jc Tim Halloran
CTVA 310
5th October 2017
The best chasing sequences in 1925--- A short review of Seven Chances
On the last Sunday night in September 2017, Instructor Tim Halloran, holding a representative of Buster Keaton Features, asked, "What brings a large number of people here?". I looked around and found around a hundred people sitting in the same threat room with me. Then, I had the same question as to the instructor. Three hours later, I figured out the reason: These comedies, "Seven Chances" and "Go West," played at the night, which was produced, acted and directed by Keaton in 1925, are excellent comedies with forward, hilarious, great chasing sequence series and special actions' effects (Stunts). Particularly, audiences in the Ahman Theatre mostly come for "Seven Chances"; they love the chasing sequences about "Keaton" being chased by thousands of brides. The great impact of the "Seven Chances"on the audience benefits from a proper film pace, the perfect camera works arrangement, and the unforeseen stunts.
The pace of "Seven Chances" is a solid design. It packs a sluggish momentum with lots of simple, static camera shots at the beginning of the film. Audiences were introduced to a dating series about James and a girl: James wants to make an avowal to the girl, but he never says a word. Keaton used static, long shots at the same angle to establish the dating scene, thus, showing the background surrounding the story, James' goal, and his irresolute and hesitant characters. The cadence here is kind of slow, but the camera work makes the dating scene look steady. It helps audiences to get into the characters' world. It also implies that James loves the girl and the love never changes. Although it takes forever for James to make an avowal, the magic of comedic arrives, coincidences happen and pushes James out of the predicament:in the following lot, James must get married to a woman to gain his uncle's money, to save his partner and firm; the slow film pace then starts to change.
The film pace gradually increases and the camera works that Keaton chooses to become more complex but brilliant. Audiences were getting caught in hilarious plots where James is seen as a psycho as he proposes to women, especially, after using all seven chances, but finds no bride to marry. He arrives at the church and falls asleep. As he sleeps, the climax approaches and the film pace is reaching to the highest. Keaton used eye-level static shots to shoot the sleeping scene of James and made a great camera work arrangement to shoot sequences of upcoming brides: wide and extremely wide shots with pan and moving movements, changing the camera position from low angle to high angle. One sleeping man, who is in a static shot, will meet thousands of running women who are in wide, moving shot. The sequences are very dramatic,static compared with moving. Brides continue to arrive in their thousands for one slim, short man, who is sleeping and knows nothing. Keaton used a cross-cutting method to show the relationship between the brides and James; it made audiences nervous and curious about what was going to happen. After James wakes up and is found by the thousands of brides, he gets notes from his dream girl's salves, and starts his long-distance running: he must, to escape from thousands of brides and marry his girl in her home. In his "long-distance running" journey, James has to jump from a cliff and survives a rock landslide... The plot has reached its climax and the pace reaches the highest speed. Making audiences laugh at hilarious escape sequences was not the only thing Keaton wanted to reach. In addition,he used stunts to make spectators feel more excited and noxious. Even though it was in 1925, Keaton still made excellent action effects.
In conclusion, the feature "Seven Chances" does not have a sluggish pace. It has a very tide pace with an entertaining drama conflict. However, what blew my imagination was the way that Keaton used cameras and his excellent stunts in 1925. The sequences about James being chased by thousands of brides, that would be one series I would never forget in Keaton's features. To be honest, I would say it's the best chasing sequence that I have ever seen, the chasing series that involves stunts and the great use of cameras in 1925. It's remarkable, forward and well made. "Seven Chances" is a simple story that might be predictable, but it's an entertaining old comedic feature with exciting twists and stunts, and is filled with surprises.
View more about Seven Chances reviews
