More and more the great Silent era is being recognized for DVD restoration, as both nostalgia fans and film aficionados are a built in market. Back in the early 1900's everyone loved the silents—melodrama and physical slapstick predominated, and this was definitely a universal language that the newly arrived immigrants could relate to. Intertitles aside, most of the films could be understood through the visuals. Two of the pioneers of the era were Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton, both of whom rely on physical acting and agility.

Formerly a plumber's assistant, Arbunkle became a household name during the 1910 decade, initially appearing in Mack Sennett's immensely popular Keystone Kops shorts. Like Chaplin, Arbuckle began to direct some of his own films and take more leading roles; he also broke away from Sennett to form his own company where he had more creative control. This is where he first teamed up with Keaton, launching the comic genius' career in 1917 with Butcher Boy.

Most of these Arbuckle/Keaton collaborations are presented on a comprehensive collection put out by Image Entertainment, sans one notable exception—The Cook. Long believed lost, miraculously a partial nitrate print was located in Norway in 1998 that provided the basic structure for the film's reconstruction that was filled in with more footage from the Netherlands in 2002. Let's hear it for the Scandinavians! And for the cinema magicians that meticulously restored the film!

In most of their paired comedies, Keaton steals the show, but Arbuckle definitely holds his own in this 22-minute 1918 short. Using surprising dexterity, Arbuckle juggles and flips eggs, ham, coffee, and milk while cleaning the kitchen, matching Keaton's athleticism—no telling how many takes they made, but many of the flips and casual backward catches are amazing. Highlighting the comedy is a sequence that begins with Keaton mimicking a belly dancer and finishes in the kitchen with Arbuckle's famous Salome dance, complete with sausage eating and kitchenware costume jewelry.

To add some melodrama are Arbuckle standards—the girl/waitress (Alice Lake), the bully strong guy (Al St. John), and the dog Luke. Filmed at the Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, requisite slapstick routines make up most of the comedy, and all the participants eventually end up in the water. But without some kind of watery rescue and the good guys winning out over the bad, the one reeler would end without a resolution.

Although The Cook is not outrageously funny, both Arbuckle and Keaton completists will want this worthwhile DVD. It may be the most evenly balanced film the two physical actors ever performed. Milestone Video packages this once lost film with two other shorts—a 1917 Arbuckle comedy (without Keaton) about a flirtatious husband called A Reckless Romeo and a really amusing Harold Lloyd short titled Number, Please?