D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913

Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: an insightful exploration of a true visionary who inspired one of the most incredible industries we have ever seen.

The subject was adventurous and creative, providing not just entertainment but better ways of viewing our entire world.

Rating:
Summary: The beginnings of modern film
Review: D.W. Griffith is considered by many to be the father of modern film. While he did not invent many of the camera techniques that were employed in his films, he was the first to use so many of them effectively. This collection is from his early days, thus the title, at Biograph studios. At this time in the history of film, movies were looked down on as third class entertainment. American movies often could not hold a candle to pre-WWI European films. This was truly the birth of cinema as we know it.
The set opens with a humorous short about the annoyances of Edwardian hats in a movie theater and then moves on to more serious fare. The Sealed Room is a good example of the Victorian macabre that was still so popular in those days. The filming is primitive and the acting is stagey but you can see that it is a quality piece of work. From this point forward, we see Griffith grow more and more sophisticated in his story-telling.
The collection is surely valuable to a student of film but as a casual dabbler, I also found it interesting. The movies have an innocent quality to them not to be found in any era since. It is not without irony that 1914 was the last year for the dominence of the short feature film.
The music in this series is both accurate and enjoyable. The commentary is good although I would have liked a bit more. Fans of later silent films will enjoy seeing favorites such as Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore (the former appears as an extra in The Sealed Room) in their early years.
My favorite films in this collection were The Sunbeam, a romantic comedy believe it or not; The Painted Lady, a psychological melodrama; The New York Hat, a Pickford/Barrymore film showing both at their best; and For his Son, an anti-cola propaganda film. The Unseen Enemy is great because it is the first screen appearance of the Gish sisters.
Not all of the movies are easy to watch by modern standard but all are interesting, if only to see the differences in the various locations in the space of 90 years!
Most of the films have good picture quality, though a few (Those Awful Hats, the New York Hat) have obvious fading and print damage.
A new set of D.W. Griffith films has just been released and it includes Birth of a Nation, Intolerence and Orphans of the Storm. However, iof you are just interested in his short films or already own his longer ones, a suggest buying this set.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Of D. W. Griffith.
Review: This 2 DVD set comprises 3 VHS tapes released by Kino International a few years back. It consists of 22 shorts made by Griffith for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (now known as simply Biograph) between 1909 and 1913 when he left to make feature films. Although only a tiny fraction of his total output for Biograph (there were around 450 shorts), some of his very best work is included here. These shorts represent Griffith at his most inspired. It is on these that his reputation as the "Father of Film" was made. What he was able to pack into these one reelers is truly astonishing. This is Griffith the master story teller along with cameraman Billy Bitzer and the Biograph stock company who were making it up as they went along. And what a stock company! Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Lionel Barrymore, Henry B. Walthall, and Blanche Sweet just to name a few who would go on to have major careers in the film industry that they helped to create. Among the highlights are THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY, THE CORNER IN WHEAT, THE REDMAN'S VIEW, and THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES dealing with respectively tenement crime, greed, mistreatment of Native Americans, and survival skills. There are even shorts dealing with drug abuse, suicide, and the problem of taking care of the elderly. These are topics that still resonate with us today making these shorts not only timely but timeless. The transfers are of extremely high quality and the musical accompaniment is first rate. Yet another item that I have wanted to see on DVD and now here it is. Unfortunately D. W. Griffith is very politically incorrect these days thanks to the racism in some of his features especially BIRTH OF A NATION. There is no such problem with this collection. Here almost 100 years later we can discover the birth of moviemaking with the same excitement that Griffith & Co. had in making it. This is truly the best of D. W. Griffith.