IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Young lovers in a French village are torn apart with the coming of the Great War.Young lovers in a French village are torn apart with the coming of the Great War.Young lovers in a French village are torn apart with the coming of the Great War.
Marion Emmons
- The Boy's Other Brother
- (as M. Emmons)
Francis Marion
- The Boy's Other Brother
- (as F. Marion)
Yvette Duvoisin
- A Refugee
- (as Yvette Duvoison of the Comédie Française)
- Director
- D.W. Griffith(under the personal direction of)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaD.W. Griffith filmed some battle scenes during actual battles at the front in France. While he was out near the front trenches scouting locations, his party came under a surprise German artillery barrage. Griffith and his assistant jumped in a nearby ditch, and when the barrage was over they emerged from the ditch to discover that although they were uninjured, a shell had exploded near the ditch, killing the two soldiers acting as their escorts, along with a dozen other soldiers standing nearby.
- GoofsA letter sent to The Boy from the Academie des Concourts is dated "7-30-1914." Europeans write dates with the day first and the month secondly. The letter from Paris should be dated "30-7-1914."
- Alternate versionsAn expanded version, "Peace Edition", was released after the end of World War I.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Great Love (1918)
Featured review
Romance in war
'Hearts of the World' was another "wanted to like a lot more" sort of film. Do really like to love a vast majority of the films directed by DW Griffith (one of the most important directors in silent film, if not quite one of my favourites). Have liked Robert Harron in other things and the subject matter sounded great, but one of my biggest main reasons was the chance of seeing the immensely gifted Gish sisters Dorothy and especially Lillian in the same film.
While it is definitely worth seeing, 'Hearts of the World' is not a Griffith essential and other films of his represent him a good deal better. Harron has also been better in other roles. The film is well intentioned, well made and has emotional impact and the Gish sisters while not at their very peak both fare very well. 'Hearts of the World' falls well short of being a masterpiece and fares a lot better in the war scenes than the love story, but there are also a lot of things that work very well in its favour.
Beginning with the good things, 'Hearts of the World' looks wonderful. It is a beautifully shot film with the documentary-like war scenes footage fitted seamlessly and remarkably evocatively. The rural scenery is lovingly idyllic and juxtaposes very well with the brutality of the war scenes. Griffith's direction does have glimpses of creative brilliance (if not as much as in a number of his other films), especially in the scenes centering around the war. Which is where 'Hearts of the World' is at its strongest.
The war scenes are far from small in scale and are immensely harrowing, one really does see and feel what the war was really like without being beaten around the head with that fact, staged with searing intensity and still has the ability to shock and bring a lump to the throat. Most of the acting is fine, both Gish sisters coming off brilliantly. Lillian, who excelled more in drama and was better known and more versatile in my view, is deeply moving, her trench scene wrenches the gut. Dorothy, who fared stronger in comedy, is appealingly free spirited. Erich Von Stroheim is interesting in his role.
On the other hand, Harron has given far better performances elsewhere. This is actually the kind of role he did well, but here somehow he came over as rather bland and stiff in a particularly one-dimensionally written role. In a film where all the characters lack depth and are little more than surface cliches. The pace doesn't fully ignite, there is momentum in the war scenes but the love story is dull.
And it is with the romance where 'Hearts of the World' most fails. It is excessively melodramatic and is riddled with contrivances. There is nothing surprising about it either, with so much of it having a lifted out of another film vibe.
In conclusion, watchable for fans of Griffith and the Gish sisters but all did better before and since. 6/10
While it is definitely worth seeing, 'Hearts of the World' is not a Griffith essential and other films of his represent him a good deal better. Harron has also been better in other roles. The film is well intentioned, well made and has emotional impact and the Gish sisters while not at their very peak both fare very well. 'Hearts of the World' falls well short of being a masterpiece and fares a lot better in the war scenes than the love story, but there are also a lot of things that work very well in its favour.
Beginning with the good things, 'Hearts of the World' looks wonderful. It is a beautifully shot film with the documentary-like war scenes footage fitted seamlessly and remarkably evocatively. The rural scenery is lovingly idyllic and juxtaposes very well with the brutality of the war scenes. Griffith's direction does have glimpses of creative brilliance (if not as much as in a number of his other films), especially in the scenes centering around the war. Which is where 'Hearts of the World' is at its strongest.
The war scenes are far from small in scale and are immensely harrowing, one really does see and feel what the war was really like without being beaten around the head with that fact, staged with searing intensity and still has the ability to shock and bring a lump to the throat. Most of the acting is fine, both Gish sisters coming off brilliantly. Lillian, who excelled more in drama and was better known and more versatile in my view, is deeply moving, her trench scene wrenches the gut. Dorothy, who fared stronger in comedy, is appealingly free spirited. Erich Von Stroheim is interesting in his role.
On the other hand, Harron has given far better performances elsewhere. This is actually the kind of role he did well, but here somehow he came over as rather bland and stiff in a particularly one-dimensionally written role. In a film where all the characters lack depth and are little more than surface cliches. The pace doesn't fully ignite, there is momentum in the war scenes but the love story is dull.
And it is with the romance where 'Hearts of the World' most fails. It is excessively melodramatic and is riddled with contrivances. There is nothing surprising about it either, with so much of it having a lifted out of another film vibe.
In conclusion, watchable for fans of Griffith and the Gish sisters but all did better before and since. 6/10
helpful•90
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 7, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Love's Struggle
- Filming locations
- Surrey, England, UK(French battle scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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