1919 - (7) Broken Blossoms

And now for some social realism, D. W. Griffith is back

Title: Broken Blossoms
Instructor: D.W Griffith
Year: 1919
Runtime (My version): 1:28:49

Seen: Spring / Summer 2009

How i got this: Archive.org remains my friend it seems.

Plot Outline: A young man from China travels to London to spread the message of piece to the "sons of turmoil and strife" the British. Upon arriving in London he soon finds himself living from day to day and deteriorating in opium joints. However, this is to change when he meets Lucy, a young girl abused by her violent father, whom she lives with. The two people end up being lights in a dark and uncaring world to one another, but how can a fragile flower cope in the distorted world of man?

First impression: Yeah ok, I'll give it a shot.
But on second thought: This really touched me.

General comments: London is a bleak and heartless place in this movie, people care little of one another, and have distorted views, thinking themselves selfless and caring when they are abusive and selfish. The working class is, as it probably was back then, living lives with no prospects for the future, occupying small imprisoning apartments. The film oozes of hopelessness and anubility to change your fate.

While not as sharp and directly believable as the social realism of today, this movie deals with important issues, and carries direct messages to its viewer. The story and message is one that is as valid and important today as ever. The actors are delivering top performances, and even though you may not like them all of them, they have something very human and believable in them. Lillian Gish is amazing as the abused and selfless girl, who deserves none of what is coming her way. She really excels in this role. The other actors deliver pretty good performances in this movie, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The buildup towards the ending is effective, the climax is well done, and overall, this movie works quite well.

Music: Good, lots of organ.

Pictures: Well, some scenes are very beautiful, where others are nothing out of the ordinary.

Essentially this is: A film relevant today, and though many new movies handles the same subject, possible even better than this one, it deserves credit for being a first-mover.

Why you should see this: This is a beautiful drama.
Why you shouldn't see this: It has aged some, and I am not sure this is a true essential in its genre.

Honorable mention: The decorated text screens. Nice to see something new once in a while.

Final rating: 70% Despite the fact that this undoubtedly is a good movie, I would not call it a real masterpiece.

BTW: The boxing scenes kinda remind me of the Rocky movies...