- Actors: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Al St. John, Alice Lake
- Directors: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Fred C. Newmeyer, Hal Roach
- Writers: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, H.M. Walker, Joseph Anthony Roach
- Producers: Hal Roach, Robert Israel
- Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Silent, NTSC
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Paradox
- Release Date: Feb 18 2003
- Run Time: 70 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00007L4MK
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#60,541 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #20 in DVD > Classics > Classic Stars > Buster Keaton
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
A long-lost two-reel comedy starring and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and costarring Buster Keaton, The Cook (1918) has been reclaimed from nitrate materials found in Norway and Denmark in 1998-99. A few seconds' worth of footage remains lost, but the minor burps in continuity can't dim the two comic geniuses' balletic precision and freewheeling inventiveness. Keaton, new to the flickers, is more devil-may-care than in his own films, but the careening dynamism perfected in two decades of vaudeville knockabout is fully in play. Arbuckle's trademark fat is 95 percent muscle, and his no-sweat juggling rivals W.C. Fields'--though the image viewers will carry to their graves is his kitchen-pan jeu d'esprit as Cleopatra, clutching a link-sausage asp to "her" bosom. All this--plus a ladder-climbing dog named Luke!--makes for a comedic tour de force. Milestone has filled out the package with another Arbuckle rediscovery, A Reckless Romeo (1917), and Harold Lloyd's characteristically zippy Number Please! (1920)--all three shot on glorious amusement-pier locations. --Richard T. Jameson
Video Details
At the Bull Pup Cafe, Fatty Arbuckle is chef of all trades while Buster Keaton waits tables in own inimitable fashion. When a tough guy annoys the pretty cashier, Keaton comes to her defense with help from Luke the Dog, feisty canine defender of womanhood! One of the finest and funniest of these comedians' collaborations, "The Cook" was long considered one of cinema's lost holy grails until its discovery in 1998 among a cache of undentified nitrate prints at the Norsk Filminstitutt, followed by the discovery of even more footage in 2002 at the Nederlands Filmmuseum! This new edition combines the sources to approximate the original U.S. release of this comic milestone. Also included is "A Reckless Romeo," a legendary lost film also recovered. Arbuckle is at the height of his comedic talents as an adventurous young husband exploring greener pastures, but his attempts at indiscretion at the Palisades Amusement Park are filmed by a newsreel cameraman and shown at the local movie house with both philanderers' nearest and dearest in attendance! Arbuckle's "escape" is one of the most memorable endings of any cinematic comedy.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Silent shorts: 2 excellent and 1 good,
By
This review is from: Cook & Other Treasures (DVD)
`The Cook' (1918) Is one of the best Fatty Arbuckle/Buster Keaton collaborations, with
some very funny juggling and dancing routines as they work together in a café. `Reckless Romeo' (1917) Is Arbuckle without Keaton. Not as strong as the other two films. The majority of it is Fatty hitting on various girls in the park, but there is a cool, surreal, self reflective moment at the end, when Fatty sees newsreel footage of his amorous attempts projected at the local movie house, as his wife sits next to him. `Number, Please?' (1920) is Harold Lloyd directed by Fred Newmeyer and Hal Roach. It has a number of very funny and inventive set pieces as Lloyd attempts to win back his girl. This film feels more sophisticated and less dated than the Arbuckle films. While used copies are selling here for absurd prices, high-end video stores often have a copy for rent.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh yes, worth the wait!,
By
This review is from: Cook & Other Treasures (DVD)
So, there's not much more I can say about the restoration of "The Cook", so let me simply speak to the quality of the dvd.The three films here are well presented. They have been carefully transferred and encoded, so that as much detail as possible comes through. The Cook is amazing to see. IT's obvious that the materials used were not of high-quality, but the restorers have brought as much quality into the print as possible, and the results are very watchable, certainly more watchable than most low-budget dvd releases. The music is good, it accompanies the film without taking over. There is a bonus function where you can view the two unrestored copies of "The Cook". You can also put the dvd into your computer and try to edit together your own version. "Look mom, I'm a silent film restorer!!" An amazing idea whose time has come....P>Kudos to the producers!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Look at Some Long Lost Films,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cook & Other Treasures (DVD)
The COOK is restored from two prints, both of which are included as extras. Looking at these incomplete source prints gives one a better understanding of what people in film restoration are faced with when trying to recreate a film from various film elements. Although each of film by itself is choppy with many scenes missing or incomplete, the restored print combines both seamlessly into the final print. Bravo to the folks at Milestone for making this film available. The other two films are a lot of fun. Harold Lloyd's film, NUMBER, PLEASE is one of my favorites. For modern viewers, it's a glimpse of what life was like before cell-phones! Yes, you really did have to dial the operator and wait for her to say, "Number, Please".
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