BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919)
Special Features: 100th anniversary; silent with live musical accompaniment by Andrew Simpson
After D.W. Griffith's project was dismissed by Paramount's Adolph Zukor ("Everybody in it dies. It isn't commercial."), the filmmaker made BROKEN BLOSSOMS on a tight budget and released it through his new independent venture, United Artists, the company's second-ever release during its inaugural year of 1919 (Douglas Fairbanks' HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN was the first). Proving Zukor wrong, the film was a massive hit for Griffith and the fledgling distributor. The film stars Richard Barthelmess as a young Chinese immigrant living in London's squalid Limehouse district who takes in abused local girl Lillian Gish. Gish had been mistreated by her brutish and hate-filled father Donald Crisp, who now trains his ire on his daughter's benefactor. DIR/SCR/PROD D.W. Griffith, from the story collection "Limehouse Nights" by Thomas Burke. U.S., 1919, b&w, 90 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 90 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, March 30, 2019
Genre: Romance drama
