Deadpan is a four-minute installation film in which McQueen re-stages a death-defying Buster Keaton stunt. The side of a house is filmed toppling again and again from all angles onto an unflinching McQueen, who survives thanks to a carefully positioned window.
Direction
McQueen the director nearly kills McQueen the performer. Intentional.
Editing
Rapid-fire angles turn one stunt into structural rhythm.
Director
Steve McQueen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Steve McQueen had just won the 1999 Turner Prize when this became his calling card. He performed all stunts himself with no insurance.
The original Keaton gag was pure slapstick. McQueen's version—black body, white house, gallery context—transforms it into commentary on who gets to survive spectacle.
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