Product Details

• Actors: Vallerie Germonprez, Reni Viviani, Sir Edward Grey
• Directors: D. W. Griffith
• Format: Black & White, Color, Full Screen, Silent, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Terra
• VHS Release Date: June 17, 2003
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000A381V
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,011 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Gripping Griffith Masterwork!, August 22, 2004

By 

Barbara (Burkowsky) Underwood (Tumut, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hearts of the World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film really should be on DVD because it has all the traditional Griffith hallmarks of drama, suspense and hard-hitting messages as many of his other popular films already on DVD. Not only that, but Griffith also wrote "Hearts of the World", went to the British front to film parts of this war saga and received personal good wishes from the British Prime Minister regarding this film. All this is shown briefly in a prologue, and then we are introduced to a peaceful French village and its inhabitants, in particular two American families and a young couple. Then we see how cruelly lives and families are torn apart when German troops conquer the village while its men are fighting in the trenches. Griffith's message is, of course, to show the brutality and utter uselessness of war and its effects on the innocent citizen who becomes the victim. In other words, it's not a light, happy film for mere entertainment, but still very rewarding in other aspects.

In the cast are some of Griffith's regular actors such as Robert Harron, Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish, whose performances in "Hearts of the World" are among the best I've seen of these stars, especially Dorothy Gish playing "the Little Intruder" in the village: an unusual, boisterous and mischievous young woman to add colour to the cast of characters. There are also a few very brief glimpses of Erich von Stroheim - as a German hun, of course! The acting is excellent overall; the drama grabs and sucks you in, and the suspense nearing the end is as good as other famous Griffith films. Many scenes might also be valuable for those interested in history and World War I, as there are details about some actual events, and scenes which surprised me (being not so knowledgeable about World War I) such as funny-looking zeppelins, odd tanks and the use of poison gas among the battle scenes.

The picture quality is very good overall, though it probably could be just a bit clearer if it were on DVD. And a dramatic war-saga as this could also do better with an appropriate orchestral score instead of the traditional piano accompaniment, but it's still not bad at all and extremely gripping viewing all the way through.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Forgettable Griffith photoplay, November 11, 2009

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hearts of the World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The weakest element of this presentation of HEARTS OF THE WORLD (1918) is the piano accompaniment which repeats a short phrase until the scene shifts, then a new little passage is beat to exhaustion. The best thing here is Dorothy Gish as an ebullient and perky street singer. Her sister Lillian has a more subdued role but still finds ways to clumsily overemote at times.

At one point, Lillian wanders a battlefield after the fighting stops. She finds her beaux (Robert Harron) lying near a trench, concludes he's been killed then lies down next to him, presumably for the night. The next day, stretcher bearers also encounter the prone Harron but realize that he's alive! Does this all strike you as incredibly unbelieveable? Yah, me too.

Let's reconsider that "weakest element" label, which simply must go to a very lame romantic plot. First that Bob would favor bland Lil to colorful Dot (who clearly has eyes for him), second that love conquers all (even mustard gas and shell fragments), and third that bland Lil would be the least interested in Bob, who's as vibrant here as cold dishwater.

So, to take up any slack caused by this misshapen triangle, we 'ooh' and 'ahh' over a few glimpses of Erich von Stroheim and the sight of Noel Coward pushing a wheelbarrow! And when you consider that D.W. Griffith made this flick to try to convince Americans to enter the Great War but it didn't hit theaters until well after our boys were "Over There," then the botch (Bosch?) is complete.

This one's only for Griffith completists, Gishophiles and perhaps WWI buffs.
(2.5 stars out of 5)