Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

rdjeffers Saturday, December 12, 7pm The Castro, San Francisco An unlucky young vagrant (Buster Keaton) is mistaken for the notorious fugitive Dead Shot Dan. Chased through city streets by a mob of feckless policemen, he wins the heart of a girl (Virginia Fox) with an act of chivalry along the way.Released in May of 1921, The Goat was the eighth of nineteen silent era comedy shorts starring Buster Keaton and his last distributed by Metro Pictures before moving to First National later that year. Keaton's inveterate use of mistaken identity, absurd coincidence and extreme physicality are all successfully exploited, along with his love of trains. Returning favorites Virginia Fox and Joe Roberts co-star as Buster's romantic interest and an enormous police detective. Scenes of particular note include: a complex gag using mannequins, whose secondary but actual payoff comes later in the film and a stunning feat of acrobatics involving a dining room table, Big Joe and a transom.

MartinHafer This is a wonderful comedy short--one of Keaton's absolute best. Through a long series of silly mistakes, Buster is mistaken for a wanted killer. And, as a result, most of the film consists of him running from the cops and one detective in particular. While generally I am NOT a fan of movies with a lot of chase scenes, this one is the absolute best as far as pure athletic and acrobatic ability. I have seen some that have had wilder stunts, but none where the star was so limber and able to move with amazing grace. In particular, there is a scene where he runs across a table, jumps on a man's shoulders and dives up through the transom as lithely as is humanly possible. Plus so many of the gags are funny and perfectly timed, such as how he really comes to believe that he's actually killed someone. By the way, this film is VERY similar to COPS, also by Keaton, but original enough and with enough energy to make them both worth seeing.This film is brilliant and the only Keaton short I can think of that I probably liked even more was THE PLAYHOUSE--where Buster plays every role at the theater.

bob the moo Having missed out on the bread line, Buster accidentally gets his photograph taken by mistake by a man taking a photo of notorious criminal Dead Shot Dan. When Dan escapes, Buster finds himself mistakenly identified as the dangerous wanted man and even when he flees the police to another town, wanted posters are already ahead of him and he finds his troubles are only beginning.BBC4 has just started a series with Paul Merton on silent comedy heroes and his first subject was Buster Keaton. The programme itself was an interesting mix of clips but the real gold was in the fact that it brought this short film in its entirety to primetime television (albeit on a small digital channel). The short opens with an unlikely setup but quickly gets past it by virtue of the sheer quality inherent in the comedy rather than the story-telling, which, being honest, is what we've come here for. True to form the comedy is creative and slightly surreal with a great mix of slapstick and wit. I found myself laughing out loud even though I wasn't really in the mood for comedy (I was more in the mood for Solaris, which I watched later the same evening).Keaton is on great form and does so much while keeping a straight face; those who dismiss his performances as just falling down simply have no idea what they are talking about and I wish them well as they watch their next crude teen comedy at their multiplex. His support cast are good in regards their physical performances but some of them really overdo their face movements – not so much on the double takes (which need impact) but more on the other aspects where they appear hammy. Of course playing opposite Keaton even Mount Rushmore could be accused of overdoing the facial movements, such is his way.Overall a great little short with an unlikely plot that is more than covered up by a hilarious and inspired onslaught of physical comedy delivered with skill, imagination and wit.

suzanna This is one you can watch over and over and laugh just as much each time. We have been on a Keaton fest around here after purchasing some of his films. In this one Buster is mistaken for an escaped murderer and there are lots of chase scenes and crazy scenes but also what is best about Buster - his creativity. The opening scene is really funny and it just keeps going from there.