Review of Way Down East (1920) by Jonathan P — 14 Sep 2010

Of all the silent films (well of the D.W. Griffith films at least) I have watched to date this is by far the best of the lot. Way Down East is better written and doesn't jump back and forth into three or four different stories causing you to lose track of what is going on and by thus doing allows you to build sympathy for Lillian Gish's character.

The scene on the ice is by far the most skilled camera work up to that point and makes for an excellent climax. People hail Intolerance or Birth of a Nation or even Broken Blossoms as Griffith's best work but I would humbly say (as a movie fan and not an educated critic, but of course most of there assessments are rubbish anyways) that Way Down East is his best work.