Eureka’s “The General” booklet review

Written by Matt Long

This booklet is included as part of Eureka’s 2026 4K UHD and Blu-ray release of The General (1926).

Professionalism and production quality

This is a small forty-page saddle stitch booklet with glossy pages. The pages are thin but the paper seems to be of high quality. One of the most noticeable features is how small the text size was. It’s not particularly accessible for anyone with sight problems. I strained to read it comfortably. It must have been a requirement for space constraints, but it hurts the reading experience. Beyond that, the photos are very clear and the booklet’s layout is appealing.

The slipcover for the Blu-ray release of The General.

Grade: B

Text-to-image ratio

There are twenty-two pages with images and twenty-eight pages with text, though some of those are just credits, list of notes, contents pages, and other similar pages. The text was certainly given enough space without feeling crowded.

Grade: B

Content

The first essay is “Buster Keaton: The Fred Astaire of Slapstick” by Phillip Kemp. Kemp is a film historian and critic, and his skill is shown in this essay. In a succinct six pages, Keaton’s background and unique skill as a comedian is examined. His film career is discussed with only light detail included about The General specifically. It’s well-written, even if it’s perhaps better suited for those discovering Keaton.

Next is “Shaun the Sheep: Buster Keaton Reborn?” by Richard Haynes. This long essay provides a rather fascinating take on how a modern era children’s show utilized the language of silent comedy. The writer worked on Shaun the Sheep and could share direct experience of how silent film influenced how they animated specific episodes, which was very interesting. As a piece about Shaun the Sheep or silent film in general, it was great. As a piece on Buster Keaton, it was good but didn’t offer a ton in the way of specifics. As a piece supporting The General, it didn’t really work for me.

Two contemporary reviews are then reprinted, along with an advertisement for the International Buster Keaton Society, a registered non-profit. The reviews are negative, so it’s fascinating to read how critics at the time rejected a film that has since become revered.

Last, I want to point out a section called viewing notes, which offers a paragraph on how the film is intended to look and why, along with a picture that shows what to expect when it’s properly set up. I thought this was a very helpful way to prepare viewers with the information they needed to know their setup was correct.

Grade: B

Creativity

I liked the contemporary reviews to provide context, and the Shaun the Sheep-focused essay was a surprising angle to include. But overall, this booklet was very by the books.

Grade: B-

Grade summary

Professional and production quality grade: B

Text-to-image ratio grade: B

Content grade: B

Creativity grade: B-

Final thoughts

The content had value, but in support of this film specifically, I found it a little disappointing. It’s still worth a read, though.

Overall grade: B

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