"Broken Blossoms" (1919)

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Out Yonder 1919 The Woman God Forgot 1917 That Model from Paris 1926 For Better for Worse 1919 Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall 1924

OUR DOCUMENTARY

We are proud to present to all silent film lovers our multiple award-winning documentary! In March 2015 it won the distinction "Award of Merit" at the San Francisco Film Awards. In May it won the Silver Award at the 2015 International Independent Film Awards. In September 2015 it won the Award of Recognition at the Accolade Global Film Competition. Of equal merit is the inclusion of the documentary in the Official Selection of the San Jose International Short Film Festival in October 2015. In December the documentary won the extremely prestigious Diamond Award at the 2015 California Film Awards. The amazing run of recognition for our documentary continued in 2016. In February it was included in the Official Selection of the Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival.

San Francisco Film Awards new International Independent Film Awards new Accolade Global Film Competition Award new San Jose International Short Film Festival new California Film Awards small new

Lillian-Gish-and-Richard-Barthelmess-in-Broken-Blossoms-1919-director-DW-Griffith-cinematographer-Billy-Bitzer-00

Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess

Directed by             D. W. Griffith
Produced by     Adolph Zukor
Scenario by           D. W. Griffith
Based on    the short story “The Chink and the Child” by Thomas Burke
Starring Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp
Cinematography    Billy Bitzer
Editing by    James Smith
Distributed by United Artists
Release date         20 October 1919
Running time 90 min.
Country          United States
Language    Silent film, English intertitles

"Broken Blossoms" (1919) is a poignant drama made for mature audiences, directed by D. W. Griffith. This film illustrates the work of our star cinematographer Billy Bitzer.

Cheng (Richard Barthelmess) leaves his native China to spread the peaceful teachings of Buddha. In London, working as a store keeper, he is soon crushed by life's realities, from which he escapes temporarily using opium.

In the same neighborhood lives a tender young girl named Lucy (Lillian Gish), who is constantly abused by her brutal father (Donald Crisp). One day, after being mercilessly whipped by him, Lucy wanders the streets and collapses in Cheng's home. He nurses her back to health and the two outcast souls develop a tender platonic bond. For Lucy this is the first time in her life that someone is good to her, and for Cheng this revives his forgotten youthful dreams.

The dreams end abruptly when Lucy's father learns that she is with the Chinese man and the end is tragic.

This is a heartbreaking story of despair, hope, love and tragedy. The film has not lost any of its luster almost a century after its release.

The film is ranked number 21 in the list of The Top 100 Silent Era Films of the influential website Silent Era.

In 1996, "Broken Blossoms" (1919) was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film enjoys a strong rating in IMDB.