Way Down East

Starring:Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh, Kate Bruce, Mary Hay, Creighton Hale, Emily Fitzroy, Porter Strong, George Neville, Edgar Nelson, Mrs. David Landau, Florence Short, Una Merkel, Josephine Bernard, Frank Walsh, Edith Shearer, Vivia Ogden, Athole Shearer, Mrs. Morgan Belmont
Director: D.W. Griffith
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

In what may have been his most brilliant surprise, D.W. Griffith transformed an archaic melodrama about a wronged woman into a transcendent love story of redemption. Lillian Gish plays an innocent New Englander seduced by an urbane charmer (Lowell Sherman), who arranges a mock marriage and then abandons her when she's pregnant. When the baby dies from illness, Gish leaves the city and changes her identity. She finds herself reborn in the pastoral splendor of a farming community, catching the adoring eye of a young idealist (Richard Barthelmess), only to have the past come back to haunt her. Griffith made two kinds of films: spectacles and love stories. It's the tremulous love stories such as Way Down East that have endured the best. This 1920 film is a triumph of humanity over cruelty, a work that brilliantly conveys emotion through environment. The famous climax on the floating river of ice is still amazing--especially since it uses no special effects. --Bill Desowitz

Description

D.W. Griffith's 1920 masterpiece has been restored to it's original full length with color tinting. Based on a popular 19th century play, "Way Down East" is a poignant melodrama about a poor country girl who is tricked into a fake marriage and has an illegitimate child who dies. After starting a new life, her past is exposed and she is evicted into a raging blizzard, pursued by the young man who secretly loves her.

Customer Reviews:

Tender Innocence.......2007-04-23

The world had already begun to lose some of its innocence after the Great War when film pioneer D.W. Griffith took this long and romantic look at the mores which would eventually destroy his own career, outdating the type of stories he told. "Way Down East" is, like many of Griffith's films with Gish (Broken Blossoms, True Heart Susie, etc.), a story of love's virtue overcoming circumstance. Though Lottie Blair Parker's play was somewhat dated even as Griffith began filming this, our nation's innocence, and that of the entire world, was still fresh in the minds of many, making this early silent one of his greatest and most enduring masterpieces.

Baby-faced Lilian Gish portrays Anna, sent from her poor home to the big city by her mother in an effort to procure financial help from rich relatives. It is there that she will meet playboy Leroy Sanderson, however, and the sweetly naive Anna will be misled into a mock marriage so that he may take what is most precious to her. When she is found to be with child, Sanderson reveals the ruse and offers her money to go away and hide her tender secret. Anna refuses, humiliated and shamed, and returns home to her mother, who shortly dies. It is quite moving as Gish's Anna hides her baby in shame, baptizing it in secret herself, so that no one knows. It is also moving when Anna holds her sick baby in her arms, unaware that it no longer resides with her.

Wandering and trying to find a place for herself, she is taken in by the rigid Squire, who is ignorant of her past. It is on the farm that she will prove her worth and unknowingly win the love of young David (Richard Barthelmess). Gish is beautiful with her hair down, by the river, when David begins to speak of what is in his heart. But Anna cannot let him love her, no matter how she may ache to, because of her hidden and shameful past. Griffith contrasts their plight with the more charming and awkward courtship of a nerdy professor and Kate, creating greater empathy for Anna and David.

Though this somewhat overlong film doesn't reach the sophistication of silent films made during the late 1920's just before the advent of sound, it can still be both moving and exciting. Griffith took forever to film this one, waiting on the New England seasons to change, giving it a look of realism for the time in which it is set. Once gossip reaches the unforgiving Squire, the scene is set for one of the most exciting moments in motion pictures, filmed with Barthelmess and Gish themselves, Griffith and cinematographer Billy Blitzer capturing it all on film.

Cast out into a blizzard, Anna is pursued by David, desperate to find her and love her. Anna finds her way in the blizzard to the ice flows of the river, and collapses on a block of frozen water heading swiftly for the falls. Knowing Gish nearly froze to death filming this scene for Griffith, and that she and Barthelmess were truly in danger, keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as Anna drifts to the brink and David jumps from glacier to glacier, trying to get to her in time. The outcome and the aftermath turn this simple story into one of the great romances of the silver screen, or in this case, the nitrate screen.

Those who know of this film will probably opt for the beautifully restored Blackhawk version, which contains the original score redone. Those wanting to view it only as a curio might opt for the much less expensive Alpha version, which contains classical music as the score rather than the original. Gish's lovely performance and an exciting ending make this a must see for those who love silent films. While it is dated today, it is a reminder that innocence lost is never regained.....

One of Griffith's most entertaining classics.......2007-03-27

David Wark Griffith is honoured with the title of "the Father of Film" because he was one of the prominent pioneers of early filmmaking, not only developing the narrative or storytelling style of film as we know it today, but between 1908 and 1913 alone he directed nearly 500 short films. He was continually honing his craft, and was always on the cutting edge of new and creative ideas in making and directing films, and "Way Down East" is just one of the very entertaining films he directed in his maturing days in the 1920s. While many of his short films (such as for Biograph) were serious, solemn and often contained an historical or ethical lesson, Griffith also directed other styles of film such as this one, which has a perfect balance of serious drama and light-hearted comedy, as well as the standard build-up to a nail-biting climax which he had perfected in earlier years already. The moral theme of "Way Down East", as the introductory intertitles tell us, is that women are the ones who suffer because society is more accepting of wayward men than women, and as a case in point, we are told the story about an innocent country girl called Anna who is deceived and tricked into a mock marriage by a rich and spoilt playboy who only wanted a casual fling, and abandons her when the relationship results in a pregnancy. Rather than telling a strict moralistic story, however, Griffith introduces various colourful characters and moments of surprising humour throughout the story. Nevertheless, the viewer is drawn into the drama of Anna's plight as she struggles to rebuild her life after this betrayal and the death of her baby, and then as she finds new love but fears she could never be another man's wife due to her past. Griffith balances plenty of such melodrama, emotional tension and suspense, as well as humour and fine attention to the characters and other little details in "Way Down East", as he once again sets the standard for the Hollywood Classic for decades to come. And there could hardly be a more suitable actress to play Anna than Lillian Gish, whose appearance and personality in many Griffith films represented innocence, purity and a dainty charm which has not lost its appeal even in today's world. Popular actor Richard Barthelmess is also perfectly cast as the good and wholesome country boy who loves Anna and comes to her rescue in the thrilling climax. The picture quality is not quite as clear as some prints of other silent films, but the on-going drama and action easily detract from this. Interestingly, the musical score on this DVD to this 1920 film is an original 1928 `low-fi mono' recording made to suit the film, which adds appropriate atmosphere to the period. There are also very good, extensive notes with pictures in this DVD by Image Entertainment, and it is surely an important addition to a serious film collection as well as one of the varied milestones in Griffith's directing career.

Classic entertainment.......2006-06-03

An impoverished young country girl (Lillian Gish) travels to the big city of Boston to beg of her wealthy relatives financial aid for herself and her elderly mother. With the brim of her country hat wide enough to hold her halo the lovely heroine is mocked behind her back, lusted after by the rascal wastrel Lennox Sanderson (Lowell Sherman - `Her delicate beauty whips Lennox to jaded appetite' reads one of the inter-title cards), used, abused and finally discarded.

WAY DOWN EAST is a terrific movie, directed by D.W. Griffith in 1920. It's a moral story depicting innocence betrayed and urging monogamous fidelity - men, in particular Lennox Sanderson, are the sinners and Lillian Gish is the sinned upon. It's a romance firmly grounded in a strict moral code that happens to contain one of the classic endings in screen history when Griffith has Gish collapse on an ice floe heading to a treacherous cataract.

There's a fake wedding and a child born, gossips to ignite and a scandal that Gish spends most of the movie trying to keep secret. That scandal doesn't have the sharp edge today it had in 1920, but that didn't really date the movie for me. There's a timeless quality to a story of innocence betrayed, and a resultant secret that must be guarded. Gish is so expressive, and Griffith uses close-ups so masterfully, that you'll be caught up despite yourself. What is a little moldy, however, is the cut-aways to the small town Gish ultimately flees to. When the melodrama gets too heavy Griffith relieves the tension with a trip to the sticks and a look at the humorous bumpkins who reside there. It's in this small town we meet the Callow Youth, played with square-jawed tenacity by Richard Barthelmess - the good boy who Gish should have loved before the city slicker ruined her. It will be Barthelmess who will chase after the floe-borne Gish in the final, exciting act of the movie.

I watched the Image version of WAY DOWN EAST and would warn, sight unseen, against any other version. Because it's unavailable for sale I had to rent the Image Ent. version. I don't know who supplied the score, but they did a very good job. For instance, when Lennox and Gish's character are `wed' we get a few minor-key bars of "The Wedding March." In other words, music follows actions, characters are given themes, etc. Most dvd producers who supply public domain movies slap on any music, whether it fits or not. The print quality isn't immaculate - there are some stretches where we see cracked, blistered, and scratched images, but for the most part the picture is good enough not to be a distraction.

Not a classic, but pleasant viewing........2006-03-22

Lillian Gish is regarded as probably the best actress of the silent era, and there's a good reason for that. As Elsie Stoneman in 'The Birth of a Nation', she appears as a reasonably serious and strong woman. As Anna Moore in 'Way Down East', she is a much more fragile and vulnerable character. This versatility is the mark of a good performer, and Lillian Gish has got it. It is mostly her presence that makes this a memorable film.

Anna Moore is a young naive girl who lives with her mother. When they begin to experience financial difficulties, Anna goes to visit some rich relatives, hoping to get assistance. During the visit, she meets the womanising Lennox Sanderson. To her, it's love. To him, it's just another adventure. Lennox deviously organises a mock marriage ceremony, and after Anna becomes pregnant, the truth comes out and he abandons her. Anna then leaves home and finds work on a farm. She doesn't know it, but Lennox lives close by and, inevitably, the two cross paths again.

'Way Down East' is not a classic, but is worth a look. The emotional elements in the film aren't given quite enough attention to leave any real impact, and the film does drag in certain spots and is about half an hour too long. The characters are well defined though, and D W Griffith punctuates the film with some amusing comical moments.

Agree With Reviewer.......2005-03-12

I agree with Miss Starr: I think the Lillian Gish ice flow scene in "Way Down East" is one of the greatest scenes in film history. I am still shocked that Premeire magazine left it out two years ago in their special issue titled "The 100 Greatest Moments in Film History" (how can they leave out THAT scene and keep in moments from the silent films "The Great Train Robbery," "Nosferatu," and the Buster Keaton film "Sherlock Jr."?). I think it was great for Miss Starr to mention about the fact that the scene caused Gish to have arthritis in her right hand. I am going to go out on a limb and say that not only was Lillian Gish a movie legend she may of been the real "America's Sweetheart" considering the fact that Mary Pickford was Canadian, Miss Gish's sister Dorothy also became a famous actress (and with that, possibly the greatest and most unique sibling pair in showbiz history) and Gish's career lasted longer than any other in entertainment-85 years! Let's give a toast to these great feats.

Average customer rating:

awsome film
Excellent Film

Way Down East
Starring: Richard Barthelmess , Kate Bruce , Emily Fitzroy , Lillian Gish , and Creighton Hale
Director: D.W. Griffith
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Orphans of the Storm
Broken Blossoms Silent Classic
Intolerance: A Sun Play of the Ages
Battleship Potemkin
Broken Blossoms

ASIN: B0002PYSVU
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Customer Reviews:

awsome film.......2007-03-19

I am a cinema major and this is one of the films we saw in class. It was so good I had to run home and buy it.

Excellent Film.......2004-12-11

This is a beautiful film that, like other DW Griffith films of the period, examines a contemporary social issue, the pain that accompanied the social ostracism of unwed mothers, with great sensitivity. All of the actors are superb but Lillian Gish's delightfully expressive face is, as always, a particularly moving testament to the skill of a great actress.

Average customer rating:

Tender Innocence
One of Griffith's most entertaining classics
Classic entertainment
Not a classic, but pleasant viewing.
Agree With Reviewer

Way Down East [Region 2]
Starring: Lillian Gish , Richard Barthelmess , Lowell Sherman , Burr McIntosh , and Kate Bruce
Director: D.W. Griffith
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Broken Blossoms
Orphans of the Storm
Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection
Sally of the Sawdust
Griffith Masterworks (The Birth of a Nation / Intolerance / Broken Blossoms / Orphans of the Storm / Biograph Shorts 1909-1913)

ASIN: B00005B72I

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Tender Innocence.......2007-04-23

One of Griffith's most entertaining classics.......2007-03-27

Classic entertainment.......2006-06-03

Not a classic, but pleasant viewing........2006-03-22

Agree With Reviewer.......2005-03-12

DVD:

DVD

The Salton Sea [2002]

DVD: The Perfect Wife

Borderline - Unter Mordverdacht