D.W. Griffith’s WWI Propaganda Film Perfectly Encapsulates His Talents
Note: This is the hundredth in a series of historical/critical essays examining the best in film from each year. Essentially, I am watching films from the beginning of cinematic history that interest me and/or hold some critical or cultural impact. My personal, living list of favorites is being created at Mubi, showcasing five films per year. All this being explained, what follows is an examination of my fifth favorite 1918 film, HEARTS OF THE WORLD, directed by D.W. Griffith.
D.W. Griffith’s monstrous legacy is his almost unerring ability to manipulate his audience with cinematic techniques now embedded into the film medium. We (well, some people) understand the effect media can have on our preconceptions and world view. That was not always so, and probably still isn’t for many people. In any event, Griffith was the perfect choice for a British propaganda campaign to get America into World War I. The result of this engagement, HEARTS OF THE WORLD, is often compared to THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), and for good reason. But its ultimate message is much more kind, or at least ethically ambiguous, although the journey there is through wholesale disparagement of the German people.
HEARTS OF THE WORLD is also famous for Griffith and crew’s trip to the frontlines for footage. In spite of braving some real danger with his cast and crew, Griffith didn’t end up using much of the material he and cinematographer Alfred Machin captured in France. When he does, though, it very clearly stands out. The rest of the film was shot in Hollywood by Griffith’s reliable cinematographer Billy Bitzer, and apparently within much of the INTOLERANCE (1916) Babylon set. Regardless, the art design of the Hollywood scenes is actually pretty impressive, foretelling the dream-making architecture of the full-steam-ahead studio system of the mid to late 1920s; fittingly, much like INTOLERANCE did.
HEARTS OF THE WORLD stars Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, and in a significant supporting comic role, Dorothy Gish. Gish and Harron play members of American families in France, and when war breaks out, Harron takes up arms for the French. He plays a perfectly dashing hero, and Lillian plays a perfectly traumatized damsel in distress. Erich von Stroheim chews some scenery in an uncredited role, and the deterioration and desperation of the main characters as the film progresses has the effect of a hypnotic train wreck. Things just get more and more dramatic, as Lillian’s character is nearly raped and Harron’s infiltrates a German-occupied village to save her, leading to an over-the-top siege climax.
Everything is presented in such strong archetypes that it swings all the way back around to not really feeling cliche; I mean, it certainly is full of cinematic tropes, but then, those tropes were being built at this time. What effect it actually has is to create a sort of “legend” or fable, which is strengthened by Griffith’s tendency to credit the characters things like “The Girl” (Lillian) and “The Boy” (Harron). HEARTS OF THE WORLD takes on a swelling, and yes, patriotic influence with its clear demarcation of right and wrong.
But of course, that is an oversimplification of matters. Griffith reportedly regretted his portrayal of the Germans in HEARTS OF THE WORLD (although I’m not really aware of any such regret for the way he presented black people in THE BIRTH OF A NATION), and he saw war as the enemy of humanity. I agree, and HEARTS OF THE WORLD’s relatively somber ending conflicts with its existence as a propaganda film. It certainly reflects on the events of the film with a bit more thoughtfulness than you would expect from a more straight forward, or less effective, propaganda film.
HEARTS OF THE WORLD is worth watching so that you can see Griffith’s cinematic manipulation applied to a topic many more people can get behind; that is, the fight against the Germans in World War I. His portrayal of the German people is silly and harmful, but certainly, HEARTS OF THE WORLD does not have the reputation of THE BIRTH OF A NATION. In this way, HEARTS OF THE WORLD can actually provide more insight into THE BIRTH OF A NATION. They have similar themes and initial premises, and the less despicable HEARTS OF THE WORLD makes clear that Griffith is employing the same tactics he used for THE BIRTH OF A NATION…you just don’t feel as bad watching HEARTS OF THE WORLD. It’s a tremendous lesson on the impact of the cinematic medium.
