Closing Night Gala: The General (1926) + live piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Locomotives! Soldiers! Spies! Collapsing bridges! Buster Keaton! The original action-comedy blockbuster will be accompanied live by Stephen Horne.

Screening here, a century after its first release, this is a rare big-screen chance to see the film Orson Welles contended was “perhaps the greatest film ever made”.  The breathtaking practical stunts and set pieces only look more astonishing now in a world of computer-generated visual effects.

Keaton’s physical risk-taking, attention to Civil War period detail (the story is based on a real-life locomotive chase from 1862) and filmmaking scale make this the perfect film for our closing gala. Setting the template for the genre for the next century, The General truly is the original 1926 Big Screen Banger. Chris Chibnall

USA, 1926. Directors Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman. Screenplay by Al Boasberg, Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton and Charles Smith from the 1863 history Daring and Suffering: A History of the Great Railroad Adventure (and later versions) by William Pittenger. With Buster Keaton, Marion Mack. 88 mins. U

Introduced by Chris Chibnall.

Stephen Horne – piano
One of the leading silent film performers, Stephen Horne is a house musician at London’s BFI Southbank. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly plays internationally and in recent years his accompaniments have met with acclaim at film festivals across Europe, North America and Asia.

Screening sponsored by 

Screening at BAC
£13/£12/£10
25-and-under £5
10% off for BAC supporters

379957