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Buster Keaton sitting on the floor with a film camera on top of him, as if the camera fell on Keaton.

The greatest stunts of Buster Keaton

“This fellow Keaton seems to be the whole show.”
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  • to come
    Ken Burns' technique to help bring still photography and documents to life by panning and zooming with the camera became known as the “Ken Burns Effect.” It is now available in most video-editing apps.
    Media Editor: Lee Goldstein
    The Ken Burns Effect
    Black-and-white photo of a bearded Civil War–era Union soldier wearing a kepi and uniform, standing before a blurred background with a horse and a tent marked “U.S.” Bold blue arrows radiate outward from the soldier in multiple directions, drawing focus to him and suggesting movement or spreading influence. The blend of historical imagery and modern graphic elements gives the image an analytical, interpretive feel—connecting past events with broader themes or impacts.
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Learn from an affineur (who oversees the maturing of cheese) about how the carbon dioxide gas produced by propionic acid bacteria ”blows” holes in Swiss cheese.
    How Bacteria “Blow” Holes in Swiss Cheese
    How Bacteria “Blow” Holes in Swiss Cheese
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    If Wisconsin was a country, it would rank fourth in the world in cheese production.
    Media Editor: Lauren Sims
    How Is Cheese Made?
    A round wheel of cheese with a wedge cut out sits on a blue wooden surface, overlaid with large text reading How It's Made and very light blue question marks in the background.
  • National Library of Norway
    Directed by William Selig, “The Tramp and the Dog” is likely the first commercial narrative film shot in Chicago.
    “The Tramp and the Dog” (1895)
    A black-and-white image of a man trying to climb over a fence while a dog bites his coat, shot in 1890s Chicago.
  • Public domain
    A scene from The Flying Deuces (1939), starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
    Laurel and Hardy in The Flying Deuces, 1939
    Laurel and Hardy in The Flying Deuces, 1939
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
    Learn how Hollywood movies transitioned from silent to sound.
    How Talkies Replaced Silent Films
    A black and white still from 1927 film "The Jazz Singer."
  • Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Washington, D.C.
    Strip Kinetograph recording of Fred Ott sneezing, 1894.
    Watch a motion picture of a sneeze as captured by a strip Kinetograph
    Watch a motion picture of a sneeze as captured by a strip Kinetograph
Related Articles: Buster Keaton , History of film , slapstick , The General , Silent film era , History of Hollywood