Buster Keaton Season, BFI Southbank

The work of the Buster Keaton is cherished because it reminds us of how exquisitely beautiful comic performance can be. Most of his films were made in the era before sound and their humour is primarily physical. A modern audience, used to fast paced comic dialogue, might deem them crude, but Keaton executes every pratfall with such grace, every slip with such delicacy that, even if these films could have used sound, language would have gotten in the way of their immaculate precision.  

In January, the BFI are starting a new season celebrating Keaton's films. The programme focuses on films that he directed as well as starred in; classics like Go West, Seven Chances and Our Hospitality, all of which abundantly demonstrate that he was just as much of a virtuoso behind as he was in front of a camera. 

One of the highlights on the programme is The General, a film widely regarded as one of the greatest comedies ever made. A comic take on the chase thriller, this film is noted for its wonderfully satisfying plot and deft characterisation. It's also an evocative representation of what it was like to live in Civil War America, and is a great demonstration of one of the under-appreciated aspects of Keaton's films: their capacity for sharp and incisive social criticism. 

The season is also aimed at tracking the influence that Keaton had on modern cinema, which was understandably wide ranging. Alongside Keaton's own work, we haveZelig by Woody Allen, a masterpiece and Culture Whisper's favourite Woody film, as well as Playtime, a Parisian romp by the famous French comedian Jacques Tati. Also to be looked out for is a talk on Keaton by the season's curator Geoff Andrews.

The BFI's new season is a wonderful opportunity to see these marvellous films on the big screen and, running through out January, these black and white comedies are sure to inject some colour into those grey winter days.  

A Serious Man, A Modern World: Buster Keaton and the Cinema of Today, BFI, Jan 1 -Feb 3 2014.