The General

In my opinion, one of the most comedic silent films of the era, The General was a film that was ahead of its time. It contained many filmic elements such as the camera work, editing, acting, and stunting that were all well-developed and portrayed, for the technology and skills that they had at the time. One very impressive filmic element from the movie, The General, were the stunts during the train scene with the cannon. During the scene, Johnny Gray (played by Buster Keaton who also directed the film) was setting up the cannon to fire it at the opposing side. He was doing this while balancing on the moving train. At one point in the scene, when the cannon is about to fire, it tips and aims at him. The cannon eventually fires away, but it is a close call from hitting Johnny or the front of the train. This filmic element creates suspension for what will happen and adds action and intensity to the overall film. I believe that this scene should be given tremendous applause for the stunting because of its amazing timing and accuracy, under the intense circumstances.