America

Rating:
Summary: D.W. Griffith does his version of the American Revolution
Review: "America" is D. W. Griffith's patriotic, historical spectacle about the American Revolution, from the first resistance by the Minute Men to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The underlying romance between farmer Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton) and Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster) from a wealthy Tory family, becomes something of a distraction because the highpoints of this film are the vivid recreations of historical moments and battles. The ride of Paul Revere (Harry O'Neill), the Battle of Bunker Hill and the winter at Valley Forge are particularly fine set pieces. Lionel Barrymore overplays the villainous Captain Walter Butler, who was responsible for the Cherry Valley massacre. This 1924 silent epic also features scenes with George Washington (Arthur Dewey), King George III (Arthur Donaldson), Thomas Jefferson (Frank Walsh), Patrick Henry (Franky McGlynn), and John Hancock (John Dunton). Unlike previous video versions, this DVD edition has restored the title cards and even recreated the original score commissioned by Griffith. The film is also digitally remastered from an excellent print; this is one of the finest prints of a silent film I have ever seen. This film holds up well in comparison to "The Birth of A Nation" or any other Griffith epic. Final Note: Neil Hamilton is remembered by some of us for his role as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman TV series.

Rating:
Summary: D.W. Griffith does his version of the American Revolution
Review: "America" is D. W. Griffith's patriotic, historical spectacle about the American Revolution, from the first resistance by the Minute Men to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The underlying romance between farmer Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton) and Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster) from a wealthy Tory family, becomes something of a distraction because the highpoints of this film are the vivid recreations of historical moments and battles. The ride of Paul Revere (Harry O'Neill), the Battle of Bunker Hill and the winter at Valley Forge are particularly fine set pieces. Lionel Barrymore overplays the villainous Captain Walter Butler, who was responsible for the Cherry Valley massacre. This 1924 silent epic also features scenes with George Washington (Arthur Dewey), King George III (Arthur Donaldson), Thomas Jefferson (Frank Walsh), Patrick Henry (Franky McGlynn), and John Hancock (John Dunton). Unlike previous video versions, this DVD edition has restored the title cards and even recreated the original score commissioned by Griffith. The film is also digitally remastered from an excellent print; this is one of the finest prints of a silent film I have ever seen. This film holds up well in comparison to "The Birth of A Nation" or any other Griffith epic. Final Note: Neil Hamilton is remembered by some of us for his role as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman TV series.

Rating:
Summary: D.W. Griffith does his version of the American Revolution
Review: "America" is D. W. Griffith's patriotic, historical spectacle about the American Revolution, from the first resistance by the Minute Men to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The underlying romance between farmer Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton) and Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster) from a wealthy Tory family, becomes something of a distraction because the highpoints of this film are the vivid recreations of historical moments and battles. The ride of Paul Revere (Harry O'Neill), the Battle of Bunker Hill and the winter at Valley Forge are particularly fine set pieces. Lionel Barrymore overplays the villainous Captain Walter Butler, who was responsible for the Cherry Valley massacre. This 1924 silent epic also features scenes with George Washington (Arthur Dewey), King George III (Arthur Donaldson), Thomas Jefferson (Frank Walsh), Patrick Henry (Franky McGlynn), and John Hancock (John Dunton). Unlike previous video versions, this DVD edition has restored the title cards and even recreated the original score commissioned by Griffith. The film is also digitally remastered from an excellent print; this is one of the finest prints of a silent film I have ever seen. This film holds up well in comparison to "The Birth of A Nation" or any other Griffith epic. Final Note: Neil Hamilton is remembered by some of us for his role as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman TV series.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: D.W.Griffith was a master, and here is jet another masterpiece. Most people don't realize that films (flickers at they were named at first) were laughed at, and thought of as cheap low grade entertainment, until D.W.Griffith came on the scene with "A Birth of a Nation". That was the beginning of the film industry as we know it today. All his works are original, and many try to show man's inhumanity to man. The uneducated think he is racist because he shows racism, in fact he bares racism for all to see, as well as many other human faults. Don't pass up a D.W.Griffith film. You must see them all to appreciate the man.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: I can't decide which is more preposterous, D.W. Griffith or his persistent substantial reputation. Obviously, no one has bothered to look at his films, otherwise their ridiculous 19th-centuiry theater mentality would be universally reviled. Birth of a Nation couldn't be shown to a modern audience without several provisos. Otherwise it would quickly provoke a race riot. And it's interesting how quickly the much-touted accomplishments of Griffith were surpassed by his contemporaries. By the time he made America, he had been left so far behind by other filmmakers that he began his famous slide into well-deserved obscurity.

Rating:
Summary: Silly
Review: I can't decide which is more preposterous, D.W. Griffith or his persistent substantial reputation. Obviously, no one has bothered to look at his films, otherwise their ridiculous 19th-centuiry theater mentality would be universally reviled. Birth of a Nation couldn't be shown to a modern audience without several provisos. Otherwise it would quickly provoke a race riot. And it's interesting how quickly the much-touted accomplishments of Griffith were surpassed by his contemporaries. By the time he made America, he had been left so far behind by other filmmakers that he began his famous slide into well-deserved obscurity.

Rating:
Summary: a great film
Review: I can't imagine why I have never heard of this film before. It is very well made with tinted scenes, which a French director made famous with his tricolors (red, white, and blue) in "Napoleon Bonaparte." Griffith is concentrated and clear with his focus well honed. Lionel Barrymore is young but you can tell by his eyes who he is - and that is a star already in a silent film; unbelieveable. The film is long, historical, and entertaining. Everyone should see it.