Crazy Silent Film Stunts You Won't Believe Are Real
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Date: 2022-12-29
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Comments and reviews: 20
Kali
The caption is not exactly accurate. You're talking about the history of silent movie stunts, rather than counting off the craziest stunts.
Buster Keaton was the master of the movie stunts, however. The wall in that scene actually just clipped Keaton's side -- you can see if if you look closely -- but, typically, he probably never even felt it. The fact that, years later, he admitted that he didn't care whether he lived or died when he did that stunt because, right before it, he was told that he had just lost his studio, makes the stunt even more terrifying.
Also, in Sherlock Jr, Keaton was slammed to the ground by a water spout. He felt some pain for a few days, but didn't give it a second thought until over a decade later when he had a full medical examination, and the doctor found that the fall had actually broken his neck. Now THAT was a crazy stunt!
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The caption is not exactly accurate. You're talking about the history of silent movie stunts, rather than counting off the craziest stunts.
Buster Keaton was the master of the movie stunts, however. The wall in that scene actually just clipped Keaton's side -- you can see if if you look closely -- but, typically, he probably never even felt it. The fact that, years later, he admitted that he didn't care whether he lived or died when he did that stunt because, right before it, he was told that he had just lost his studio, makes the stunt even more terrifying.
Also, in Sherlock Jr, Keaton was slammed to the ground by a water spout. He felt some pain for a few days, but didn't give it a second thought until over a decade later when he had a full medical examination, and the doctor found that the fall had actually broken his neck. Now THAT was a crazy stunt!
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Jason
In Buster Keaton's The General, they literally drove a real locomotive off of a bridge to crash into a river below. Obviously this wasn't dangerous to anyone as the train was empty, but the fact that they literally destroyed a perfectly functioning train for a cool stunt is amazing. When people try to tell me effects in movies are so amazing today, I'll point them to this black & white stunt from the 1920s in which a real train falls hundreds of feet before crashing into a river. It looks 10X better than any CGI crash I've ever seen. When it comes to effects, you can't get any more real than real.
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In Buster Keaton's The General, they literally drove a real locomotive off of a bridge to crash into a river below. Obviously this wasn't dangerous to anyone as the train was empty, but the fact that they literally destroyed a perfectly functioning train for a cool stunt is amazing. When people try to tell me effects in movies are so amazing today, I'll point them to this black & white stunt from the 1920s in which a real train falls hundreds of feet before crashing into a river. It looks 10X better than any CGI crash I've ever seen. When it comes to effects, you can't get any more real than real.
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Lacky
You're getting something fundamentally wrong. The audiences didn't laugh at the actors getting hurt. No, they laughed from the characters performances and from defying expectations. It's not the part of getting hurt, but the way the joke is portrayed.
For example the falling house wall. Is it funny Keaton was untouched? No. The joke was, his character didn't even realized he was in danger, was unphased and just after a long time of thinking he understood what happend, while the audience knew all along. Then he just brushed it off, like the most normal thing ever.
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You're getting something fundamentally wrong. The audiences didn't laugh at the actors getting hurt. No, they laughed from the characters performances and from defying expectations. It's not the part of getting hurt, but the way the joke is portrayed.
For example the falling house wall. Is it funny Keaton was untouched? No. The joke was, his character didn't even realized he was in danger, was unphased and just after a long time of thinking he understood what happend, while the audience knew all along. Then he just brushed it off, like the most normal thing ever.
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mr
this is more art to me. real special effects cause you cant caall the easy cgi a special effect cause it dont have anything so special. comparing with the old smart ways of doing things i mean. cgi is more of drawing, painting abillity from the computer to seem real, to be realistic but you loose all that natural looking, all that clever technics directors had back then. it was the real deal to succeed things. evolution sometimes destroys valuable things for reasons.
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this is more art to me. real special effects cause you cant caall the easy cgi a special effect cause it dont have anything so special. comparing with the old smart ways of doing things i mean. cgi is more of drawing, painting abillity from the computer to seem real, to be realistic but you loose all that natural looking, all that clever technics directors had back then. it was the real deal to succeed things. evolution sometimes destroys valuable things for reasons.
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Jason
3: 15 is not correct. Look at the window. His right elbow smashes through a fake window pillar. That hole was not dangerous, and certainly not 2 clearance on each side. You replay it several times and that should be obvious to anyone who actually pays attention. Go frame by frame and it's super obvious.
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3: 15 is not correct. Look at the window. His right elbow smashes through a fake window pillar. That hole was not dangerous, and certainly not 2 clearance on each side. You replay it several times and that should be obvious to anyone who actually pays attention. Go frame by frame and it's super obvious.
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Sean
You got a free video, had a brief history of pre sound movie stunts and2 stunts broken down and you are COMPLAINING?
F off and make your own video then. .. .. .. . and stop whining.
Waaaaah, waaaaah. .. my free video didnt meet all my overentitled expectations. .waaaaah waaaaah.
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You got a free video, had a brief history of pre sound movie stunts and2 stunts broken down and you are COMPLAINING?
F off and make your own video then. .. .. .. . and stop whining.
Waaaaah, waaaaah. .. my free video didnt meet all my overentitled expectations. .waaaaah waaaaah.
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xx7secondsxx
1: 32 Knoxville did that Buster Keaton trick! He messed up. and moved off his mark. His daughter was actually there that day for filming.
They didnt kno what was gonna be under the set piece. Its recorded! It's in the bonus and behind the scenes of the Jackass #2 unrated DVD
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1: 32 Knoxville did that Buster Keaton trick! He messed up. and moved off his mark. His daughter was actually there that day for filming.
They didnt kno what was gonna be under the set piece. Its recorded! It's in the bonus and behind the scenes of the Jackass #2 unrated DVD
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Gilbert
I was excited to see this edition of Weird History and see how these amazing stunts were pulled off during the age of daredevils. But, it turned out to be just 4. 5 minutes of yap from the narrator. Barely showing two (though amazing) stunts repeatedly followed by more yapping. :-(
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I was excited to see this edition of Weird History and see how these amazing stunts were pulled off during the age of daredevils. But, it turned out to be just 4. 5 minutes of yap from the narrator. Barely showing two (though amazing) stunts repeatedly followed by more yapping. :-(
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Dusty
Save yourself some time and don't watch this video. It covers one real stunt and one special effect. And honestly, the video comes off as insulting to silent movies, comparing them to Jackass of all things. Find a video of someone that actually honors what they're discussing.
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Save yourself some time and don't watch this video. It covers one real stunt and one special effect. And honestly, the video comes off as insulting to silent movies, comparing them to Jackass of all things. Find a video of someone that actually honors what they're discussing.
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VEN
Jackie Chan learned a lot from Keaton and Chaplin, and even adapted some of their choreography in his films. Beyond that Jackie performed a bunch of original dangerous stunts that rival that of the silent era. Tony Ja as well and the collective crews in all their films.
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Jackie Chan learned a lot from Keaton and Chaplin, and even adapted some of their choreography in his films. Beyond that Jackie performed a bunch of original dangerous stunts that rival that of the silent era. Tony Ja as well and the collective crews in all their films.
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device
The clip you keep showing of buster Keaton in the car passing in front of the train closing his eyes is not a practical effect in the dangerous real sense you imply, since they did it backwards so the train starts close and far away there was no danger.
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The clip you keep showing of buster Keaton in the car passing in front of the train closing his eyes is not a practical effect in the dangerous real sense you imply, since they did it backwards so the train starts close and far away there was no danger.
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ferociousgumby
This could've been a tad longer, such as, a 45 minutes or so. This doesn't even scratch the surface, but you'd have to go deeper, do more research and find more clips. Believe me, they are there.
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This could've been a tad longer, such as, a 45 minutes or so. This doesn't even scratch the surface, but you'd have to go deeper, do more research and find more clips. Believe me, they are there.
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hannahrae927
the window frame thing. Johnny Knoxville did that also. so it REALLY really is like Jackass. Johnny loves old cartoons and movies so I am assuming he got inspired by this stunt man dude. :) Haha.
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the window frame thing. Johnny Knoxville did that also. so it REALLY really is like Jackass. Johnny loves old cartoons and movies so I am assuming he got inspired by this stunt man dude. :) Haha.
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Alice
Man, silent film special effects are the best! Unless someone's going to be that ambitious in filmmaking, no one can replicate such timeless special effects. Silent films are cinema gold!
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Man, silent film special effects are the best! Unless someone's going to be that ambitious in filmmaking, no one can replicate such timeless special effects. Silent films are cinema gold!
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education
I think you wasted your time with these guys! Harold Loyd is the master of silent movie stunts! Cmpared to these stunts he is at GOD level! do some resurce on our topics. PLEASE!
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I think you wasted your time with these guys! Harold Loyd is the master of silent movie stunts! Cmpared to these stunts he is at GOD level! do some resurce on our topics. PLEASE!
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Melissa
Wow! That Buster Keaton certainly was a bad ass in his time! I wonder if kids in the 1920s imitated Buster's stunts just like today's kids imitated the stunts on Jackass?
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Wow! That Buster Keaton certainly was a bad ass in his time! I wonder if kids in the 1920s imitated Buster's stunts just like today's kids imitated the stunts on Jackass?
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Molly
Slapstick and physical comedy are two different things. Silent films weren't all that slapsticky. It's a common misconception. There is some slapstick, but not most of it.
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Slapstick and physical comedy are two different things. Silent films weren't all that slapsticky. It's a common misconception. There is some slapstick, but not most of it.
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Robert
I guess there were only about 12 stunt scenes altogether back then since they kept showing clips of the same ones. I expected stories about many more stunts, not just one.
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I guess there were only about 12 stunt scenes altogether back then since they kept showing clips of the same ones. I expected stories about many more stunts, not just one.
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Alvex
Stunt footage 100 years ago was really almost as good and convincing as it is today, and that was long before computer graphics and more modern technology.
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Stunt footage 100 years ago was really almost as good and convincing as it is today, and that was long before computer graphics and more modern technology.
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MrFirstdance2000
Okay, poorly put together or limited resources for what should have been a more heavy laden visual in lieu of chat, chat, chat!
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Okay, poorly put together or limited resources for what should have been a more heavy laden visual in lieu of chat, chat, chat!
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