Biograph Shorts: Griffith Masterworks (1912)

The most fertile period of D.W. Griffith's early career is generously preserved in this special edition of Biograph Shorts. A satisfied actor in early silent films, Griffith was hesitant when the American Biograph company offered him a director's job in 1908, but his first film, "The Adventures of Dollie" (reconstructed here from a Library of Congress paper print), gave Griffith the filmmaking fever, and from 1908 to 1913 he averaged two or three shorts per week, of which these 23 represent a comprehensive sampling. Obscurities mingle with masterpieces on two DVDs; highlights include 1909's "A Corner in Wheat" (which established Griffith's mastery of social realism); "The Musketeers of Pig Alley," a pioneering gangster film shot on authentic New York locations; and "The Battle at Elderbush Gulch," a dynamic early Western.

Although many of these films appear on another compilation (D.W. Griffith: Years of Discovery), important exceptions include 1911's "Enoch Arden" (a prestigious adaptation of Tennyson's poem); "The Usurer," one of Griffith's best films from 1910; "The Last Drop of Water," a grand-scale Western made during Griffith's first trip to California (and an indication of grander films to come); and "His Trust," the first of a two-part serial featuring Griffith's then-common use of blackfaced actors as "noble Negroes." Most important (in addition to early appearances by Lillian Gish, Lionel Barrymore, and other silent stars) is the arc of progress that these films represent. In Griffith's capable hands, we witness "flickers" in their most rapid stage of development, incorporating new techniques (parallel action and cross-cutting, changing camera angles within a scene, dramatic close-ups) from a tireless innovator who would soon rise to the challenge of epic, feature-length productions. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Very good compilation.

I enjoyed this dvd very much. It is a very high quality compilation of some of Griffith's splendid short films for the Biograph company. I am a Griffith fan and the print qualities on these shorts is very good for the most part. The films are pre 1915 so that means most of them are single reel. There are a couple double reelers (and maybe three, although I don't think so) which run up to about a half an hour.

The subjects run the entire gambit. Many of them are moralistic. "One business the other crime" is about a starving man who steals from a rich "honorable" guy who has just taken a bribe. Another "the painted lady" is about the bad effect of women wearing makeup has on society. Still others are about war bravery and courage (or lack thereof). The dvd includes a very early gangster movie (some credit it with being the first) called "Musketeers of Pig Alley." Lillian Gish and Elmer Booth star. There are even some nice seaside action movies like "The Lesser Evil."

Well know (for the time!) and lesser known actors and actresses are in these movies. The etheareal Lillian Gish and her shorter sister Dorothy are in a couple. Donal Crisp and Lionel Barrymore are in a bunch. Mary Pickford is featured in a couple as well, including the tearjerker "The New York hat," which is still my favorite Pickford movie, even though its a short. Her mother's dying wish, given to the local pastor, is to guy something nice for her daughter (Pickford) as her husband was always a pennypincher and never allowed her to get anything for her. The story is about the evils of gossip, as Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh can be seen as some of the biddies who gossip when the pastor inexplicably gives Mary a beautiful new hat from new York that she had wanted. Eventually things get back to the father who in a fit of "grouchy old man" rage; tears up the hat in front of Mary who is left with palms open and a trembling lip. Is all made right in the end? Well you gotta see it.

In addition, my favorite silent film actress, Blanche Sweet is featured in many of these films. She was quite famous in her day, although not many today have heard of her. Dubbed "The Biograph Blonde" for her viking blond hair, she was a very natural sensitive actress who is always a joy to watch. Edwin August is also a very good actor, although not as well known as Sweet was, who is almost COMPLETELY forgotten today. He features prominantly in "One Business the other Crime" (as the rich guy) with Sweet and Charles West (as the poor guy) and also in "The Lesser Evil", again along the side of Sweet. The other actor who is generally a joy to watch is Henry Walthall. He features prominantly in "Death's Marathon" a story about a couple who get married, but the husband gets bored with her and turns to gambling, loses some company money, and then thinks about suicide. Does Blanche Sweet save him? You have to see.

The scoring is wonderful. At times it is so beautiful that you wonder what's the use of modern sound movies, when these silents are so beautiful alone with the music scores. They are delightfully varied, as well; with strings in some movies and piano in others, etc.

The only problem I had with this dvd was that the beautiful introductory menus to each film often had the wrong actors and actresses mentioned. This is especially annoying if you want to watch a particular movie for the actors/tresses in them. Of particular annoying note is Musketeers of Pig Alley, which loudly proclaims Dorothy Gish and Elmer Booth as being the leads. It wasn't Dorothy at all (although she can be seen as one of the extras on the street) but her sister Lillian who played "The little lady." Cute names Griffith thought up, eh? :) This was not isolated either. Many of the other movies had these errors in the menu titles.

One other thing is that some of the menus (especially the first main one) takes forever to go to the next after you click on an option. Same beef I had with the LOTR sets. You'd click on an option and after 10 seconds of useless animation and CGI you'd finally get to the next screen. This is subjective, so I'm not angry at all. Its just something I wanted to mention.

All in all, this is a wonderful set. 2 dvds packed with great Griffith shorts. They include his first short as director (Adventures of Dollie) and reach til the near end of his short days when he was doing double reelers (The Massacre, which is an indirect paraphrase of Custer's last stand through the eyes of innocent bystanders and one scout). Enjoy; it is worth the money. July 18, 2008

Of Great Historical Interest

The Griffith Biograph shorts have long been written about as the touchstone body of work that saw the development of cinema from an early sideshow novelty to an art form in its own right. This DVD set from Kino (also included as part of the "Griffith Masterworks" set) is a great way to see about 25 of these landmark films from director D.W. Griffith.

I give the set four stars only because I would like to have seen more included. We do have Griffith's first film here, presented as an extra feature (since the print quality is below the standards of Kino's usual presentation). Such seminal works as "A Corner in Wheat", "An Unseen Enemy", "Musketeers of Pig Alley" and "Battle of Elderbrush Gulch" are included.

The print quality is excellent throughout, as are the musical scores. David Shepard deserves much credit for issuing these splendid editions of these truly important works. For viewers unfamiliar with these films, it would probably be a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the historical background to fully appreciate what Griffith was up to here, as the set contains no commentaries or other documentary materials. July 15, 2008

Exceeded my expectations

I have numerous issues with D.W. Griffith and so was prepared to have less than an enthusiastic reaction to this set, but I ended up really really liking it. A lot of the issues I have with most of his features were either not present or less overwhelming in these shorts. It also helped that I love films from this early period of the cinema, when all movies were shorts and constantly evolving as an artform. So much happens in these short films (the longest only about a half-hour), packing so much plot into such a limited timeframe. And films from this early era seem to have such a natural charm and magic to them, evoking a long-gone era. There were only a couple of shorts that I didn't really care for (foremost among them the ridiculous 'His Trust,' although at least the racism in it is more of a paternalistic nature instead of the type of racism in BOAN).

The shorts cover such a wide variety of genres, such as Westerns, social justice issues (esp. how the other half lives and how they're treated and exploited by the ruling class), adaptations of poems and plays, crime drama, and melodrama. I definitely prefer Griffith's early shorts over his later grandiose overwrought morality plays. He almost seems like an entirely different director. Perhaps the short form was just more effective for delivering his messages without overdoing it, whereas in his features it often seems like the viewer is getting hit over the head with a preachy moral message and cloying sentimentality. These shorts are also a priceless look at some of the early work of big-name stars like Mary Pickford, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, and Lionel Barrymore, as well as actors in Griffith's stock company who are now largely forgotten by all but silent film buffs, such as Bobby Harron, Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, and Mae Marsh. Biograph had a lot of really talented people working for it.

I'd definitely recommend this set to anyone interested in American film shorts from the late Aughts and early Teens. They present such a vivid multifaceted picture of not only what the fledgling film industry was like but also what life was like for many people. The only thing that would have made this set even more enjoyable would have been some bonus material, such as background information on Biograph and the people involved with it, commentaries on some of the more interesting shorts, or an introductory overview. January 8, 2008

A collection of D.W. Griffith's short films (1909-1913)

Most of the films such as "Those Awful Hats" look more like practice films. They each tell a quick story but show none of the brilliance associated with his epics.

They are worth watching just to be aware of them. However they are not worth a second viewing. Because the films speak for their selves there really is not need for DVD extras. Yet the extras may have pointed out what the why these short stories are significant.
December 22, 2007

Good Films, Bare-bones DVDs

I've only had a chance to watch of few of the shorts in this set. What I've watched has been enjoyable (though, contrary to what another reviewer wrote, picture quality isn't always pristine.

The main reason for the 3 star rating is that, while the films are great, there isn't anything else. The 'extras' on the discs are simply some additional shorts. There is no background information; no enclosed pamphlets, no introductions or special features on the discs themselves. I might have liked to have learned more about Griffith, about Biograph, and about the shorts. January 28, 2007

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