Hearts of the World
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Hearts of the World |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1918 |
| length | 117 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | DW Griffith |
| script | DW Griffith |
| production | DW Griffith |
| camera |
GW Bitzer Alfred Machin Hendrik Sartov |
| cut |
James Smith Rose Smith |
| occupation | |
| |
Hearts of the World (alternative title: Love's Struggle ) is an American propaganda film from 1918. Directed by the director , screenwriter , producer and actor D. W. Griffith . The main roles are played by Lillian Gish , Dorothy Gish , Ben Alexander and Robert Harron . Against the backdrop of a peaceful French village attacked by the enemy, Griffith tells the love story between a soldier and his fiancé.
action
The story begins just before the start of World War I in a small French village known for its idyllic atmosphere. A girl who lives with her grandparents falls in love with an American boy who lives there. The two get engaged. A few days before the wedding , soldiers are mobilized and the men go to war. The boy also feels obliged to fight for the country in which he lives. The second half of the film shows scenes from the battlefield , which is only a few kilometers from the village. Among other things, battle scenes in the trenches are shown , but also scenes in which the Red Cross rescues the injured. The scenes from the battlefield alternate with scenes from the already partially destroyed village. German soldiers come closer and closer to the village, some residents flee and others seek shelter in their cellars. After some fighting, the German soldiers take over the village, killing some characters. After a while, the boy comes back to the village, disguised as a German soldier, to find his lover, who fled with him from the enemy soldiers. After some fighting, the French troops recaptured the city. The end shows the actors united. While eating together, they recognize a parade of American soldiers, start cheering and join them. The villagers and soldiers wave British and American flags.
background
In the winter of 1916/1917, DW Griffith received an offer from the British War Department Committee to produce a film about the impact of war on the average citizen. The intention behind this was to win the support of the US population for the US to join the war by demonizing and condemning the enemy. At the same time, the film was also used to recruit soldiers. The clients were aware that such fictional propaganda films have a much greater impact on public awareness than official government propaganda.
When the film was released, attempts were made to present all of the footage as authentic, documentary, "evidence" recorded on the battlefield. Today we know, however, that this is not the case. DW Griffith was the only crew member allowed to be near the trenches. Even his cameraman was refused entry. Thus, recordings of actual battles can only be seen in very few sequences of the film. Parts of the film were filmed in England, including the pre-war scenes, but most of the film was shot in the Hollywood studios.
Web links
- Hearts of the World in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ IMDb Hearts of the World . Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.stummfilm.at/Hearts_of_the_world.html Silent Film Archive . Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1INgb1d0IFs . Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ↑ Arthur Lennig: Film History, Vol. 23, No. 4, Audiences and Ideology . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2011
- ↑ http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/H/HeartsOfTheWorld1918.html
- ↑ Tilman Thederan: "War & Anti-War Films - Definitions, History & Controversies", GRIN Verlag, Munich, 2003. http://www.grin.com/de/e-book/44838/kriegs-antikriegsfilme-definitions-geschichte- controversial
- ^ Stephanie Thames: Hearts of the World (1918) Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved May 11, 2019 .