D.W. Griffith's BROKEN BLOSSOMS 1919 and 50 similar items

This is a vintage original LASERDISC EDITION of the classic teens silent film drama, BROKEN BLOSSOMS, released in 1919 by United Artists and directed by D.W. Griffith. Based upon the short story by Thomas Burke, a frail waif (Lillian Gish), abused by her brutal boxer father (Donald Crisp) in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant (Richard Barthelmess) with tragic consequences. This laserdisc edition features a specially tinted print from the Rohauer Collection and includes an introduction by Lillian Gish with a new recording of the film's beautiful original score. This is the Photoplay Productions presentation by film historians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill. It features a run-time of 95 minutes. The double-sided laserdisc is in "like new" condition and plays perfectly without any issues. The outer cardboard sleeve is in fine+ condition with a 4 in. diagonal crease on the top left corner of the front cover and a 1 in. vertical crease on the top of the back cover with some random signs of wear along the edges. Filming took 18 days and nights. Donald Crisp's scenes were filmed at night because he was directing another film during the day. According to Gish, the film was so well planned and rehearsed that the only editing that Griffith needed to do was snip-off the beginnings and endings of scenes. Griffith saw Gish using her smile gesture with her fingers and decided to incorporate it into the filming. While filming the closet scene, Gish's performance of pure terror was so realistic that Griffith was compelled to shout back at her and urge her further. A passerby heard this going on and, convinced that something terrible was going on, had to be restrained from entering the studio. The film's premiere engagement included a live prologue featuring a dance routine performed by actress Carol Dempster. During Dempster's dance, the stage was illuminated by blue and gold footlights. Later, during the screening of the film, a stagehand accidentally switched on those footlights and the movie screen tinted the film in an unusual way. Griffith, standing in the rear of the auditorium, was so surprised and delighted at the blue and gold-tinted effect that he ordered all copies of the film to be tinted in those colors during certain key sequences.