Way Down East D.W. Griffith Digital Life DVD

Way Down East
starring: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh, Kate Bruce
directed by: D.W. Griffith

List Price: $24.99

Amazon.com's Price: $22.49

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Used Price: $9.75
Collectible Price: $26.25
Third Party New Price: $14.84

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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9786305131137
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Silent, NTSC
ISBN: 6305131139
Label: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Release Date: December 01, 1998
Running Time: 145 minutes
Sales Rank: 65754
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: September 03, 1920

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Editorial Review:

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.

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

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Interesting...
2.5 stars. I have no idea how I ended up watching this movie. Overall, the soundtrack was distracting that I literally ended up muting the movie and just reading the placards. It may it a little better. The storyline is an old standard but it's the movie dramatic ice floe scene that is what made this so memorable and squeezed out a 1/2 star from me. This is and feels longs--especially for a silent film. If you're just curious about this as a classic then check it out, if not let it float on by.

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

Rating:

- 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 !

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

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