IMDb RATING
7.2/10
11K
YOUR RATING
A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
- Awards
- 1 win
Lillian Gish
- Lucy - The Girl
- (as Miss Lillian Gish)
Richard Barthelmess
- Cheng Huan - The Yellow Man
- (as Mr. Richard Barthelmess)
Edward Peil Sr.
- Evil Eye
- (as Edward Peil)
Ernest Butterworth
- Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Fred Hamer
- Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Wilbur Higby
- London Policeman
- (uncredited)
Man-Ching Kwan
- Buddhist Monk
- (uncredited)
Bobbie Mack
- Ringside Employee
- (uncredited)
Moy Ming
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Steve Murphy
- Fight Spectator
- (uncredited)
George Nichols
- Police Constable
- (uncredited)
Karla Schramm
- Burrows' Girlfriend
- (uncredited)
Bessie Wong
- Girl in China
- (uncredited)
- Director
- D.W. Griffith(under the personal direction of)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile filming the closet scene, Lillian Gish's performance of pure terror was so realistic that D.W. Griffith was compelled to shout back at her and urge her further. A passerby heard this going on and, convinced that something terrible was going on, had to be restrained from entering the studio.
- GoofsThe intertitles state, "The Buddha says, 'What thou dost not want others to do thee, do thou not to others.'" It was actually not the Buddha but Confucius' teaching.
- Quotes
Lucy Burrows: Don't do it, Daddy! You'll hit me once too often - and then they'll - they'll hang yer!
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Philco Television Playhouse: The Birth of the Movies (1951)
Featured review
Personally the best ever silent movie, completed in 1983
This has been one of my all-time favourite films since I taped it off UK Channel 4 1st October 1988 on its second showing, one to savour and revel in every few years. There really is no choice: the only version worth seeing is this one, the Brownlow & Gill UK remaster with Louis F. Gottchalk's themes lushly orchestrated by David Cullen and Carl Davis and the Thames Silents Orchestra. From a good silent film Broken Blossoms is beautifully transformed into a work of Art, the merger of the music and Billy Bitzer's visuals can be so striking. And the intelligent tinting was gorgeous too. Over the years I've even played it just for the music sometimes!
The story? Depressed Chinese ex-missionary in London falls under the spell of listless poverty-stricken beautiful white 15 yo daughter of violent boxer. The crafty and base whites think the worst, but we know that the yellow man's love remained pure - even his worst foe says this ... I know that most people today would hoot at the acting abilities displayed: Lillian Gish's pathetic submissiveness, Donald Crisp's over the top savage expressions and Richard Barthelmess's determinedly serious inscrutability, but appreciation of silent melodramas as a genre is really required rather than simply selecting just one film to watch, such as this. And then again some people have to get over a white man playing a Chinese man whilst simultaneously approving of miscegenation in these much more enlightened times! Would these same people be bothered if a Chinese played a white man? Along with Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, this was Griffiths' best work, pinnacles of the cinema.
Utterly spellbinding poetic stuff for the enlightened, dreadful if your favourites are cgi-riddled and no older than 6 months. And don't expect a remotely happy ending! The beauty that all the world missed smote him to the heart (paraphrase).
The story? Depressed Chinese ex-missionary in London falls under the spell of listless poverty-stricken beautiful white 15 yo daughter of violent boxer. The crafty and base whites think the worst, but we know that the yellow man's love remained pure - even his worst foe says this ... I know that most people today would hoot at the acting abilities displayed: Lillian Gish's pathetic submissiveness, Donald Crisp's over the top savage expressions and Richard Barthelmess's determinedly serious inscrutability, but appreciation of silent melodramas as a genre is really required rather than simply selecting just one film to watch, such as this. And then again some people have to get over a white man playing a Chinese man whilst simultaneously approving of miscegenation in these much more enlightened times! Would these same people be bothered if a Chinese played a white man? Along with Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, this was Griffiths' best work, pinnacles of the cinema.
Utterly spellbinding poetic stuff for the enlightened, dreadful if your favourites are cgi-riddled and no older than 6 months. And don't expect a remotely happy ending! The beauty that all the world missed smote him to the heart (paraphrase).
helpful•4413
- Spondonman
- Mar 26, 2006
- How long is Broken Blossoms?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $88,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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