The High Sign, Buster Keaton's first independent short, dashes through the taut and energetic tale of a man trapped in the paradox of simultaneously assassinating and defending the same man. The resultant gags draw on violence, its threat and realization, and create a tension between violence and hilarity that keeps the film moving briskly. We tried to move along at the same pace, pushing our piano and fiddles through carnivals and cop chases, all the way to the protagonist's final decision and its result in a cutaway circular battle that demands a finale of such driving force and tempo we've got to be thankful the film is only two reels long, for our fingers' sakes. We brought in a viola and trombone on this one, to keep the low end bouncing and rhythmic, and to howl along with the fate of Keaton's resourceful and familiar character.

"The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra accompany the silents with an ear informed by contemporary and classical sources alike. The sounds are made by a violin duo, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, percussion, ambient tape loops, trumpets, trombones and guitars. Forays into noise, folk and psychedelia are tempered by a melodic sensibility rooted firmly in the Romantics."

Other scores: