Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on January 20, 2006 at 11:22:49

In Reply to: Seen Joan of Arc and I'd not compare it since they're so different. posted by tinear on January 20, 2006 at 10:04:04:

>>> "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