Way Down East. 1920. Directed by D. W. Griffith.

(11/4/99)

It's almost unbearably intense in places. They say such intensity needs to be offset by "Comedy relief." I don't know, but I do know that the comedy in this film didn't work. It's really sad because it mars the film badly.

Richard Barthelmess is superb, but it is Lillian Gish's show all the way. Great moments include when she learns she isn't really married, when her baby dies and when she is told to leave the place she is working and finally asserts herself and tells her side of the story. For me, that is the real climax of the film--it is such a great moment of release--and the scene on the ice floes is just an anti-climax. I was surprised, but I wasn't overwhelmed by that famous sequence.

The multiple wedding ceremony at the end is a very rich moment. Through no fault of her own Anna had become anoutcast, an alien. That multiple wedding shows her being accepted back into the community.

I was a little bit put off by the sermon-like tone at the beginning of the film. Just tell the story and let us draw our own conclusions. I see the situation a little different than D. W. For me, it is sad that in this society a man could not satisfy his sexual urges without causing real pain to others. That's how I see it.