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Orphans of the Storm (DVD)

Directed by : D. W. Griffith
Crew : G.W. Bitzer
Available Date : 11/30/-0001
Release Year : 1921
Running Time : 150
UPC : 738329026929
Country : U.S.
Language: English intertitles
Subject : European History, Film and Media Studies - Classic Cinema
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$17.97 (DVD)
MSRP: $29.95
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Re-creating the aristocratic splendor and devestating poverty of 18th-century France, David Wark Griffith weaves an emotionally-charged tale of two delicate souls caught in the tempest of revolution.

Lillian and Dorothy Gish star as the resourceful Henriette and the blind Louise, who leave their countryside home for Paris in the hopes of having Louise's sight restored. Spied by the lecherous Marquis de Praille (Morgan Wallace), Henriette is abducted and the women are tragically separated in a city on the brink of anarchy. With the help of a kind-hearted nobleman (Joseph Schildkraut), Henriette endeavors to find the helpless Louise, but cruel fate repeatedly thwarts her efforts. Griffith exploits their heart-wrenching dilemma with masterful skill, crowning the drama with politcal intrigue, spectacle and his usual degree of social moralizing (staunchly disclaiming any parallels between the French Revolution and recent waves of "bolshevism"), drawing the multi-layered epic to its white-knuckled climax outside the old city gates of Paris, beneath the gleam of the guillotine's scarlet blade.

Orphans of the Storm provided Lillian Gish with her final role for Griffith, bringing to a close the long and fruitful collaboration that began in 1912 with An Unseen Enemy (Lillian's and Dorothy's film debut).

With Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut

Product Extras :
  • Filmed introduction by Orson Welles

  • Footage taken at D. W. Griffith's funeral

  • Radio eulogy for Griffith by Erich von Stroheim

  • Portfolio of rare Griffith photographs

  • Rescued From the Eagle's Nest (1908), a rare film starring D. W. Griffith the actor

  • "The Story of David Wark Griffith" A lengthy biography of Griffith published in Photoplay Magazine in 1916
    • D. W. Griffith - Director
    • Lillian Gish - Actor
    • Dorothy Gish - Actor
    • Joseph Schildkraut - Actor
    • G.W. Bitzer - Cinematographer

    For press and publicity inquiries, please email [email protected]. A selection of press materials for this title may be available for download here.