"Judith of Bethulia" was one of the first great full-length epics. While the Italian film, "Cabiria", came out later in 1914 and was much longer and much better, "Judith" did debut first--and no doubt its success led to director D.W. Griffith making his next great epic "The Birth of a Nation".
The story is from the Apocrypha and apparently there was also a play about Judith as well--and Griffith crafted his story based on both. As far as the historical accuracy of the story goes, it's got some plot holes and inaccuracies but it makes for a nice story.
The film begins with the Assyrians under General Holofernes (Henry Walthall--though he's difficult to see under that giant beard) attack the most likely fictional town of Bethulia. The Jews' faith wavers, but the fair widow, Judith (Blanche Sweet), has faith that God will deliver the city from the Assyrian army. When God doesn't act, Judith takes matters into her own hands--and disguises herself as one of Holofernes' strumpets (he has a lot and never actually seems to do much of anything but party). Eventually, Judith finds him drunk and whacks off his head and presents it to her people. The Assyrians in turn run like babies.
So what's to like? The film looks amazing for 1914. The costumes, sets and the look of the film are a HUGE step forward for the film industry and it looks great. It also helped that the actors were quite distinguished and tended to act in a reasonable and restrained manner (for the most part). The only serious negatives are the language in the film (it's very old fashioned and occasionally silly) and that the film is occasionally heavy-handed. A very good film overall.
The story is from the Apocrypha and apparently there was also a play about Judith as well--and Griffith crafted his story based on both. As far as the historical accuracy of the story goes, it's got some plot holes and inaccuracies but it makes for a nice story.
The film begins with the Assyrians under General Holofernes (Henry Walthall--though he's difficult to see under that giant beard) attack the most likely fictional town of Bethulia. The Jews' faith wavers, but the fair widow, Judith (Blanche Sweet), has faith that God will deliver the city from the Assyrian army. When God doesn't act, Judith takes matters into her own hands--and disguises herself as one of Holofernes' strumpets (he has a lot and never actually seems to do much of anything but party). Eventually, Judith finds him drunk and whacks off his head and presents it to her people. The Assyrians in turn run like babies.
So what's to like? The film looks amazing for 1914. The costumes, sets and the look of the film are a HUGE step forward for the film industry and it looks great. It also helped that the actors were quite distinguished and tended to act in a reasonable and restrained manner (for the most part). The only serious negatives are the language in the film (it's very old fashioned and occasionally silly) and that the film is occasionally heavy-handed. A very good film overall.