NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Firstly, we had already compared to Keaton Short DVD packages from 2001 and 2006 HERE. We've compared to 4 of those SD captures below. And coming out in July of this year (2016) are the 'The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films (1917-23)' on 4 Blu-ray discs from Masters of Cinema in the UK HERE.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray release has 5 dual-layered BD discs and represents about 12-hours worth of shorts. It is all transferred in 1080P with liner PCM audio. It has 13 'Arbuckle' shorts, with him as star and director with Buste4r Keaton in various bit-parts in 2 Blu-rays and the remaining three BDs housing 20 Keaton shorts with him as the star - directed by Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline with two credited to Keaton and Malcolm St. Clair.

Quality. obviously varies with some more notable weakness/damage on Arbuckle's Moonshine and Keaton's Hard Luck but generally the 1080P presentations are quite rewarding. I've given one frame per shorts screen captures below trying to supply a decent representation of the image quality. As stated in the description: "These 2k restorations were performed utilizing archival film elements from around the world, and promises to be the definitive representation of Keaton's early career." The restoration are supplied from Lobster Films in France. In short they have superior contrast and detail than the older SDs (see our comparative captures below.)

The audio is in linear PCM (uncompressed) - 16-bit - and the films in this collection are presented with orchestral scores by Frank Bockius, Neil Brand, Timothy Brock, Antonio Coppola, Stephen Horne, Robert Israel, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Dennis Scott, and Donald Sosin. Convict 13, The Blacksmith (version B), The Frozen North and The Electric House include secondary musical tracks. These 5 Blu-ray discs are Region 'A' -locked.

Extras include an alternate version on The Blacksmith containing a newly discovered four minutes of previously unseen material. Coney Island offers an alternate (politically incorrect) ending, and there is also an alternate ending for My Wife's Relations. We can see a restoration explanation and introduction by film preservationist Serge Bromberg (in French with optional English subtitles - running about 4-minutes) and we also get an except of Life with Buster Keaton from 1951 where he reenacts Roscoe Arbuckle's "Salomé dance", first performed in The Cook. The package has a 24-page booklet with detailed film notes and essay by Jeffrey Vance, author of Buster Keaton Remembered.

It certainly a must-own for Silent Era and especially Keaton fans with over 2 hours of HD material on each of the 5 Blu-ray discs. Absolutely recommended! - there is an absolute treasure-trove of value here.   

Gary W. Tooze