D. W. Griffith comes out with another thought-provoking motion picture called "Broken Blossoms". It tells the story of a Chinese immigrant (Richard Barthelmess) who meets an abused child (Lillian Gish) who form a bond in a world full of hatred. There are good qualities in the film like the cinematography, the infamous closet scene, and Lillian Gish's acting that was pretty well-done. However, there are some bad qualities as well especially for the uncultured and ignorant writing by D. W. Griffith. While Broken Blossoms is an okay film, it's still tolerable as it teaches us that hate will forever be in inevitable battle.

Quite an impressive and intriguing story for the this movie was made. Some of the beautiful imagery still holds up well.

Slightly racist, although that tends to be a theme with these older films. Beyond that, I was really impressed with the quality of the film. Not to mention the tinting, it really added a different feel that I found was used a lot back in the day.

While somewhat ham-fisted in its treatment of race by today's standards (particularly in the choice to cast non-Asians in explicitly Asian roles, though this was certainly not uncommon for the time), Broken Blossoms is still a remarkably nuanced, sad and watchable film.

Griffith certainly pushed boundaries in film from a technical perspective, but he gets a lot of his credit largely for doing simple things before anyone else, and Broken Blossoms is a perfect example. It's an unsurprising and conventional romantic melodrama with an unnecessarily long runtime given how little actually happens, albeit one that showcases a great deal more sensitivity to its characters and their ethnicities given the director's lasting reputation. The editing is crisp and well-executed, but the film doesn't push boundaries in terms of scale or paractical execution in the manner of Birth of a Nation's scope or Intolerance's grand setpieces, though the street scenes are pretty compelling for their time. (3/5)

First of all it's a silent and therefore dated. You have to make allowance for this. Three actors on top form, the fragile, vulnerable Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess (the only film I have seen him in I think), and an early (well-built - what a body!) the great Donald Crisp for once playing against type, and very well indeed, the villainous abusive father to the young, fragile, delicate Lillian Gish, blossom-like indeed. Barthelmess produces a subtly warm performance as the equally delicate Chinese a near missionary trying to survive while delivering his message of Love and Understanding in a dirty soulless foreign land. This is a well told, well filmed D W Griffith production. A masterpiece. A moral tale about racial tolerance and its ugly opposite leading to a truly heart-breaking finish. A brilliant story, brilliantly acted by all three principals but truly it's Gish's film perhaps her finest moment.

The best film of 1919 features great directing by D.W. Griffith and a great performance by Lillian Gish.

The best, GREATEST romance movie ever made! With 2 of the best movie characters ever portrayed: Richard Barthelmess as Cheng Huan and Donald Crisp as "Battling" Burrows!

This film was almost good.

Like the Broken Blossoms of a trampled rose, the pure affection between two unutterably lonely people is destroyed by evil and hatred. Turning his back temporarily on the silent epics of his past, the director focused the laser beam of his talent on the tragic story of three pathetic individuals living in the slums of London's Limehouse: a fragile girl, her vicious father, and the gentle Chinese shopkeeper living nearby. No huge casts rampaging through innumerable subplots, no tremendous production values spent to illustrate the sweep and flow of a historical period. Just three people living increasingly desperate lives, brought together by a tidal wave of pure emotion.

10% rating..........

One of the most controversial films of the silent film area, Broken Blossoms is a story about an unlikely friendship formed by the outcasts of London, it featured "domestic violence" which shocked many at the time. Nonetheless, it was beautifully shot with some of the most elegant set designs and editing.

I wasn't fully paying attention but this movie has nice set design. Its considered a landmark film but I didn't really get into it as it has a lot of superfluous scenes.

Beautiful, poetic and acted with great feeling. One of my favourite films.

Although it contains more of DW Griffith's questionable perspective on race, Broken Blossoms is an essential piece of his legacy. A devastating tragic romance and ultimately a powerful comment on race relations and the immigrant experience in the west, the film consists of an immigrant's attempt to win the love of an abused woman, and the psychological torture it takes on him. Broken Blossoms is also a crucial piece of Lillian Gish's legacy, and it's use of dye further demonstrates Griffith's mastery of early film techniques. Limited in its length compared to Birth of a Nation or Intolerance and therefore easier to digest for those used to modern film, Broken Blossoms is essential viewing for those interested in silent film, early Hollywood, or the development of the auteur.

Affecting and one of the best examples of dyeing in silent films, though another example of DW's highly questionable racial caricatures.

A draggy film, makes a hole circus towards a undeveloped plot. Although the cinematography is admirable, the rest of the movie shows that Griffith is far from his comfort zone which is great dramatic epics. In fact, the only thing that kept reminding me it was a Griffith movie was his characteristic pathetic take on other races.

A romantic and painful tale of interracial love that was far beyond its time and a huge deviation from the abhorently racist message found in Griffith's pioneering Birth of a Nation.

If I can sit through a silent movie after midnight it deserves some kind of commendation. One of the first good movies ever, I read.

Despite D. W. Griffith's obvious technical improvement compared to the Birth of a Nation from 4 years earlier, his storytelling looks incomplete in this one. It still amazes you with its 95 year old magic.