May 04, 2017

The Avenging Conscience is such a unique and entertaining film which I loved from beginning to end. Its twist ending may seem like a cop-out, but it was unexpected and interesting. The entire storyline is so authentic and the film's technical aspects are amazing with Griffith's direction being superb and the cinematography being unique and filled with weird imagery and superb special effects. It is in the end one of the most cinematic and sadly underappreciated silent films.

The Avenging Conscience is such a unique and entertaining film which I loved from beginning to end. Its twist ending may seem like a cop-out, but it was unexpected and interesting. The entire storyline is so authentic and the film's technical aspects are amazing with Griffith's direction being superb and the cinematography being unique and filled with weird imagery and superb special effects. It is in the end one of the most cinematic and sadly underappreciated silent films.

Feb 07, 2015

Arguably one of the first conceptual horrors made by Hollywood that takes a little to warm up but after Reel 2 it's happening. The story of a young man forced to marry a girl he doesn't love by his uncle & decides in a moment of weakness murders him & hides him in the brick of the fireplace. Then his conscience kicks in & so does the visual edge that for 1914 is quite impressive & innovative. It's technically ahead for 1914 but in many performance wise not overly convincing.

Arguably one of the first conceptual horrors made by Hollywood that takes a little to warm up but after Reel 2 it's happening. The story of a young man forced to marry a girl he doesn't love by his uncle & decides in a moment of weakness murders him & hides him in the brick of the fireplace. Then his conscience kicks in & so does the visual edge that for 1914 is quite impressive & innovative. It's technically ahead for 1914 but in many performance wise not overly convincing.

Dec 14, 2010

Amusing morality tale of a young man who is enslaved by his employer! But the young man is in love! The employer doesn't care! So the young man, yes, kills him, and then it turns into a somewhat interesting ghost story, then religious salvation movie, THEN a shootout, and finally, IT WAS ALL A DREAM!! The movie goes trippy at the very end, I don't know what that was about. Just a tad bit weird for DW Griffith movies.

Amusing morality tale of a young man who is enslaved by his employer! But the young man is in love! The employer doesn't care! So the young man, yes, kills him, and then it turns into a somewhat interesting ghost story, then religious salvation movie, THEN a shootout, and finally, IT WAS ALL A DREAM!! The movie goes trippy at the very end, I don't know what that was about. Just a tad bit weird for DW Griffith movies.

Feb 16, 2009

This was a huge disappointment for me. When I discovered it was a Griffith film based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe I was expecting to be thoroughly impressed. However, it is simply a trumped up version of the Telltale Heart that fails to capture any of the essence of Poe's work. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the fact that Griffith gives the story a Hollywood happy ending. Turning it into a dream in which no crime has actually been committed is criminal, especially for a professed fan of Poe. Lackluster effort from Griffith even if it was vibrant and new for audiences of the day.

This was a huge disappointment for me. When I discovered it was a Griffith film based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe I was expecting to be thoroughly impressed. However, it is simply a trumped up version of the Telltale Heart that fails to capture any of the essence of Poe's work. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the fact that Griffith gives the story a Hollywood happy ending. Turning it into a dream in which no crime has actually been committed is criminal, especially for a professed fan of Poe. Lackluster effort from Griffith even if it was vibrant and new for audiences of the day.