Cheap Orphans of the Storm (DVD) (Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish) (D.W. Griffith) Price

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Customer Reviews of Orphans of the Storm

You'll shiver better without that shawl
ORPHANS OF THE STORM is a great movie, and this time I'm not going to deduct a point for print quality and its non-sequiter of a sound track.
Real sisters Lillian and Dorothy Gish star as half-sisters Henriette and Louise Girard. Louise (Dorothy) was found on the cold and snowy steps of the church Henriette's father had, before a change of heart, placed her. Their parents die, the girls grow into porcelain beauties and Louise loses her sight. Henriette vows to take care of Louise forever, and they travel to Paris in hopes of restoring Louise's sight.
En route a cruel aristocrat is inflamed with Henriette's "virginal beauty" and connives to kidnap her. Henriette is indeed kidnapped shortly after her arrival in Paris, and the helpless Louise is forced to fend for herself.
Half of the fun of ORPHANS OF THE STORM is watching the indignities DW Griffith subjects his two starlets to. Henriette is kidnapped by one of the slimier specimens of the over-fed and over-sexed aristocracy. Her desperate search for Louise is frustrated at every turn- when she finally spots Louise and attempts to reach her the police arrive and she is sent to a prison for fallen women. Oh, yeah, did I mention her delivery to "the foot of Death's gate?"
Louise has it no better. She is kidnapped by the monstrous Mother Frochard (Lucille La Verne). Mother Frochard, with her hair mole and moustache and missing teeth, may be the ugliest woman ever filmed. Mother F is a street beggar, and she plans to use the blind Louise as her main attraction. After she breaks Louise's spirit, that is. So, down into the rat-infested cellar with Louise and up comes the ladder. They're real rats down there. Griffith also throws a few cold days of beggary and an attempted rape in Louise's direction.
It's all great fun and the girls are indomitably strong and resourceful. The print quality is quite good in spots, simply awful in others. Most of the stock is sepia-toned, but some battle scenes seem to have been tinted red and there's a scene towards the end of the movie that seems to have been colorized. Because this isn't a restored print it's impossible to tell.
Having watched a handful of silent movies recently I'm beginning to wonder why they aren't rescored. Alpha Video puts a classical recording on the track of their releases and calls it good. It's not. These old films are works of art and national treasures, and they deserve better than this. Sound IS an important component to movies. Either restore the original music or have a contemporary composer write a brand new score. (Note: I watched the discount Alpha release of the film, and I didn't realize that Kino has a pricier print that includes the original music. I'm going out on a ledge here, but I'll bet the print quality is better, too. I'll be trading up to the Kino version in the near future.)

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Great historic period piece
This is one of those early films that kept me checking the date of production. This is impressive stuff coming so early in the history of American cinema. From the lush costumes and sets to the use of thousands of extras, this reminds us how ground-breaking some of Griffith's work truly was.

Sure, it's campy melodrama, the sets are stagey, and cinematography had not yet matured beyond wide-shot vs. close-up, but for its time, "Orphans of the Storm" is full of moving characterizations and real drama. Like Griffith's other great works, "Orphans" is over-long but it must have been an expectation in the day for a "serious" film.

The Gish sisters are great fun to watch, as are the young male stars, Schildkraut and Puglia. I LOVE Lucille La Verne's performance as the "scoundrel" Mother Frochard. You have to love the mustache!

Yes, watch this film for the impressive work by Griffith in this EARLY period piece, but it also serves as a time-capsule to a by-gone era in American cultural history. While not as obvious or heavy-handed as "Birth of a Nation," the political leanings that underscore "Orphans of the Storm" are not subtly hidden but are on full display.

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Delicious Melodrama!
D.W. Griffith's wonderful historical melodrama can keep viewers on the edge of their seats just as masterfully as it did nearly a century ago. The Gish sisters are spectacular, as are the supporting players, sets and costumes. Too bad the DVD version offers no additional features, but at least the movie itself will provide 2 hours of delicious melodrama.