Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were one of the greatest comedians of their times. Wacthing both their movies in class kept me in the edge of my seat laughing. Both of these comedians were very versatile and each of them had a distinctive style in making people laugh.
First of all Charlie and Buster’s facial expression differs in delivering “funny” to the audience. Viewers laughed at Busters still expression when something went wrong whereas Charlie had diverse facial expressions each different from every situation. Each actor also had a different way coping under various situations. For instance during a conflict scene Charlie would act very rowdy yet still kept his composure however Buster would act very suttle and feeble.. They also differ during romance scenes; Charlie would have more facial expressions and be more compassionate whereas Buster would show a deadpan expression with little emotion.
Both comedians also differ in their sense of dress, walk and gesture. Charlie Chaplin was a very jolly comedian it could be clearly seen from his sense of dress; his pants and shoes looked like a clown, he had a very distinctive walk which I personally call the “duck walk”. Charlie had a very fluid gesture he surprised audiences with his extreme flexibility. Buster on the other hand had a more serious dressing sense and was formidable. No doubt Buster was flexible in carrying out his dangerous stunts but he did not have Chaplins fluidity and flexibility which made the viewers feel as if they were watching a live circus act.
Although both Charlie and Buster had different styles in delivering their comedy both of them succeeded to make their audiences laugh, laugh and laugh! I however personally prefer Charlie Chaplin as a comedian firstly his style was like no other ordinary comedian. His fashion sense, the hat, the mustache all contributed to his act of comedy. In his silent movies unlike Busters the audience could understand in detail his message as he was very precise and abrupt with his facial expressions; Buster was at times emotionless. Watching Charlie Chaplins movie kept my attention and suspense building. I always wanted to find out “whats next?” , Busters movie however decreased my attention after some time. Who is a better comedian? For me its Charlie Chaplin!!
kriishranafilm101 
Your observations about the differing styles of the two comedians is valid as far as it goes, but you really only deal with generalities. You need to link your points to specific moments in each film. Where do you see Chaplin’s active face in “The Cure”? And where do you see Keaton’s persona in “The General”? Also, you don’t really deal with the comic persona’s each has created.
6/8