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Way Down East
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Way Down East

1920
Romance
Drama
2h 25m
The callous rich, portrayed by Lennox, think only of their own pleasure. Anna is but a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. She believes that it is true, but secret, while he has his way with her. When she is pregnant, he leaves her and she must have the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her own. When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett. David falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past and then Lennox shows up lusting for Kate. (imdb)
Directed by:
D.W. Griffith D.W. Griffith
Written by:
William A. Brady Joseph R. Grismer
+1 more
Starring:
Lillian Gish Lillian Gish Richard Barthelmess Richard Barthelmess Norma Shearer Norma Shearer Creighton Hale Kate Bruce Lowell Sherman Lowell Sherman Burr McIntosh Mary Hay Edith Shearer Mrs. David Landau Josephine Bernard Mrs. Morgan Belmont
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Genres:
Romance, Drama
Country:
USA
Language:
English
imdb More information at IMDb
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Way Down East

1920
Romance
Drama
2h 25m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 58.98% from 216 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 18 Oct 2009
55
11th
Not a shred of nuance, ambiguity, or depth. It's all right there in the open, a morality play based on sexual politics that are now severely outdated. Fucking long, too. Two and a half hours, much of which is taken up by dumb comedy bits involving secondary characters. Things pick up a little at the end, when Lillian Gish FINALLY speaks up for herself and there's an exciting little bit of business. But it didn't really make up for the rest of it, which I found pretty dull.
Rated 18 Oct 2009
dorkovskyDorkovsky
Rated 11 Mar 2010
3
14th
Gish's performance is the only thing that isn't dated or stale.
Rated 11 Mar 2010
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 16 Sep 2014
60
10th
Overlong and lame, to be honest. Words like "creaky" and "hokey" are pretty appropriate to describe this mess. But Lillian Gish is pretty great, and the climatic storm sequence is cool.
Rated 16 Sep 2014
icarusIcarus
Rated 11 Jul 2012
80
58th
The pacing is solid, and Griffith varies as he can between medium and close-ups, mostly. Griffith employs one brief tracking shot as the town gossip goes to reveal Anna's secret, to good effect. The film's most intriguing sequence is the final one in the storm, as Griffith effectively builds tension through montage, including some excellent shots of the frozen river. Gish is also her watchable, delicate self, the baptism scene being one of the high points of this melodrama.
Rated 11 Jul 2012
shockularSHOCKULAR
Rated 02 Sep 2023
57
17th
Pure melodrama. Gish is good. The subject matter is quite dated. Granted, there are still many elements of this alive and well regarding double standards in the behavior of men and women, but there are elements that don't really work today. Most of the cast outside Gish are a little boring.
Rated 02 Sep 2023
theyshoot07theyshoot07
Rated 02 Mar 2008
54
26th
# 913
Rated 02 Mar 2008
frederFreder
Rated 24 Feb 2023
40
28th
I understand his importance to film history, but I cannot worship at the altar of Griffith. He combines the worst aspects of exploitative Melodrama with a kind of pretentiousness of thought that is numbing; his "philosophy" is that of a very shallow thinker that wants us to be impressed with his supposedly Deep Thoughts. WAY DOWN EAST has a great climactic sequence, and it has the mesmerizing Lillian Gish; but both of those assets are lost in a morass of heavy-handed Soap Opera.
Rated 24 Feb 2023
ehk2ehk2
Rated 17 Nov 2020
20
25th
foolish. after a century, only redeeming quality left is Lillian Gish's acting parts.
Rated 17 Nov 2020
napolenbradynapolenbrady
Rated 22 Feb 2019
86
40th
86.00
Rated 22 Feb 2019
hotsakehotsake
Rated 07 Aug 2018
85
96th
Wow was this ever a great movie. two and half hours of silent melodrama and I wasn't bored even once. This movie has everything drama, melodrama, tragedy, comedy, romance, and action. Even my wife who doesn't really like silent movies was on the edge of her seat during the rescue scene.
Rated 07 Aug 2018
heliophageHeliophage
Rated 25 Jun 2014
73
90th
Griffith still loves creaky, corny melodrama with insufferable intertitles, but the visual presentation here is very much up to the modern standard for 1920. It's far longer than it needs to be--all the "down on the farm" hokum in the second half wears especially thin after a while--but the performances (especially Gish's) are good enough to draw you back in. The famous ending with the blizzard and ice floes really is quite something.
Rated 25 Jun 2014
rant1229rant1229
Rated 17 Mar 2013
21
84th
The D.W. Griffith stereotype-a-thon continues. This time: women, who are either maiden martyrs or self-righteous sewing circle hens. I wouldn't say that Lillian Gish's performance makes the film worth watching, but it's the only thing in the picture that's watchable.
Rated 17 Mar 2013
oskarhuoskarhu
Rated 28 Jan 2013
82
83rd
There's something wonderful in Griffith's storytelling and how Gish fits in it. Don't know what's the idea with the frivolous characters and the clumsy attempts at humour.
Rated 28 Jan 2013
kadrianKadrian
Rated 26 Dec 2011
50
34th
Very dated and very stuffy, even for its time. The chase scene in the storm is too long, and if the thing had been cut by about an hour it would have been much better overall. Still, not a bad movie.
Rated 26 Dec 2011
theyshoot11theyshoot11
Rated 02 Dec 2011
52
4th
#955
Rated 02 Dec 2011
jeffvjeff_v
Rated 03 Mar 2010
72
74th
Griffith's use of the close-up, described by Andrew Sarris as "shifting characters from the republic of prose to the kingdom of poetry," and his eye for enhancing our emotional connection to the characters through their environment (the virginal Gish literally emerges from the pure driven snow), give the film a timelessness that mitigates the stuffy moralizing.
Rated 03 Mar 2010
theyshoot10theyshoot10
Rated 15 Jan 2010
54
8th
924
Rated 15 Jan 2010
mechatiggerMechatigger
Rated 11 Dec 2009
100
91st
A masterpiece; an outrageously hoary melodrama is transformed by screen artists Gish and Griffith.
Rated 11 Dec 2009
theyshoot08theyshoot08
Rated 19 Dec 2008
55
10th
904
Rated 19 Dec 2008
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 25 Apr 2008
75
44th
As a romance/social commentary it's pretty good, if a little odd and dated. The performances are strong and the story is pretty captivating. My main problem with the film is that it tries to do too much and hurts itself in the process by becoming too long. There must be 30 minutes of random, unfunny, comedy bits throughout the picture and quite a few other scenes drag, especially the ridiculously over-elaborate ending.
Rated 25 Apr 2008

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