DW Griffith did a fair share of fine work, feature and short films. Has everything that he has done been great? No, his Abraham Lincoln biopic which saw a rare foray into sound for him was a near-disaster and 'The Birth of a Nation' is controversial for good reason. When he was on form, his films were brilliant which is evident in 'Intolerance', 'Orphans of the Storm' and 'Way Down East' for example. While he is not one of my favourite directors, he was very influential in his day and a pioneer of silent film.
1913's 'The Battle of Elderbush Gulch' really isn't one of his best efforts sadly. It is worth a look for curiosity mainly, especially if one is trying to see as much of Griffith's work as possible and as many silent films as possible too. It is not terrible by any stretch, at least to me but it may be different for others, and there are plenty of Griffith's distinctive touches and what made him so revolutionary. 'The Battle of Elderbush Gulch' just struck me as wildly odd.
There is a lot that is good. It looks great, not just for back then but also now. It is amazing at how ambitiously elaborate the settings are. Griffith's technical skill was beginning to advance by quite some bit by this point, and it shows in some truly beautiful framing and use of camera. That never looks static while not being overblown.
Also thought that the battle action beautifully shot, ambitiously and thrillingly choreographed with a tense climax and exciting. Griffith's direction is very skilled and often exemplary, especially in his direction of the action. While not being crazy about the acting (surprisingly, usually the acting is very good and more in a Griffith work), Lillian Gish is very affecting in her role. Mae Marsh is a very strong presence as well.
Everybody else in my view overplays to exaggerated effect, have for example seen Robert Harron much better than this. It's a bit wordy at times.
Will agree with those that say that the story is all over the place, it is non-stop weirdness and very contrived. Especially towards the climax and the very distasteful and downright strange reason for it happening. Even when taking and judging it for the time, when stereotyping was not new and less than subtle, the portrayal of the Native Americans leaves a bad, extemely bitter taste in the mouth, goes too far on the silliness and does not hold up well at all.
In conclusion, odd but interesting. 6/10.
1913's 'The Battle of Elderbush Gulch' really isn't one of his best efforts sadly. It is worth a look for curiosity mainly, especially if one is trying to see as much of Griffith's work as possible and as many silent films as possible too. It is not terrible by any stretch, at least to me but it may be different for others, and there are plenty of Griffith's distinctive touches and what made him so revolutionary. 'The Battle of Elderbush Gulch' just struck me as wildly odd.
There is a lot that is good. It looks great, not just for back then but also now. It is amazing at how ambitiously elaborate the settings are. Griffith's technical skill was beginning to advance by quite some bit by this point, and it shows in some truly beautiful framing and use of camera. That never looks static while not being overblown.
Also thought that the battle action beautifully shot, ambitiously and thrillingly choreographed with a tense climax and exciting. Griffith's direction is very skilled and often exemplary, especially in his direction of the action. While not being crazy about the acting (surprisingly, usually the acting is very good and more in a Griffith work), Lillian Gish is very affecting in her role. Mae Marsh is a very strong presence as well.
Everybody else in my view overplays to exaggerated effect, have for example seen Robert Harron much better than this. It's a bit wordy at times.
Will agree with those that say that the story is all over the place, it is non-stop weirdness and very contrived. Especially towards the climax and the very distasteful and downright strange reason for it happening. Even when taking and judging it for the time, when stereotyping was not new and less than subtle, the portrayal of the Native Americans leaves a bad, extemely bitter taste in the mouth, goes too far on the silliness and does not hold up well at all.
In conclusion, odd but interesting. 6/10.