Two out-of-print masterpieces, well worth the search. The Lebel book (which looks yellow here, but the cover’s actually sage green, a nice touch considering the image with Brown Eyes from 1925′s Go West) is like reading a love letter, even if you have to come up for air at times… and even if Buster himself might have chuckled and shaken his head at the references to Dadaism.
A few paragraphs from the Lebel book:
‘Of all the great cinema comics, Keaton alone comes off to advantage when clad only in shorts….
Keaton alone wears his nudity with elegance and grace….the vibrations and modulations of Keaton’s form remain constant and constantly pleasing…Clothed, the harmony of his appearance is the harmony of his muscular poise and his body’s spare grace.’
(From my Busterblog) (Where, yes, I really am that shallow. Sometimes. )