowhere near enough. At best, the book has given me the itch to go back and watch some of my favourite silent films all over again.

The other book, Bunuel's memoirs titled, My Last Sigh, is a book I can't recommend more highly. In contrast to the Keaton bio, Bunuel turns the most mundane episodes of his life into epiphanies worth sharing with his readers. His was a life filled with humour, strange dreams, beauty, war, protest, and poetry. He says a great deal about the Surrealists, about the previous century's politics, and about religion. He shows us around a Paris that tried so hard not to change. He scares us with his firsthand account of Civil War-Spain. He sheds some light on the reality of Dali. He even reveals his love for swords sheathed in walking canes, among other passions. It's rumination of the most entertaining kind. More importantly, he shares with you his thoughts about all the incredible films he's made over the years, including the origins of some his greatest and most daring screen images and moments. I urge you to find this book and savour it.

Then go out and buy the Criterion versions of all Bunuel's films, and the biggest collection of Buster Keaton films that you can find. That is, if you want to love film even more than you do now.