Michael Morrison Lillian Gish is one major reason I want a time travel machine.She was one of the loveliest women ever photographed; and she was a marvelous actress."Hearts of the World" is a major production, with some astonishing, especially for 1918, technical achievements.Other reviewers have mentioned Billy Bitzer's photography, and every mention that can be made should be made: Magnificent!Griffith's direction, overall, is also magnificent, but there are times the camera angle changes result in choppiness; perhaps, though, that is an editing fault more than one of directing.Acting overall is superb; the story is heart-rending; the anti-war feeling engendered is urgent.Ironically, supposedly the movie was made at the behest of the Brits, trying to propagandize these United States into joining the war. Yet Griffith still managed to portray the horrors of war, with a not exactly subliminal message against those horrors.Lillian Gish said, "I don't believe that Mr. Griffith ever forgave himself for making 'Hearts of the World.' 'War is the villain,' he repeated, 'not any particular people.'""War's gift to the common people," reads one intertitle, as the people of the French village are told to evacuate.The Girl, who was supposed to be marrying The Boy on this day, hurries to try to save her wedding ensemble."In the little room where she had dreamed so many dreams, she puts her sweetest one away," says the intertitle, while she tries to hide away her wedding gown. She is one of those "common people" who are allowed to exist only as cogs in the great machinery of the state, for the state, not for their own purposes.Human lives matter not at all, not even lives of the civilians not, supposedly, actively engaged in the conflict.All that matters is the state, the government, and such ephemera as national pride. More solid, but still meaningless, entities as national boundaries count for more than mere human beings.D.W. Griffith was the son of a war hero, Roaring Jake Griffith, who, after being wounded, still led a charge against the invading Yankees -- driving a wagon!Yet David Wark Griffith opposed war's horrors and demonstrated that opposition in several movies, including "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance."In some ways, "Hearts of the World" is his biggest achievement even though it is little known today.There are some few versions at YouTube.com, but the first one on the list has no music, the second has a score that is sometimes inappropriate. But both are pretty good prints. "Hearts of the World" is a must see, for its own self, and for your own self as a movie historian or as a movie scholar or as a movie fan.

MartinHafer This film from D.W. Griffith chronicles the relationship between a guy and lady (called 'the boy' and 'the girl' throughout the film). Unfortunately for them, WWI begins and instead of marrying, they are separated. He goes off to war, she is stuck behind enemy lines after the Germans take over that portion of France where she lives. Will they lovers be reunited?As long as you don't take this film as a factual representation of WWI, you should watch it. However, please understand that it was a piece of blatant propaganda financed by the British government--designed to get the Americans to commit to the war. However, by the time the film was released, the Americans had declared war on the Central Powers (including Germany). Just keep in mind that the one-dimensional view of the war is historical nonsense. And, while folks in 1918 wouldn't agree, the US really had no reason to get involved in this as EVERYONE involved was responsible for this long and senseless war. But in the film, the Germans are mostly murderous guys bent on despoiling women and the French are 100% pure and virtuous--which clearly makes the film propaganda. Want some more examples? How about the intertitle card that reads "German militarists plan the dastardly blow against France and civilization"! Heck, the Germans in this one even want to blow up baby geese!! Overall, technically well made (with a few amazing battle scenes) and highly inaccurate and inflammatory.

lugonian HEARTS OF THE WORLD (Paramount/Artcraft, 1918), under personal direction by D.W. Griffith, which lives up to it's subtitle, "an old-fashioned play with a new fashioned theme," is an important contribution to the American silent screen. Known as a propaganda effort, Griffith brings forth his feelings towards war with opening inter-title: "God help the nation that begins another war of conquest of meddling. Brass bands and clanging sabers make fine music, but let us remember that there is another side of war. After all, does war settle any question? The south was divided - thousands of lives were sacrificed by the Civil War, yet did it really settle the black and white problem in this country?" Following the pattern of Griffith's controversial melodrama, THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), HEARTS OF THE WORLD, at two hours, is very much a recycling of that epic, moving its time frame from the Civil War South (1861-1865) to its more recent battleground of the World War (1914-1918), making this particular one something from the time capsule.The narrative begins during the peaceful days of 1912 in an unnamed French village where two American families, the Hamiltons (Jack Cosgrove and Kate Bruce) and the Stephensons (Adolphe Lestina and Josephine Crowell) live in a double house on the Rue De La Paix (Street of Peace). Marie Stephenson (Lillian Gish), having just returned from her visit with her aunt in Rheims, and Douglas Gordon Hamilton (Robert Harron), an artist and poet just back from Paris, with three younger brothers (Marion Simmons, Francis Marion) and the littlest one (Ben Alexander) who worships him, the neighboring boy and girl eventually meet, start a courtship that turns to eternal love. On the day of their wedding, war is declared. Douglas enlists along with his friends, Cuckoo (Robert Anderson), and the village carpenter (George  Fawcett), calling themselves "The Three Musketeers." As Douglas leaves Marie to fight for France, so does Cuckoo, who has fallen in love with a street singer known as "The Little Disturber" (Dorothy Gish). As the men face uncertainties fighting in the trenches, the once peaceful village is taken over by Von Strohm (George Siegmann), leader of the enemy Germans who once lived in that village, not only has his regiment burn portions of it, but places the women to extreme measures working labor jobs, to be brutally whipped (namely Marie) when unable to fulfill their tasks. Part II, "Struggle of Civilization" soon follows.In spite of its age, HEARTS OF THE WORLD is fine storytelling with many elements now associated by Griffith, from the development of his central characters (the Griffith trademark where families affectionately kiss on the mouth); to his attention to detail with the camera recording fine visuals of actual location footage around France, and inter-cutting between war on the front and survival in the village. The scene where the younger Hamilton boys taking it upon themselves to bury their dead mother ("No prayers, save childish tears") is highly effective and quite moving.   With the large cast headed by Griffith's most frequent co-stars, Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, the center of attention is nearly drawn towards Lillian's sister, Dorothy. The Gish sisters, who share little screen time together, work remarkably well in their assigned roles. Lillian, an outstanding actress here in the manner of Mary Pickford sporting curly hair, starts off her girlish charms as the aggressor attracting the boy next door, maturing as the story progresses. Her most dramatic moment occurs following the death of her mother. Her facial change of emotions from disbelief to shock is realistically done. Under incapable hands, this scene would have been laughable. Another scene worth noting occurs later as Gish's character walks aimlessly through the battlefield only to find her wounded beloved (Harron), whom she mistakes as dead. As for Dorothy, she provides the lighter side to the story with her comedic flair as the flirtatious young girl who attracts men with a blink of an eye. At one point she forces herself upon the boy (Harron) the very moment to be spotted by the girl (Lillian) who loves him. Wearing a large beret over her very dark hair and sporting ordinary clothes, her role could very well be the predecessor to Renee Adoree's performance in King Vidor's epic war drama, THE BIG PARADE (MGM, 1925) or categorized as a predate of the high-spirited Clara Bow of the 1920s. Regardless, Dorothy Gish, an underrated actress whose many movies lack availability today, deserves praise for her work as "The Little Disturber." Other members in support are include L. Lowery (The Deaf and Blind Musician); George Nichols (The German Sergeant); Erich Von Stroheim (The German Soldier); and Fay Holderness (The Innkeeper). Appearing briefly are Mary Gish (Lillian & Dorothy's mother); and future playwright/actor Noel Coward as a man with wheelbarrow.With occasional revivals at New York City's Museum of Modern Art's film department, HEARTS OF THE WORLD was introduced to New York's own public television WNET, Channel 13, in September 1977, as part of its weekly series, "Films of Persuasion," the second movie following the premiere presentation of Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION. Distributed to home video in 1991, with excellent piano score by William Perry from the Killiam Collection, HEARTS OF THE WORLD did have limited cable TV presentation on Turner Classic Movies "Silent Sunday Nights" where it premiered in January 2, 2000. Though presented on VHS, the two minute prologue prior to the movie showing D.W. Griffith filming in the British line of Cambrin, 50 yards from enemy lines, concluding with he shaking the land of prime minister David Lloyd George on 10 Downing Street, is not included in the TCM print.Nearly forgotten, HEARTS OF THE WORLD deserves its place in cinema history, and certainly one to consider for film scholars and historians to view and study as one of the few movies from that era not to be lost to the world. (***)

Cineanalyst The Great War's impact on cinema worldwide was enormous and opened the door to America's global dominance in the business as other countries were devastated by battle. Additionally, it created some interesting American films among a newly popularized genre of war pictures, including "Civilization" (1916), "Joan the Woman" (1917), "Shoulder Arms", "The Sinking of the Lusitania", "The Heart of Humanity" and this one, "Hearts of the World" (the latter four from 1918). And continuing into the silent era of the 1920s, with some distance from the war, such films as "The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse", "The Love Light" (both 1921), "The Big Parade" (1925), "Mare Nostrum", "What Price Glory" (both 1926), "Seventh Heaven" and "Wings" (both 1927) were made.D.W. Griffith was generally a pacifist; that's clear in many of his films, despite their exciting battle sequences. Not unexpectedly, however, with "Hearts of the World", he gave his support to the entente cause and with the aid of the British government called for the US entry into the war. That had already occurred by the time of completion of the film, though, and so the ending has the US army saving the day. Yet, the picture still contains a pacifist plea, or regret over the situation.The excellent war scenes, which incorporate actual footage from the front, add power and realism to the sympathetic message. Cinematographer G.W. Bitzer (or others under his influence, as he was absent from location shooting in France due to his German heritage) uses small-scale widescreen masking effects during the battle scenes, as he had in "Intolerance". It's effective, as the scenes are generally shown from a distance, more so, and surely for practical reasons, than in other Griffith films. As a result, it seemed more real to me (and much of it was real).Generally, I welcome the drama of love between Robert Harron and Lillian Gish's characters threatened against the backdrop of war. Gish's episode with insanity is especially well realized, and Dorothy Gish is delightful as "The Little Disturber". But, the drama does subvert the power and realism of the film at times. It is indeed "an old fashioned play", and there are some ludicrous moments in it, such as a rehashed scene from "The Birth of a Nation" where Gish's virginity is threatened by a German officer.The following year, Abel Gance demonstrated how a fictional story could add to the power and realism in his anti-war opus "J'Accuse!" And, that's what separates these two films. In "J'Accuse!", there is rape by a German soldier and an analogous love triangle. Its approach is considerably more downbeat, however, and much more real, rather than the old-fashioned sentimentality, theatricality and naivety that occasionally creeps up in "Hearts of the World". Yet, that's to be expected in Griffith's work, and it doesn't detract severely from the better parts of the film, or the drama. Overall, "Hearts of the World" represents and reflects an important time in both film history and world history.