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Rudy Millard reviews the Bristol Slapstick Festival 2012 silent comedy gala evening

Bristol Slapstick silent comedy festival has firmly established itself as one of the city’s favourite annual cinema events. Now in its eighth year, this coming together of fans, musicians, comedians and filmmakers to worship at the altar of the golden age of silent comedy is regarded by many as the first hearty laugh that Bristol gets as we struggle with the cold and rain that January inevitably brings.

Although Slapstick events take place across the city, the Colston Hall is the venue for the annual silent comedy gala evening, and regularly attracts an audience that is as varied as it is large. After a brief introduction by MC and festival stalwart Chris Searle, writer, performer and television personality Griff Rhys Jones took to the stage to take the hosting reigns and introduce the evening’s first film, Laurel and Hardy’s The Finishing Touch.

A great slice of house building and knocking down again farce, we were off to a flying start, and the audience loved it. The lovely thing about Slapstick Festival is it brings together some superb musicians to accompany the films, and The European Silent Screen Virtuosi were more than up to the task.

Next up were festival favourites acapella vocal group The Matinee Idles, and as usual they were just what we were after. Their performance of Chaplin Shoes to a selection of nicely compiled Chaplin clips was a delight.

And so to Charlie Chaplin, and it was our pleasure to watch The Adventurer, a 1917 film that illustrated perfectly why he was such a comedic genius. Preceded by an instructive introduction by Griff Rhys Jones, it was simply marvellous, and seemed to be the audience’s favourite. Be sure to check out the film below, as it is 23 minutes of pure comedy.

After a brief appearance by French actor, clown and director Pierre Etaix and a performance of Speedo to a great selection of Buster Keaton clips by The Matinee Idles, we moved on to the highlight of the evening, a rare showing of Keaton’s silent masterpiece The General.

Accompanied by The European Silent Screen Virtuosi performing the world premiere of a new score for the film by Guenter A Buchwald, this was something else. A box office and critical failure when released in 1926, it’s now recognised as one of silent comedy’s key works.

The story of a hapless train engineer who becomes a civil war hero, this was a unique experience I’m sure for the majority in the audience, a feature length silent comedy. Although it was slow going in parts, it really was fantastic, and a testament to Keaton’s ability to act with the face as well as with acrobatics. Coupled with a superb performance of wonderful accompanying music, I loved it.

The Bristol Slapstick Festival gala evening once again succeeded in providing a barrel of laughs for all tastes, and Griff Rhys Jones was a funny and engaging host. If you missed out this year, make sure you put a mark on your calendar for January 2013!

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