"I'm not a bad businessman", filmmaker D.W. Griffith once protested, "Honestly I'm not!" Yet industryites were certain that Griffith had taken leave of his financial senses when he paid $175,000 for the screen rights to the old Lottie Blair Parker stage play Way Down East. Considered out of date even in 1920, the play told the story of Anna (Lillian Gish), the efficient yet secretive serving girl for a large farm family. Anna falls in love with David Bartlett (Richard Barthelmess), the family's son, but feels unworthy of ...
Read More
"I'm not a bad businessman", filmmaker D.W. Griffith once protested, "Honestly I'm not!" Yet industryites were certain that Griffith had taken leave of his financial senses when he paid $175,000 for the screen rights to the old Lottie Blair Parker stage play Way Down East. Considered out of date even in 1920, the play told the story of Anna (Lillian Gish), the efficient yet secretive serving girl for a large farm family. Anna falls in love with David Bartlett (Richard Barthelmess), the family's son, but feels unworthy of him due to her checkered past. It seems that, years earlier, Anna had been duped into a sham marriage by city slicker Lenox Sanderson (Lowell Sherman). When she became pregnant, Sandson walked out on her. Shortly afterwards, her newborn child died, and Anna was shunned by her home community. These facts come to surface when Sanderson returns to Anna's life as the local squire. David's prudish father orders Anna out of the house and into a blinding snowstorm, but David, after settling accounts with the duplicitious Sanderson, goes after Anna and claims her as his bride. In adapting Way Down East for the screen, Griffith fleshes out the characters of Anna and Sanderson by adding a prologue, which included one of those poignant scenes ever filmed: Anna's tearful insistence that her dying baby be baptized. He also injected the weary old property with a jolt of sheer showmanship, added a "last minute rescue" sequences wherein Anna, lying exhausted on an ice floe, is rescued by David seconds before plunging over a precipitous waterfall. Even today's audiences, armed with the foreknowledge that Lillian Gish enjoyed 73 hale and hearty years after the completion of Way Down East, invariably gasp in fright and urge Richard Barthelmess to "hurry! hurry!"during the climactic scene. Far from becoming Griffith's Folly as predicted, Way Down East was a huge moneymaker. There is no better of Griffith's artistry than the fact that the 1930 talkie remake of Way Down East, though directed by the formidable Henry King, failed to match the pathos and power of the 1920 version. Our own quibble: why did Griffith retain so much of the original play's wheezy comedy relief, and why did he put that relief in the hands of the relentlessly unfunny Creighton Hale? Hal Erickson, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Way Down East (the Film Detective Restored Version) to cart. $22.51, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by The Film Detective.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess. New. Run time: 145. Buy with confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Delivery Confirmation included for all orders in the US.
Add this copy of Way Down East to cart. $9.93, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Colorado rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, published 1998.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
All our items come in the original case with artwork, though manuals and slipcovers are not always guaranteed to be included as these items are donated goods. We typically resurface discs that are visibly scratched prior to shipping, but we do not test disc(s). Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. Thank you for shopping with Goodwill Colorado! Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Safe and Secure Bubble Mailer! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
Add this copy of Way Down East to cart. $15.49, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Image Entertainment.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Mrs. Morgan Belmont, Richard Barthelmess, Mrs. David Landau, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh, Josephine Bernard, Patricia Fruen... Very good. 1920 Run time: 145. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Way Down East to cart. $15.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Kino Lorber films.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Richard Barthelmess, Lillian Gish. Very good. 1920 Run time: 149. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Way Down East to cart. $9.92, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Southern California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Disk is in good condition with minor to no wear. All disks are refinished to improve condition as needed. Case and artwork are in good condition with no tears or cracks. Thank you for shopping Goodwill Southern California. Your purchase helps create jobs and transforms lives through the power of work.
Add this copy of Way Down East to cart. $21.62, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Alpha Video.
Add this copy of Way Down East (1920) 1930 Re-Release With Orchestral to cart. $29.05, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Reelclassicdvd.
Add this copy of Way Down East [Blu-Ray] to cart. $44.37, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Kino Lorber films.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Mary Hayes, Burr McIntosh, Creighton Hale, Florence Short, Kate Bruce,... New. 2011 Run time: 187. Buy with confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Delivery Confirmation included for all orders in the US.
![Way Down East [Blu-Ray]](https://www4.alibris-static.com/cover/v29692ztxvs_t.jpg)
![Way Down East [Blu-ray]](https://www4.alibris-static.com/way-down-east-blu-ray/cover/v29692ztxvs.jpg)
