Army of Darkness

(1992) dir Sam Raimi w/Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz [81 min; 35mm]

Though the main comedic touchstones for the Evil Dead movies are the Three Stooges, Bruce Campbell’s unflappable performance seems to be connected to Keaton in his ability to take on increasingly incredible situations – even being attacked by a tiny version of himself – with a sort of naïve bravado.

Screens with UN CHIEN ANDALOU

(1929) dir Luis Buñuel; Co-scr Salvador Dalí [16 min; 35mm]

Buñuel and Dalí were both heavily influenced by silent comedians and their disruptive approaches to everyday annoyances and major catastrophes alike. And that goes double for Keaton, whose films Dalí once called “pure poetry” and Buñuel cited as the “equivalent of surrealism” in cinema.