Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

cody-alan-christ I set out a couple of years back to see if I could watch everything on the top 250. There have been movies on the list I was very underwhelmed by, and there have been those I have loved. This is a movie that I would have never just watched had I not been going through the list, but it is now one of my favorite movies. I had seen a few couple of silent films before seeing this, mostly Charlie Chaplin, but this introduced me to Buster Keaton and it instantly made me want to go find as many of his old films as I could. While I liked a great many of them, The General still stands above them all. I have shown this movie to friends and family who have never watched silent films and, despite their reservations, they have all loved it. It takes a while for the movie to get going, but once it does the stunts are amazing considering Buster performed them all. Highly recommend.

JLRVancouver Buster Keaton is "Johnnie Gray", a southerner who wants to fight for the cause but gets rejected because he could be of more use as an engineer than as a soldier. Unfortunately, he's not told why he was turned down and his gal just assumes that he's a coward. Not so, because when a Yankee scallywag steals his beloved steam engine (the titular "The General"), Johnnie heads north to recover the engine and through a series of misadventures, becomes a hero of the Confederacy and rescues Annabelle Lee. Glorious sight gags abound as "Old Stone Face" deals with errant cannon, loose sword blades, uncooperative firewood, inexplicable soakings and a less-than-helpful rescuee, not to mention an entire army of blue-bellies. Great fun from another era and a wonderful example of the silent genre.

qeter because I have sworn to myself, that I will rate honestly from today's point of view. If I throw in that this movie was done 90 years ago and that all the playing with the locomotives and cameras and photographing was pioneering work back in 1926 this movie must get 10 stars out of 10. But looking at it today, there is too much action. I guess, in the 20's the action was overwhelming to the audience. But today the scenes without too much action are the best: Mack and Keaton throwing wood into the fire of The General, Mack and Keaton fleeing in the forest, Keaton in the home of Mack. Anyway, there have been sitting children in the cinema and they laughed a lot, proving that the movie still works. And I have to admit, the crashing locomotive is still amazing to watch. Regardless of any rating, this movie is a must-see at least two times in a lifetime.

Jamie Ward An endearing and consistently entertaining romp from Buster Keaton that flows seamlessly between exhilarating action, bonkers comedy and stunning on-location photography. As always, Keaton performs all his own stunts here and they never fail to impress and keep you riveted, without being overly dramatic while doing so. It was a flop when it came out back in the mid-20s, but has since been re-evaluated as one of the best silent comedies of all time, and rightly so. Of course, Keaton's deadpan style isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but The General uses every tool in the comic's arsenal and comes out shining as a result. Avoid public domain releases and seek out the restored Kino Lorber BluRay for the best possible experience.