brian-40

Unfortunately what was otherwise a very comprehensive overview, the producers obviously had a vendetta against Walt Disney. Every chance they had, they, in a rather passive aggressive sort of way, trashed him/the studio, which was a real disappoint to me because it otherwise was so good and offered so much non-mainstream information. I'm not some huge 'Disney-was-a-god' type, but the anti-Disney just got in the way. I swore when I was watching it that it had been produced by Mr. Katzenberg over at Dreamworks after he and Mr. Eisner had their fall out. That's the only reason I rated it so low. It really did a lot to offer and I learned a lot.

I guess this isn't an awful film, but after recently viewing it, I was struck by how it really needed that Griffith touch. Especially since the script was something Griffith would have done. But they missed out on any chance for true suspense by neglecting everything they should have learned from Griffith about climactic cross-cutting.

Wow...I feel like I'm turning into a film geek or something. (I guess I like Griffith more than I thought...or I've just seen too many of his films.)

Anyway, if you want to see a movie worth watching with the Sisters Gish (and who doesn't??), watch (or re-watch) Orphans of the Storm. View this only as a comparison as to why Griffith was truly a master.

I love silent movies, and watch them all the time. Man, I just cannot think of enough bad things to say about this piece of tripe. If it were not for the 1939 version, this film would be completely and utterly forgotten about. The humor is just bad, the plotting is stupid, and the racial stereotype is relentless. If you're a fan of the 1939 version, watch it again, not this. If you're a silent movie fan, well...watch some Melies for some magic. Seriously, do NOT waste your time. Life is too short, and there are way too many good silents our there.