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In Reply to: I wished somewhere in there you had discussed the film in question posted by tinear on January 19, 2006 at 08:18:48:
>>> "Are you sure you haven't let the controversy of B of a N color your view of this film?" <<<Yes, I'm sure, and BoaN is a great film in it's own right, as is Intolerance (You're apparently familiar with that one, too! -grin)
>>> "Considering Griffith's other masterworks, it's hard NOT to place him in the vanguard of greatness. In fact, this work alone would qualify him. " <<<
He is certainly among the greats, but I'm not sure that I'd place him in the vanguard, as in leader of the pack. As I've stated, the feature film which he's often credited with establishing as a viable alternative to short films and serials, pre-dates Birth of a Nation (check out Giovanni Pastrone's Cabiria from 1912 or Mario Caserini's The Last Days of Pompeii from 1913), and that's his primary claim to fame, outside of discovering Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish.
I'm not trying to take away anything from his greatness as a Director, because he was unquestionably a visionary (heck, he discovered Von Stroheim!), but by the time Way Down East came out his film techniques and dramatic directing style were already being challenged by younger more savvy directors like Rex Ingram (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; 1921) and Eric Von Stroheim (Blind Husbands, 1919; Foolish Wives, 1921), not to mention European Directors of distinction such as Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920) among others such as Lang & Murnau who started Germany's film renaissance at UFA.
If you want to discuss the film's poignance, that's fine, but it isn't "One of the best movies you will ever see," much less one of the best silent films, IMHO. At least not the best silent melodrama that I've ever seen, even though I do respect the film and it's performances. Please try to keep in mind the story was not that original when it was filmed.
Yes, Way Down East has a stellar performance by Gish, albeit very melodramatic and a bit too precious for my tastes, as were the performances in Broken Blossoms which preceeded it and Orphans of the Storm which followed. The Director's inclinations towards oversentimentality, shown through his actor's performances, underscore much of his work during this period.
I just think it's better to keep Griffith's work in it's proper perspective, assessing each film by when it was produced and what he was trying to achieve, without embellishment, applying appropriate tribute for what this great Director accomplished. BTW, if you want to see a dramatic silent film that is both moving and perhaps more worthy of the praise heaped on it, check out Carl Theodor Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion Of Joan of Arc, 1928) available from Criterion. It's simply stunning, and not easy to watch, but one of the greatest performances by an actress ever caught on film.
Also, for pure pleasure: The Harold Lloyd Collection (7 disc set comprising most of the great silent/sound comedian's output); this set has been restored and carefully mastered with all of the silent features accompanied with orchestral scores by Robert Israel and Carl Davis. Just released last November; highly recommended!
And for great drama, the Garbo Silents collection; fantastic restored collection, including Gilbert/Garbo collaborations such as Flesh and the Devil. Released last fall from TCM; also, highly recommended!
Cheers,
AuPh
- # Here is a listing of BEST silent films (Top 100) according to an on-going poll at the Silent Era site: (Open in New Window)
Follow Ups:
Total disagreement on Gish's performance, I think she actually underplayed several scenes of great hearbreak.
You don't appreciate Griffith's technique, I do. I greatly appreciate his "undertelling" of a story, of letting the images "speak" and allowing the viewer to fill in many of the gaps.
I'd compare this more to Pandora's Box, as a story of a woman's descent, though in Griffith's it's a bit more positive!
Of course the story isn't new... as Griffith himself points out in the prologue, it's an old story and extremely common--- more's the drama and tragedy.
The greatness of the film resides in Gish's performance, in her portrayal of indomitability and courage, and in the marvelously cast group of tangential performers. Incidentally, Richard Batehelmess is iconic, isn't he?
> > > "You don't appreciate Griffith's technique, I do. I greatly appreciate his "undertelling" of a story, of letting the images "speak" and allowing the viewer to fill in many of the gaps." < < <As I've said, I don't dislike Griffith's technique, but we're apparently getting different things from it. Yes, he does let his images speak, but at the same time he frequently lets them run on way too long; I'm not speaking specifically of Way Down East here, but making a general observation about his technique.
D. W. Griffith's films frequently don't pass the "wife" test, which is whether she falls asleep watching. Of course she isn't nearly as much of a fan of silent films as I am, but the ones that hold her attention without the snooz factor she appreciates and the ones where snores punctuate the orchestral cues don't cut it.
FYI, I like Gish's performances and respect her artistry; in fact, I have a number of her films in my collection, but as much as I admire Griffith's contributions to the cinema arts I can't bring myself to return to his films as often as I do the works of other great silent directors. Griffith may have pointed the way, but to paraphrase the title of a well known book on silent cinema, the parade passed him.
AuPh
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