Way Down East

watching the birth of cinema explode into a million pieces right before my eyes part 4

watching the birth of cinema explode into a million pieces right before my eyes part 4

Good movie and all, but shoutout to goatee guy man he’s done no wrongdoing 🙏

Good movie and all, but shoutout to goatee guy man he’s done no wrongdoing 🙏

ngl I was not locked watching this but okay drama!!

ngl I was not locked watching this but okay drama!!

Very much a melodrama to be sure, a slow one but interesting enough to warrant a look. Lillian Gish is by far the most consistently great element in the film, with her presence making it very easy to care about her character and the narrative at large. There's a reason her close-ups are iconic. Griffith's filmmaking is still very good here, not as flashy as his more epic films, but what he accomplishes with the last twenty minutes is incredibly impressive. If you can get past the often glacial pacing, this is a good Griffith film to see. Hey, at least this one isn't racist...

Very much a melodrama to be sure, a slow one but interesting enough to warrant a look. Lillian Gish is by far the most consistently great element in the film, with her presence making it very easy to care about her character and the narrative at large. There's a reason her close-ups are iconic. Griffith's filmmaking is still very good here, not as flashy as his more epic films, but what he accomplishes with the last twenty minutes is incredibly impressive. If you can get past the often glacial pacing, this is a good Griffith film to see. Hey, at least this one isn't racist...

My second feature for the Melodrama course was certainly much more enjoyable and much less problematic than The Cheat; pretty surprising given Way Down East is one of the major works of D.W. Griffith, the man who had the gall to quite literally glorify the KKK years earlier. Lillian Gish is pretty amazing in it, as Griffith relies more on closeups than in previous silents and lets her performance shine. It's a little too long and dry in portions (with some unnecessary comedy here and there?) but it's so beautifully shot and leads to such a spectacular climax that I'd overall recommend it. I still hate you D.W. Griffith.

My second feature for the Melodrama course was certainly much more enjoyable and much less problematic than The Cheat; pretty surprising given Way Down East is one of the major works of D.W. Griffith, the man who had the gall to quite literally glorify the KKK years earlier. Lillian Gish is pretty amazing in it, as Griffith relies more on closeups than in previous silents and lets her performance shine. It's a little too long and dry in portions (with some unnecessary comedy here and there?) but it's so beautifully shot and leads to such a spectacular climax that I'd overall recommend it. I still hate you D.W. Griffith.