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From the meticulous geometric framing of Wes Anderson to the droll deadpan of Bill Murray, the influence of Buster Keaton’s comedy still ripples throughout popular culture. This video essay is part of the US filmmaker Tony Zhou’s Every Frame a Painting series, and it details how Keaton’s work helped to shape the visual language of film and on-screen comedy, dissecting just why his gags still amaze and amuse nearly a century after he first transformed motion pictures.
Director: Tony Zhou
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Art
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Anthropology
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Art
The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles
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Art
In his poem ‘London’, William Blake crafted a bleak vision of the city he loved
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Art
A prisoner in Guantánamo finds some escape in building intricate model ships
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Meaning and the good life
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Sex and sexuality
From secret crushes to self-acceptance – a joyful chronicle of ‘old lesbian’ stories
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Making
Forging a cello from pieces of wood demands its own form of virtuosity
27 minutes