Keaton’s ‘Boat’ Sails on OnLine Cinema

Lillian Gish never missed an opportunity to remind people that silent films, in which she became that art form’s most celebrated actress, spoke an international language. The truth of her observation was borne out again when the American Film Institute launched its OnLine Cinema Jan. 22 with Charlie Chaplin’s 1916 two-reeler “The Rink.”

More than 70,000 people from almost 70 countries logged on to the site to watch it, according to the AFI. Dan Harries, the institute’s director of online media, received an e-mail message from a teacher in Italy delighted to report how thrilled his young students were to see the Chaplin short. A “cyberspace cafe” in Texas, by using a data projection unit, was even able to project it on a screen successfully.

Today, the AFI OnLine Cinema replaces “The Rink” with “The Boat,” a 1921 Buster Keaton two-reeler. As with “The Rink,” “The Boat” will be available on demand 24 hours a day around the world (https://www.afionline.org/cinema).

How does it look on a computer screen, at about 2 by 2 1/2 inches, framed by a gorgeous, colorful, though over-lit, Art Deco proscenium? The answer is surprisingly good. Ever at odds with the absurdities of the material universe, Keaton and his cool, deadpan humor come across just fine in miniature. You still laugh at Buster constructing a boat only to pull down the building housing it, yet being clever enough to design masts that fold for passage under low bridges.

At the same time, it’s hard to imagine anything but a silent short, running roughly 22 minutes, working in this format. The classic two-reelers are relatively free of intertitles; they have a strong, clear visual style, and their appeal and meaning, as Miss Gish said, really is universal. AFI might consider experimenting with Griffith two-reelers and a Perils of Pauline--or even better, a Harry Houdini--serial, presenting a chapter on a weekly basis, just like the nickelodeons did.

AFI OnLine provides reams of background material on “The Boat,” which has been restored by David Shepard and fitted out with organ accompaniment by the incomparable Gaylord Carter. With “The Boat,” AFI is also providing links to 55 other Web sites around the world devoted to Buster Keaton.

The materials at those sites range from film clips, stills, lists of Keaton films available on video, essays and reviews. “You might even turn up a review in Norwegian,” said Harries, who anticipates that in a short time it will be possible to enlarge the image without sacrificing its sharpness and thereby more easily accommodate a greater variety of movies.

Right now, for example, you might not enjoy watching a grand, richly textured spectacle like D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” on so small a format.