"I can't begin to tell you how many pages of art I have trawled though and not found anything that actually spoke to me, until I came across your website.”
Recently, there have been a few Buster films on MUBI, a streaming service which shows old and new classic films. I thought I’d seen them all, but one in particular was so sweet, but he ends up being chased by hundreds of brick-throwing women.
It’s called Seven Chances. He emerges unscathed, as usual, but what struck me was the absurd amount of danger he puts himself through; what’s essential is the precise timing, the careful framing, and (this is a hundred-year-old film) the countless amount of times he avoids terrible injury.
Out of all the male characters who populate his films, Buster is a delicate-looking Art Deco vase compared to the rugged, battle-scarred chaps (Snitz Edwards, is a perfect example) who surround him.
I thought I should make him an icon, but give him a few bruises, to reflect the near-misses that made his job so spectacularly wild.
