Ian (Flash Review)This started off slow but ended better than expected as it was more emotionally deep or heavy for the era than was it visually impressive. The film opens with a scene in China with a Chinese man with honorable values who immigrates to London. Here we contrast the Chinese man with that of a brutal British boxer who not only uses his fists in the ring but also on his daughter Lucy!! He basically treats her as a slave. I imagine a touchy subject to portray in the 19-teens. While Lucy buys frequent groceries, the Chinese man has the eyes for her even though she has a disheveled appearance. He makes her acquaintance and tries to show her how humane people can act. Once Lucy's father finds out she has been spending time with an immigrant, there'll be hell to pay. What will the boxing father do? Will Lucy ever get happiness in her life? While not the most visually intriguing film, it hit hard emotionally on tough subjects for the time.

CJBx7 Directed by DW Griffith. BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919) tells the story of Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess), a young Chinese man who journeys from his homeland to spread the peaceful message of Buddha to the English. After years in England he finds that no one is receptive to his teachings, and he winds up in a small store in London's poor Limehouse district, disillusioned and wasting his life away in an opium den. At the same time we meet Lucy (Lillian Gish), a poor teenage girl who has to contend with an abusive father, prizefighter Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp). A brutal beating sends Lucy fleeing to Cheng Huan's shop, where the two meet and an unexpected love develops, with overwhelming consequences for all three… SCRIPT: The story is basically allegorical and painted in broad strokes. Lucy is a victim, Cheng Huan is a peaceful and sensitive man, and Burrows is a brute with no redeeming qualities. Griffith intended this story to mark a contrast between the pacifistic nature of Chinese Cheng Huan and the violent ways of the supposedly more civilized Anglo-Saxons (specifically Burrows, as well as sailors featured early in the movie). He also shows this contrast when seemingly friendly street preachers in London give Cheng Huan a tract with the stark title "Hell", intended to incite fear of eternal torment.Additionally, BROKEN BLOSSOMS was one of the first positive portrayals of interracial romance. The love that develops between Lucy and Cheng Huan is portrayed as pure and beautiful. This is contrasted with the prejudice and hatred displayed by Battling Burrows. Griffith does deserve credit for portraying Asians in a positive light during the time of anti-Asian Yellow Peril paranoia. One can see that he treats Cheng Huan with genuine respect and admiration. He sketches out the deflation of his idealism with poignancy and compassion.There are, nevertheless, some overly florid and preachy titles (a common fault of Griffith's films) which don't allow the audience to experience the story as completely as we may like, telling us what we should feel instead of allowing our sympathies for the characters to develop naturally. Also, there are some things that come across as offensive now, such as Lucy's question "What makes you so good to me, Chinky?" There really isn't any comic relief or humor to speak of, but the story is quite engrossing despite its flaws. SCORE: 8.5/10 ACTING: The central performances vary in quality. Richard Barthelmess, as Cheng Huan, strives to convey the character's gentle and tolerant nature, as well as his love for Lucy. Unfortunately, the makeup that he has to wear limits his facial expressiveness, somewhat reducing the impact of his performance (well, for me anyway). Undoubtedly, a real Asian actor would have been better for the part, but social conventions of the time made that idea unworkable. However, Barthelmess conveys his character's nature quite effectively despite the disadvantage of his makeup. He carries the lead with grace and sensitivity, ably conveying Cheng Huan's emotions. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Donald Crisp's turn as the sadistic Battling Burrows. I felt that his portrayal was lacking in subtlety, very over-the-top – many of his facial contortions looked like he was practicing for a gurning contest – and even unintentionally funny at times. His character comes off as rather one-note. In the middle, we have Lillian Gish, who comes off the best. Her portrayal of Lucy, the suffering victim, is quite subdued and effective, and she does evoke Lucy's terror during the pivotal closet scene very well. Gish brings a fragility and desperation to the role that makes up for her being a bit old for the part (Lucy was 15 and Gish was 26 at the time of filming). She also beautifully portrays Lucy's reactions at her first glimpse of happiness because of her love for Cheng Huan. The supporting players are adequate for their parts. SCORE: 8/10 CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: To this reviewer, the most outstanding aspect of the film is the cinematography and production. Through well-framed shots, Griffith and celebrated cinematographer Billy Bitzer vividly evoke the story's atmosphere of desperation mingled with fragile bliss. The location settings are quite realistic and detailed. Tinting is used to display the time of day, and it adds to the emotional resonance in some scenes as well. The editing is also pretty smooth. Although not as extraordinary as INTOLERANCE, BROKEN BLOSSOMS shows considerable command of the cinematic medium. Overall, this movie is quite well produced and a truly haunting visual experience. SCORE: 9/10 SUMMARY: BROKEN BLOSSOMS is a notable film in Griffith's body of work for its daring (for the time) subject matter. The story is intriguing and moving in parts, although at times a bit simplistic in others. Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess contribute very moving portrayals. Visually, BROKEN BLOSSOMS is striking, richly detailed and hauntingly evocative. BROKEN BLOSSOMS is a definite classic. MOVIE SCORE: 9/10

Jackson Booth-Millard In the first few pages of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die there was this silent film, from director D.W. Griffith (The Birth of a Nation, Orphans of the Storm), I was certainly looking forward to seeing what I would think. Basically Cheng Huan, The Yellow Man (Richard Barthelmess) wants to spread the message of Buddha to the Anglo-Saxon lands, so he leaves his native China and travels to the gritty inner city areas of London. His mission is made much more significant when he meets and becomes devoted towards Lucy (Lillian Gish), the beautiful fifteen year old unwanted and abused daughter of boxer Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp), she finds sanctuary one evening in his home above his shop. Cheng nurses her back to health, and as they are both ignored and unwanted members of society this makes them form a close bond, but she cannot her escape her drunken and raging father who finds where they are and forces away and back home to punish her. Lucy locks herself in the closet to escape the abuse of her father, but is brought out again and beaten savagely, and when Cheng comes to help her as he cares for her so much, but it is too late, she is lying near death while Battling Burrows is drinking in the other room. In her last moments she tried to make herself smile, like she had been doing a few times previously, and then her father enters the room to face her companion, and after some staring the father lunges at him with a hatchet, but he is killed being shot various times. The end sees Cheng bringing the dead body of Lucy to his home, where he builds a shrine for Buddha and for her, and he sees nothing more to do than to take his own life by stabbing himself in the chest. Also starring Arthur Howard as Burrow's Manager, Edward Peil Sr. as Evil Eye, Norman Selby as A Prizefighter and George Beranger as The Spying One. I will confess that I did not understand everything that was going on, having no dialogue may have been the problem, LOL, but anyway, Gish gives a good performance as the tortured soul who has to force herself into any smile, the story from what I did follow was moving, and there were some interesting things to see along the way, especially the realistic and odd for its time domestic violence, I think it is certainly a worth seeing silent drama. Good!

b-gallagher2 D.W. Griffith is a genius. A clear innovator to the art of motion photography. D.W. Griffith is probably one of the most important filmmakers in the history of film and this astonishing silent, Broken Blossoms is a clear indication of why. The style of acting portrays the young stages of conveying emotion and mood through a camera narrator. This film is by far one of Griffith's finest. The decor looks incredible, the costumes are superb and the mise-en-scene is very sophisticated, especially for it's time. This film really demonstrates the beginning of cinematography as well. Every shot from this wonderful picture if paused would look like a conventional photograph from that time period. But being played out as a film makes it that much more intriguing. This silent masterpiece was incredible to watch.