Way Down East (1920)

An emotional tour de force

As a number of other reviewers have already provided the plot synopsis, I'll only focus on my reaction to the film. I really think this film is far and away my favorite Griffith feature; although this one is extremely long, as are most of his other features, I was never bored, and didn't feel as though I were being hit over the head with some preachy moral lecture. The opening intertitles are rather heavy-handed, but thankfully the entire rest of the film just tells the story, with not much emotional manipulation. It also gets right down to the action, instead of taking awhile to set up characters and storylines. The viewer is immediately drawn into the story and the characters.

Though it's set in early 20th century New England, the essential story and theme seem timeless instead of dated. While the sexual double standard isn't as rigid as it used to be, it does still exist, and one could even imagine such a story with different particulars, a story of an innocent young lady tricked by someone she loved and trusted, forced to hide her past, and then making a new life for herself and seeking redemption, proving to the people around her that she's a different person and that she was an innocent victim, not someone to be harshly judged. I must say that, in spite of my own old-fashioned personal beliefs on the subject, watching this film made me so, so, SO glad that I live in a time and place where it's no longer considered sinful, shameful, shocking, and scandalous for an unmarried woman to have a baby. It makes me so grateful for how far we've come since the early 20th century, no longer judging the woman as the "guilty" party, while ignoring the man's role in her having had a baby, ruining the reputations of lovely girls and women who happened to have this happen to them (for whatever reason, and as in the case of Anna Moore, because she thought she was married), feeling that a child born to an unmarried mother "had no name." In spite of the heavy topic, though, the story just does its job and develops, without heavy-handed editorialising intertitles or overwrought dramatics. The message is conveyed through the power of the story. And so many decades later, the penultimate scene, David's pursuit of Anna across the ice floes, is still as powerful as ever. My heart was in my throat the entire time, not knowing what the outcome would be.

All of the acting is wonderful, in particular Lillian Gish as the lead character. She was such a consummate professional, a true acting goddess, and willing to put so much into her roles, as in this film, where she suffered some permanent nerve damage to her hand from it having been submerged in that icy water for so long. I felt cold just from watching that harrowing penultimate scene. Richard Barthelmess as David Bartlett is also magnificent. I wish more of his films were commercially available; he was so talented and handsome! In my opinion, the only things the film could have done without were the heavy-handed opening intertitles and a couple of superfluous scenes here and there, esp. the attempts at comedy. This is such a wonderful film that it wouldn't have suffered at all from having some of the fat trimmed. May 2, 2008

I Just love her ! thats enough !

Only after I did the tag for this movie did I think about it being a pre code film . You may not think much about that at first but from 1934 intill the 1960s this wouldnt have been shown as created !
You have got to see the ending ,NO SOUND STAGE ,ITS AMAZING ! I guess it was filmed in upstate New York in winter . I understand it was Lillians idea to have her hand and hair trailing off into the WATER . THE STORY WAS OLD WHEN SHE DID THE MOVIE AND I UNDERSTAND SHE DIDNT WANT TO DO IT !But its worth seeing at least once ! If You enjoy pre sould trac films YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS ONE .But I liked (BROKE BLOSSEMS )1918 & (THE WIND )1928 . Better ! January 13, 2008

Hearty Melodrama

Way Down East is a tremendously famous silent film not only for its director and cast but for the iconic ice floe scene near the end. The story is melodrama in its purest form. Anna (Lillian Gish) is a poor girl who goes to the city to visit her rich aunt, hoping for some financial help. There she meets a womanizing villain (Lowell Sherman) who stages a mock marriage between them to reap the benefits of married life. When Anna finds out the truth about the union, it is too late to save face; she is expecting a child. She is left alone to confront a shamed life, but when her baby dies, she hopes to take refuse working to earn her keep in a faraway home. However, she cannot escape her past, and its grim presence prevents her from finding true happiness with David (Richard Barthelmess). This film is a slice of history as much as it is an entertaining film.

This is quite a long movie, and sometimes it gets tedious. As much as Griffith is hailed as a masterful director, he still has his flaws. He should have spent a little more time in the editing room. The story and choice of stars are typical of Griffith, making this an important film in the history of his career.

The second part of the film suffers somewhat from nitrate decomposition. For veteran film watchers, though, it should cause no distractions. September 22, 2007

Tender Innocence

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..... April 22, 2007

One of Griffith's most entertaining classics

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.
March 27, 2007

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