SPOILER BELOW
D.W. Griffith's tragedy `Broken Blossoms' is heartfelt but also exaggerated and calculated. The girl's dire situation may have earned more sympathy had Griffith and Lillian Gish less strongly emphasized the character's pitifulness. Griffith's plea for respect for the Chinese man may have drawn more praise had it not seemed so much like a defensive response to criticism of `The Birth Of A Nation'. Nevertheless, Griffith demonstrates good storytelling habits and an improved visual sense. The tale unfolds so simply, in just a few unglamorous sets, that when Burrows at last erupts into a violent rage, tearing apart the two apartment rooms, the images are powerful and lasting. I wonder if Stanley Kubrick consciously recalled Burrows' axe-wielding terror when he directed `The Shining', one of the most haunting films ever made.
Rating: 6.5
D.W. Griffith's tragedy `Broken Blossoms' is heartfelt but also exaggerated and calculated. The girl's dire situation may have earned more sympathy had Griffith and Lillian Gish less strongly emphasized the character's pitifulness. Griffith's plea for respect for the Chinese man may have drawn more praise had it not seemed so much like a defensive response to criticism of `The Birth Of A Nation'. Nevertheless, Griffith demonstrates good storytelling habits and an improved visual sense. The tale unfolds so simply, in just a few unglamorous sets, that when Burrows at last erupts into a violent rage, tearing apart the two apartment rooms, the images are powerful and lasting. I wonder if Stanley Kubrick consciously recalled Burrows' axe-wielding terror when he directed `The Shining', one of the most haunting films ever made.
Rating: 6.5