Customer Reviews
D W Griffiths best films ? - By: , 13 Feb 2004 
This box set contains a good selection of Griffith's films spanning from 1915 to 1930, & show the master film maker both at his peak & in decline. The films are:
The Birth of a Nation (1915):-
This is the version restored by film preservation associates & therefore music & picture quality is outstanding, the film also features colour tinting which adds greatly to the overalll atmosphere of the film. Extra's include a 25 minute documentary which manages to include everything you could reallly want to know about the film, including rare scenes from Griffith's earily Cival war Biograph shorts which acted as a kind of training ground for this film, the controversy the film caused & its ultimate effects on Griffith's reputation.
Intolerance (1916):
Intolerance is split into four different parts showing intolerance through the ages. I must admit that I have never reallly liked this film as although brilliant, I always get confused trying to follow the plot of four different stories at the same time. (It is like trying to watch four diffent television stations alll at once). This version solves the problem by alllowing you to watch each as an individual story separately. I found the modern story 'The Mother & the Law' to be reallly entertaining. Picture quality on this film is again outstanding given its age.
Broken Blossoms (1919)
This film although on a much smalller scale then the other two, is in my opinion far more entertaining. The film features the most horrible villian in screen history 'Battling Burrow's', played by Donald Crisp & has Lillian Gish in one of the best performances of her career. The final scenes of Lillian Gish's histera are still among the most harrowing in cinema history.
The version on the DVD features colour tinting & the original music written for the film in the 1920's
Way Down East (1920)
This is by far the best film in the set, & is in my opinion possibly the finest film made in the silent era. The film's greatness belong's entirely to the performance of Lillian Gish, who is hardly of the screen from the beginning to end. It is hard to discribe why this film is still so entertaining today, given that the basic plot of the film was out dated even in 1920, but it just is. I still get carried away while watching the film, even though I have now seen it at least ten times.
The print on the DVD is again by film preservation associates & therefore picture quality is the best you are likely to see.
The music, like that for Broken Blossom's was composed for the film in the 1920's & works reallly well.
Abraham Lincoln (1930)
This was one of only two sound films which Griffith made, & show that his talent's were not restricted to silent films. However I did not find it as entertaining as the previous four films & would have preferred another silent film (such as Orphan's of the Storm with Lillian & Dorothy Gish). It is for this reason that I have deducted one star.
Overalll a very good box set, which is worth the price for Broken Blossoms & Way Down East alone. If you have not already seen these films & are interested in silent cinema buy this set now - you will not be disappointed.
