Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton [Paperback]

This has been an exceptionally good year for books on Silent Films! New titles by Basinger, Brownlow, Drew, and Riley (below) - yet Bengston's SILENT ECHOES is ... clearly the Film Book of the Year! Whether you are a longtime fan of Buster Keaton & the Silent Film era or a newcomer, you will want your own personal copy of SILENT ECHOES. Frankly, I'd recommend two: one to wear out from the heavy use you'll give it when you watch the Keaton films discussed in the book, and a second one to put on your bookshelves for safe keeping. You can read about the book's scope & coverage, above. Here, just let me tell you what the book can do for you, personally, as a film lover. It does, in book form, what film critic Richard T. Jameson wrote that only the best films can do: After experiencing it, you see life ... a little differently. Think about the power of a film - or a book - to change your life a little bit. THIS one will! After reading this book, you'll see Keaton's films - and other films of this era - in a different way, too. You will never see Keaton's work in the same light again - you 'll not only enjoy the films even more, you will also notice the world that was being documented in these films, and rejoice that so many of the landscapes that Keaton filmed still exist, today! You'll begin to watch other films of this era with that new perspective, and you may be inspired to create a similar book of your own!

Other new titles also recommended: Jeanine Basinger's SILENT STARS Kevin Brownlow's MARY PICKFORD REDISCOVERED Willam M. Drew's AT THE CENTER OF THE FRAME: LEADING LADIES OF THE TWENTIES & THIRTIES Philip J. Riley's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

One of the things I found fun about "Silent Echoes" was making my own discoveries of things that would not have been pointed out by the author. I got kind of a kick out of seeing a rock formation from the film "Three Ages" that looked exactly like Wallace Beery's face, Keaton's co-star in the film. Another thing is, Bengston makes it easy for the reader to analyze the comparisons he's trying to get across. I never had a problem understanding the content, which made it more enjoyable to read.

I enjoyed "Silent Echoes" so thoroughly that I found myself occasionally spending as much as a half hour studying a single page! This amazing, sometimes eerie, book is a must for all Keaton fans (especially those in the L.A. area, who can run around town and stand in the actual filmed spots), but you don't have to be one to enjoy it. However, it will help if you've seen the films showcased in this book.