There's been some discussion of this over on yahoo, but I'd like to continue it here.
Sunday night is "Broken Blossoms," considered by many to be DW Griffith's finest film (although I'm partial to "Intolerance.") This interraccial love story was considered controversial in its day, although even in modern times it's a brutal, emotionally engaging film with one of the most evil villians ever to grace the screen.
It's highly recommended. If you're not familiar with Griffith, you should defiinitely watch.
Broken Blossoms
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pktrekgirl
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moira finnie
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Broken Blossoms (1919)
Welcome Pktrekgirl, (nice avatar, btw). Thank goodness you're here too.
I'm looking forward to Broken Blossoms (1919), since my favorite silent Lillian Gish films that I've seen so far are Orphans in the Storm, The Scarlet Letter, Hearts of the World, La Boheme, and The Wind . This is definitely a must-see for me for her work.
I'm less enamoured of D.W. Griffith, though I recognize his innovations as a filmmaker. I think that his fairly unconcious racism, and some of his storytelling techniques make him more remote from a 21st century viewpoint, though I'm probably being a philistine. His life is of more interest to me despite these reservations and I'm especially fond of Hearts of the World & Orphans of the Storm. It's hard to believe that the same guy who made Birth of a Nation directed the latter two movies, but then he was like the rest of us, a contradictory human, stuck in his own time, to some extent.
I'm looking forward to Broken Blossoms (1919), since my favorite silent Lillian Gish films that I've seen so far are Orphans in the Storm, The Scarlet Letter, Hearts of the World, La Boheme, and The Wind . This is definitely a must-see for me for her work.
I'm less enamoured of D.W. Griffith, though I recognize his innovations as a filmmaker. I think that his fairly unconcious racism, and some of his storytelling techniques make him more remote from a 21st century viewpoint, though I'm probably being a philistine. His life is of more interest to me despite these reservations and I'm especially fond of Hearts of the World & Orphans of the Storm. It's hard to believe that the same guy who made Birth of a Nation directed the latter two movies, but then he was like the rest of us, a contradictory human, stuck in his own time, to some extent.
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sandykaypax
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I'm looking forward to recording Broken Blossoms. I love Lillian Gish; there's something so ethereal about her. I have an autographed copy of her autobiography. Luckily for me, I bought it at a library book sale for 50 cents! Someone probably donated it and didn't realize what they had. OR they had no idea who Lillian Gish was... 
Sandy K
Sandy K
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Wow, Sandy, that's amazing. I'd love to see that.
My first exposure to Griffith was BoaN, and it really put me off of him for a long time. I've gradually learned to appreciate him though. He really was a genius, and he had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat until the last minute of the film. I've gone from being a vocal critic to one of his biggest defenders, although not of the racism.
I like Lillian Gish, who was an very smart woman and a very good actress, but i'm actually a bigger fan of Barthelmess. He was an excellent good actor who took on socially challenging roles, even into the sound era. I'd like to see him get more recognition.
My first exposure to Griffith was BoaN, and it really put me off of him for a long time. I've gradually learned to appreciate him though. He really was a genius, and he had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat until the last minute of the film. I've gone from being a vocal critic to one of his biggest defenders, although not of the racism.
I like Lillian Gish, who was an very smart woman and a very good actress, but i'm actually a bigger fan of Barthelmess. He was an excellent good actor who took on socially challenging roles, even into the sound era. I'd like to see him get more recognition.
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sandykaypax
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Jon, if I could figure out how to take a photo of it and then post it on here, I would...I'll have to ask my hubby. He's the one with the computer know-how around here!
Lillian Gish is from Massillon, Ohio, which is south of Cleveland. I love to keep track of which celebs and stars are from Ohio. There is something very down-to-earth about Ohioans. I should start an Ohio classic-film thread.
Sandy K
Lillian Gish is from Massillon, Ohio, which is south of Cleveland. I love to keep track of which celebs and stars are from Ohio. There is something very down-to-earth about Ohioans. I should start an Ohio classic-film thread.
Sandy K
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Mr. Arkadin
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Mr. Arkadin
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).
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Mr. Arkadin
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I have seen about a half a dozen versions of this film over the years. The best version is the Thames one from many years ago. I thought I had every version, but that one. To my astonishment, while searching around the other day I discovered I had a copy of the Thames edition as well! A friend of mine who lives up in Michigan, sent me a copy on DVD-R a couple years back! I had completely forgotten about it! 
I find this film exceedingly depressing, and definitely not a good introduction of Silent films to the novice. Watching it again Sunday night, I couldn't help think a better title might have been LIFE IS SO UNFAIR" The movie is almost to painful to take! I sometimes have trouble with Griffith, his films seem to heavily reliant on narrative title cards, with precious few conversational type title cards between the characters. Even into the early 20's with a picture like ORPHANS OF THE STORM (1921) that was still mostly the case. This practice appearing rather anti-typical of Hollywood in general, by that time. 
My favorite D. W. Griffith film is probably the little known late 20's feature THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES (1928), with Jean Hersholt, Belle Bennett, Sally O' Neil, and Phyllis Haver. Very underrated movie!-
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Welcome Gagman!
Hi Gagman,
Welcome. I'm happy that you've joined the gang and hope that you'll find it a fun place to play.
I share some of your reactions to D.W. Griffith. His reliance on interstitial cards to comment on and move forward his stories seems deeply rooted in a novelistic 19th century literary tradition more than movies. I would disagree about Orphans in the Storm(1921), which I find to be engaging each time I've seen it. Could be because it's one of the first movies I remember seeing as a tiny kid in the '60s. The TCM print that has been run a couple of times now makes me marvel at the production values and some, (not all) of the acting in that film.
Broken Blossoms(1919) was interesting--not because of Lillian Gish's performance, though she had her moments, especially in the closet scene--but because it reminded me of how interesting Richard Barthelmess could be as an actor. His "Yellow Man", as he's referred to in the film's subtitle, seems to be very idealistic, but after living in the Limehouse district in London, Barthelmess seems more resigned to the ways of the world. I particularly like the scene in which the minister introduces his protege to Barthelmess as someone who will soon bring religion to the heathens back in China. After looking over the pamphlet, entitled "Hell", that the ministers press on him, Cheng Huan patiently, and perhaps a little sarcastically, says that he wishes him luck.
For me that was one of the best moments of the film. I also like the scene in which Barthelmess almost kisses the waifish Gish, after tending to her with more care than she'd ever experienced. The final scenes when Cheng Huan grieves over Gish's loss did move me, though perhaps they were a tad over the top.
Speaking of over the top, Donald Crisp, one of the finest and most believable character actors in the sound era, was horrendous and only occasionally humorous as the overbearing brute of a father. Even his swaggering walk was overdone, not to mention those eyebrows.
Lillian Gish was touching in a few scenes, notably the "Why are you so good to me, Chinky?" in which the gulf between her understanding of his possible motives and her inherent conciousness of the racial divide between them emerged. I didn't think that her exaggerated posture as she wandered the streets helped establish anything other than a melodramatic stock character, and the less said about the smile she made with her fingers, the better. She did convince me thoroughly of her terror and entrapment in the excellent scene in the closet, however. It's interesting to see how subtle this actress became only a few years later in such films as The Scarlet Letter(1926) and The Wind(1928), (both films directed by Victor Sjöström). Perhaps Gish wasn't comfortable playing a 15 year old character at the age of 26 or it may be that she had started to be a bit less of a malleable actress that Griffith had used so effectively previously. I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't recommend this Griffith film to anyone seeking out his work or Gish's acting for the first time.
Welcome. I'm happy that you've joined the gang and hope that you'll find it a fun place to play.
I share some of your reactions to D.W. Griffith. His reliance on interstitial cards to comment on and move forward his stories seems deeply rooted in a novelistic 19th century literary tradition more than movies. I would disagree about Orphans in the Storm(1921), which I find to be engaging each time I've seen it. Could be because it's one of the first movies I remember seeing as a tiny kid in the '60s. The TCM print that has been run a couple of times now makes me marvel at the production values and some, (not all) of the acting in that film.
Broken Blossoms(1919) was interesting--not because of Lillian Gish's performance, though she had her moments, especially in the closet scene--but because it reminded me of how interesting Richard Barthelmess could be as an actor. His "Yellow Man", as he's referred to in the film's subtitle, seems to be very idealistic, but after living in the Limehouse district in London, Barthelmess seems more resigned to the ways of the world. I particularly like the scene in which the minister introduces his protege to Barthelmess as someone who will soon bring religion to the heathens back in China. After looking over the pamphlet, entitled "Hell", that the ministers press on him, Cheng Huan patiently, and perhaps a little sarcastically, says that he wishes him luck.
For me that was one of the best moments of the film. I also like the scene in which Barthelmess almost kisses the waifish Gish, after tending to her with more care than she'd ever experienced. The final scenes when Cheng Huan grieves over Gish's loss did move me, though perhaps they were a tad over the top.
Speaking of over the top, Donald Crisp, one of the finest and most believable character actors in the sound era, was horrendous and only occasionally humorous as the overbearing brute of a father. Even his swaggering walk was overdone, not to mention those eyebrows.
Lillian Gish was touching in a few scenes, notably the "Why are you so good to me, Chinky?" in which the gulf between her understanding of his possible motives and her inherent conciousness of the racial divide between them emerged. I didn't think that her exaggerated posture as she wandered the streets helped establish anything other than a melodramatic stock character, and the less said about the smile she made with her fingers, the better. She did convince me thoroughly of her terror and entrapment in the excellent scene in the closet, however. It's interesting to see how subtle this actress became only a few years later in such films as The Scarlet Letter(1926) and The Wind(1928), (both films directed by Victor Sjöström). Perhaps Gish wasn't comfortable playing a 15 year old character at the age of 26 or it may be that she had started to be a bit less of a malleable actress that Griffith had used so effectively previously. I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't recommend this Griffith film to anyone seeking out his work or Gish's acting for the first time.
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Mr. Arkadin
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I sure appreciate the warm welcome!
As I mentioned to Beda, it is wonderful to be whole heartedly welcomed into a group, rather than repeatedly given the boot from one! This has happened to me on another Classic film forum several times! Despite the fact that I never did anything wrong! 
Subsequently, I managed to sneak back on to that forum a handful of times briefly, using a different E-mail address. Unfortunately, this did not last long! I can't even enter this particular forum as a guest anymore! The woman who runs it has done something to barr me from the site period! I'm afraid that I am not the only one either! She has banned some other fine folks, as well! Some of you might know just who I am speaking off? In my humble opinion, that takes quite a bit of nerve! So again thank you so much for your kind generosity inviting me to join in on all of the fun right here!! 
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moira finnie
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Howdy Gagman & Arkadin
Oh, Gagman,
I'm sorry that you had those experiences prior to coming over here. We're an actively moderated forum too, but hope that the members know enough about movies and netiquette to prevent most problems, particularly anything like those we recently experienced on TCM's site. The moderators and admins are in the process of formulating some good ideas about our rights and responsibilities here and should have more ideas to share in the near future so that we can all concentrate on what we enjoy--movies, filmmakers and the lively arts! Oh yeah, and have fun, too.
One thing that Robert Osborne mentioned at the beginning of Broken Blossoms was that Miss Gish was very reluctant to play her character as originally written, since she was meant to be a 12 year old. Griffith took this into consideration and had the part rewritten to make the hapless Lucy Burrows three years older. Hey, at least she hit puberty in this version.
I'm sorry that you had those experiences prior to coming over here. We're an actively moderated forum too, but hope that the members know enough about movies and netiquette to prevent most problems, particularly anything like those we recently experienced on TCM's site. The moderators and admins are in the process of formulating some good ideas about our rights and responsibilities here and should have more ideas to share in the near future so that we can all concentrate on what we enjoy--movies, filmmakers and the lively arts! Oh yeah, and have fun, too.
Mr. Arkadin,Gish did express reserve to Griffith about playing so young a character, but I forget the why's and wherefore's. Perhaps someone else knows?-
One thing that Robert Osborne mentioned at the beginning of Broken Blossoms was that Miss Gish was very reluctant to play her character as originally written, since she was meant to be a 12 year old. Griffith took this into consideration and had the part rewritten to make the hapless Lucy Burrows three years older. Hey, at least she hit puberty in this version.