Griffith Masterworks (The Birth of a Nation / Intolerance / Broken Blossoms / Orphans of the Storm / Biograph Shorts 1909-1913)

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Although the DVDs included in Griffith Masterworks are available separately, they gain even greater significance in this stupendous boxed-set compilation. The title is no understatement: These four features and 30 short films comprise the crowning achievements in D.W. Griffith's pioneering legacy, spanning the director's progress from cinematic innovator (the Biograph shorts, 1909-13) to his ambitious creation of the controversial epics The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), and his mastery of the emotionally intense melodramas Broken Blossoms (1919) and Orphans of the Storm (1921). Griffith's artistic growth is evident throughout, as he moves from the static camera of the Biograph years to his groundbreaking development of cinematic grammar including close-ups, parallel editing, and mobile-camera action. The historical importance of these films has long been established; they're available here in the best available condition, carefully preserved with the illuminating perspective of history.

That perspective extends to the set's impressive bonus features, representing an unprecedented wealth of archival material exclusive to these DVDs. Appropriately, The Birth of a Nation is closely examined through vintage and latter-day materials, including a peculiar 1930 prologue featuring Walter Huston and Griffith himself, musing over the film's ongoing battle with censorship; archival documents further examine the charges of racism that plagued the film for decades. Other highlights include Lillian Gish's introduction to Broken Blossoms, filmed for the 1970s TV series The Silent Years; two filmed introductions featuring Orson Welles (for Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm); and a rare look at Griffith acting in the 1908 short "Rescued from the Eagle's Nest." A veritable goldmine for home or classroom viewing, Griffith Masterworks is an essential addition to any collection of classic silent cinema. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Stunning DVD Quality.......2006-11-29

Hi, D.W. Griffith fans. I am not particularly a very big fan of D.W. Griffith, but my aunt knew I liked silents so she got it for me for getting good grades. I was pleased, but COME AWWN! D.W. GRIFFITH IS NOT VERY INTERESTING, EVEN FOR ME, A SILENT-LOVING KID! I woul've preffered IT, starring Clara Bow, but this collection is pretty good. BIRTH OF A NATION is extremely racist. I only reccomend buying this if you've seen some of his work before. It might shock you. I liked INTOLERANCE best. It is a lovely movie with a great story. ALL FILMS IN THIS COLLECTION ARE RESTORED BEAUTIFULLY AND LOOK GREAT! SOME OF THE BEST RESTORATION WORK I'VE EVER SEEN! There are some nice rare Biograph shorts that are work watching. I watch any of these movies on Jan. 22, becuase that is D.W. Griffith's birthday. Did you know that musical movie star June Knight shares his birthday? She is my fave actress, and I reccomend that you watch her movie Brodway Melody of 1936, MY FAVORITE MOVIE, if like musicals and you want to see Robert Taylor sing in a movie for his first and last time.

IN RESPONSE TO ART FOR HATES SAKE.......2006-09-03

THESE FILMS ARE A LOOK AT HISTORY. NOTHING MORE. THEY ARE NOT AN ENDORSEMENT. BUT I GUESS THATS THE KIND OF REACTION WE COULD EXPECT FROM SOME FRUITCAKE FROM SAN FRANCISCO.

Amazing, bravo!.......2006-07-23

Though i am only thirteen i have had a passion for movies ever since i was young and have been increasing my collection (upwards of 400 now) of fantastic movies, this is one of my finest additions. D W Griffiths work may have been racist or one sided but his work changed world film, one of these movies even made the American Film Institute's(AFI) Top One Hundred Films of the past 100 Years ( Birth of a Nation)! All of these movies (except Biograph shorts 1909-1913) made the their way into the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and for me to find them all together was a dream come true. If you are a movie fan who is interested in the silent film era do yourself a favor and make this fantastic addition to your collection today.
-Movie Man 22

Art for Hate's Sake.......2006-05-26

Why do those who rave about Griffith's cinematography never seem to notice that it was all in the service of racism, Southern sectional mythology, and American exceptionalism? The Birth of a Nation is a pernicious slander on the ex-slaves and the brave few from the north who tried (and failed) to reconstruct the South. Had they succeeded, we wouldn't be lost in the Bushes now. Art MUST be judged on its message as well as its manners. I notice, by the way, that even Disney has shown some signs of shame over the studio's unabashed racism of yesteryear; The Song of the South (Uncle Remus tales) is NOT available. I'm not urging censorship of Griffith, nor of Gone With The Wind and other pernicious propaganda films, any more than repression of Leni Reifenstahl's Triumph of the Will. I merely want the next generation of film critics to be appropriately aghast.

A Comment about "His Trust".......2006-04-10

"His Trust" was the fourth of Griffith's first seven Civil War Shorts. Actually there were only six, "His Trust" was the only two-reeler and against Griffith's wishes Biograph released it serially, calling the second reel "His Trust Fulfilled". It lacks the charm of the remaining five shorts and is painfully cornball in comparison to most of Griffith's Biograph work.

Wilfred Lucus (in blackface) plays George, a faithful Negro servant entrusted by his owner with the welfare of his wife and young daughter when he goes off to fight for the South. Predictibly the owner dies in a nicely staged battle sequence, union soldiers burn the mansion in a poorly staged arson sequence, and George rescues the daughter and his master's sword. The daughter grows up in George's cabin. In the second reel George pays for her education at a seminary, and resists the temptation to steal when his money runs out. She eventually marries her "cousin" (seriously) and George gets to keep the sword.

Although a rather weak story, "His Trust" is significant for several reasons. It's subject, a southern family reduced to poverty by the war mirrors Griffith's own situation. Griffith's father served in Kentucky's "Orphan Brigade" during the Civil War and the family never really recovered from the financial setbacks that resulted.

It's hero, a "good Negro", is portrayed affectionately-if somewhat patronizingly; a precursor of what was to come in "Birth of a Nation".

Finally, "His Trust" was Griffith's first foray outside the world of single reel shorts. Griffith was pressing Biograph for funding to do longer films. Other studios had already released the five reel "Life of Moses", a four reel "Les Miserables", and a three reel version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Biograph's resistance to the concept of longer films would eventually be a factor in Griffith's split with his original studio, a production house that owed its #1 reputation to Griffith's vision and innovation.

Even in 1910 Griffith seemingly had grasped the change that was taking place as feature length films would not be released serially but would play as extended showings in legitimate theaters.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Average customer rating:

A towering pastoral epic
The bitter-sweet story of two lost souls
My Favorite D.W. Griffith Film...
i think this might be griffiths masterpiece
Broken Blossoms

Broken Blossoms
Starring: Lillian Gish , Richard Barthelmess , Donald Crisp , Arthur Howard , and Edward Peil Sr.
Director: D.W. Griffith
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000056N7T
Release Date: 2002-12-10

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D.W. Griffith was many things: movie innovator, maker of grand statements (The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance being among the biggest of all silent films), the first American superstar director--the Steven Spielberg of his era. Griffith was also very much a conscious artist, a man who did not think of movies as a mere medium for entertainment but as an art form. The mute evidence of this can be found on ample display in Griffith's 1919 drama Broken Blossoms, a tragic and completely uncommercial project that proved to be hugely popular. The director's most favored leading lady, Lillian Gish, plays an adolescent girl in London's rough Limehouse district; abused by her father (Donald Crisp), a crude boxer, she is cared for by a poetic Chinese man (Richard Barthelmess). Gish, who had doubts about playing a child (and was not yet fully recovered from a brush with the deadly Spanish flu epidemic), delivers a magnificent performance. Justly famous for her hysterical meltdown while trapped in a closet, she also brings off the smaller moments: her hesitation while gazing at a flower she can't possibly afford to buy is a heartbreaking piece of pantomime. Griffith's delicacy of touch extends to matters of race, as he clearly sides with the refined man from China, who must endure the prattle of white men boasting about traveling to the Orient and converting "the heathen." Small in scale compared to Griffith's mightier projects, Broken Blossoms is nevertheless one of his most beautiful films, and a landmark of the silent era. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A towering pastoral epic .......2007-06-15

"Broken blossoms" was the film which conveyed me to fall in love with this expressive and sensual actress: Lillian Gilsh.

Griffith, the master of masters, bet and won with this Dickensian adaptation about the oppression of a frail and sensitive young street woman desperate to escape from her bleak environment. He will be sheltered by a Chinese missionary who shields from his tyrannical and abusive father.

Griffith anticipated himself respect this genre so many told in decades to come. The contrast of lights and shadows confirms why Eisentein affirmed once that all he kenew about to make cinema was due to David Ward Griffith, a giant of the cinema who has not deserved his place among the supreme master of the American Cinema. .

The bitter-sweet story of two lost souls.......2007-05-09

This film stands out as one of the most beautiful and heart-rending stories ever directed by `the Father of Film', D.W. Griffith, showing that he was versatile and sensitive enough to cover a wide range of films, from poignant and socially evocative short films in early days, to dramatic historical epics such as "Intolerance" and "America". Not only is "Broken Blossoms" a sensitive and deeply moving drama with intense atmosphere and soul-stirring emotion, it also showcases some of the very best performances by the three leading characters who are all perfectly cast in their roles. The 25-year-old Lillian Gish with her girlish face and slender build is ideal in the role of a girl ten years younger but with a "tear-aged" face due to a lifetime of cruel abuse. With the body language of an old woman, Lillian perfectly conveys the frightened bundle of misery that is Lucy, the daughter of an abusive professional boxer who lets his frequent bouts of anger out on his only child. Donald Crisp also uses expressive body language to portray this ugly character very convincingly, but I was most impressed by the transformation of Richard Barthelmess into the role of a Chinese man who is pivotal in this story. With subtle gestures and body language Barthelmess really brings across the gentle nature of this character who is led by Buddhist principles of love and peace, but becomes lost in the harsh world of London's seedy Limehouse district. There he finds another lost soul desperately seeking a ray of happiness and hope, namely Lucy, who stumbles into his shop one day after a severe whipping by her father. Some memorable scenes from this film are Lillian's gesture of forcing a smile onto her face using her fingers because she is unable to smile on her own, and how Barthelmess resists the temptation to take advantage of the helpless Lucy when she is in his care for a few days. Also impressive are scenes of Chinese culture such as some opium dens in the Limehouse district, and the overall solemn mood which feels disturbingly real to the viewer. It is helped along by the original musical score played by a modern full orchestra, and the color-tinting of this very good print also enhances the atmosphere. "Broken Blossoms" is surely a highlight in D.W. Griffith's directing career as well as for the stars, and a wonderful example of silent cinema just before the 1920s era.

My Favorite D.W. Griffith Film..........2007-04-26

...and one of my favorite films period. It's not D. W.'s best, that distinction belongs to ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL (not yet on DVD). I much prefer BROKEN BLOSSOMS to Griffith's mammoth spectacles (which are important historically but are overrated when compared to his Biograph shorts and smaller scale films like this one). What I value most about this movie is how it is able to fully create a completely self-contained world and then draw the viewer into it. The soft focus photography of Billy Bitzer, the original score by Louis F. Gottschalk, and the marvelous performances by the three principals enhance the film's dreamlike quality and bring me back again and again to relive the experience much like the opium users depicted in the film. Criticisms concerning Richard Barthelmess playing a Chinese character miss the point. The important factor is the character's nature not his nationality. The same can be said for criticism of Donald Crisp's turn as the brutal father. His portrayal is deliberately exaggerated for melodramatic effect (he was asked to make the part as apelike as possible) and it later served as the basis for the facial expressions and movements of the original KING KONG. Lillian Gish delivers one of the great silent film performances of all time which clearly shows why she was the first lady of the silent screen.
There are a number of DVD versions of BROKEN BLOSSOMS out there so you must be careful which one you choose. Anything with a budget price should be avoided at all costs. "You get what you pay for" is especially true of silent film video releases. These are public domain copies which are taken from 16mm second generation prints, usually transferred at the wrong speed, and feature a music score that was tacked on without regard to what is happening onscreen. These cheap copies can easily ruin your viewing experience for the reasons listed above. Right now there are only two releases of the many available which show BROKEN BLOSSOMS the way it was meant to be seen. The Kino version and the Image version. Neither is a complete restoration as none of Griffith's films have been fully restored. The Kino has a slightly better picture quality and a number of extras while the Image features the original color tinting and score composed for the film which adds immensely to its overall effect. Unless you really love film and want all the extra features, I recommend the Image version for its greater emotional impact. Although no longer available as a new release, there are plenty of good, used copies to choose from and at a better price too. But no matter which version you choose, just sit back and let this nearly 90 year old film work its magic on you. Think of it as a male version of MADAME BUTTERFLY with a healthy dose of Dickens thrown in. It takes a little work to bridge the gap of time, but if you're willing to make the effort then you will be amply rewarded.

i think this might be griffiths masterpiece.......2007-04-07

how does one assess this film today? almost a century after its premiere, modern audiences would (mostly) find it either racist or quaint or both. but it is not! richard barthelmess stars as "yellow man" cheng huan, whose promising future is specifically ruined BY the prejudices he has had to face in a new world. the casting of a caucasian actor in the role strikes us today as wrong, but lets be honest: the societal attitudes of 1918 would never have permitted an asian actor to take on this part. lillian gish, as usual, is magnificent (when, oh when, will more of her work finally make it to dvd???) in the role of lucy burrows, the abused victim of a vile father played by donal crisp (removed by 20 years and a spiritual epiphany from the loving patriarch of "how green was my valley"). technically, the movie (shot entirely on interior sets) flows beautifully, and is a far different piece of work from the more familiar spectacle of griffiths epics like "birth of a nation" or "intolerance". an impatient viewer will not care for this, but anybody in the least bit familiar with the language of silent films cannot help but be impressed by this grand motion picture: clearly one of griffiths best.

Broken Blossoms.......2006-11-17

Everyone who watches this movie no doubt knows why it was made.
D.W. Griffith, one of the most important filmmakers of all time, made a film called "Intolerance" and then this movie as a response to the fact that the last half of his masterpiece "The Birth of a Nation" was racist. I've never seen that film...In fact; I've never seen a silent film. I don't know how I've gone this long without seeing one, but there's not exactly a jubilee of silent movies at the local video store. I usually review a movie based on it's entertainment, (if needed) effectiveness, and it's importance. I think that this is, no doubt, an important film. But is it entertaining? I mean, I wasn't bored while watching it. But it didn't exactly pin me to my seat. I might have only not been bored, because it was a fascinating experience watching a silent film. After all, no other film that I've seen looks like this (except a David Lynch short I saw once). Having said that, I'm going to give it 5 stars...It is important and it's not boring. It's important because it, arguably, tells the first interracial romance portrayed on-screen. It is a romance despite the lack of physical interaction between the two. The two are Lucy (Lillian Gish) and The Yellow Man (Richard Barthelmess), also known as Cheng Huan. When the film was made in 1919, it was illegal for interracial marriages or physical interaction (on-screen anyway. That's all I know for sure); The fact that there's no physical interaction between the characters, I think makes this idealized romance more poignant. Anyway, Lucy is a young girl who lives in a place called Limehouse with her father, a boxer, named Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp). Burrows is a drunk and when his manager criticizes him for drinking and acting like the "gorilla" that he is, he takes it out on Lucy. Meanwhile, The Yellow Man comes to Limehouse (according the title cards) to bring "a message of peace to barbarous Anglo-Saxons." This doesn't work out and he becomes addicted to opium and is known as the Chink storekeeper.The Yellow Man frequently sees Lucy outside his shop and watches her; One night, when she spills something on Burrows' hand, he brutally beats her and she crawls away to The Yellow Man's store where he gives her refuge. The ending is very sad and becomes all the more depressing since there's no sound. The movie (for something that came out almost 90 years ago) looks great. The picture quality has its faults, but it looks better than the original Criterion transfer of the 1937 (or so) -German film "M." I don't know how many people will find this film. It's not something you'd rent for the pure enjoyment of it; but it is a film that any "movie buff" might want to check out.

GRADE: A-

Average customer rating:

Short but cheap.

Broken Blossoms Silent Classic
Starring: Richard Barthelmess , Ernest Butterworth Sr. , Lillian Gish , Wilbur Higby , and Arthur Howard
Director: D.W. Griffith
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0007TKGIA
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Product Description

Lucy's miserable life is devoid of beauty, and she is constantly beaten by her father, an alcoholic boxer. In the same hopeless slum, a recent Chinese immigrant who runs an import business hopelessly watches the waif's struggle. When Lucy's father thrashes her within an inch of her life, the shopkeeper takes her and nurses her back to health. As her condition improves, Lucy begins to show a new interest in life, thanks to all the beauty that her new friend has shown her. The young girl's father, outraged at her new relationship, is determined to seperate the two forever, no matter what the consequences.

Customer Reviews:

Short but cheap........2005-08-10

Most of the other versions run 95 minutes or more but this one only runs 75 minutes. I suspect it is a shortened version, but the price is very attractive.

Average customer rating:

A towering pastoral epic
The bitter-sweet story of two lost souls
My Favorite D.W. Griffith Film...
i think this might be griffiths masterpiece
Broken Blossoms

Broken Blossoms
Starring: Lillian Gish , Richard Barthelmess , Donald Crisp , Arthur Howard , and Edward Peil Sr.
Director: D.W. Griffith
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305339821
Release Date: 1999-05-11

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Description

Lucy (Gish), a battered child, lives in the gloom of London's Limehouse district with her father, Battling Burrows (Crisp), an alcoholic prize fighter. She meets Cheng Huan (Barthelmess), a Chinese poet and idealist, and briefly escapes the world of degradation she has known at the hands of her abusive father. This remarkable film, directed by D. W. Griffith, features one of Gish's most memorable--and touching--performances.

Customer Reviews:

A towering pastoral epic .......2007-06-15

The bitter-sweet story of two lost souls.......2007-05-09

My Favorite D.W. Griffith Film..........2007-04-26

i think this might be griffiths masterpiece.......2007-04-07

Broken Blossoms.......2006-11-17

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