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Judith of Bethulia

Play trailer Poster for Judith of Bethulia 1914 59m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In seventh century B.C., the Assyrians are storming the walls of the Jewish city of Bethulia, leaving its people frightened and ready to hand their homes over to the invaders. As the Assyrians close in, the citizens of Bethulia are cut off from the outside world, and they begin to starve. Seeing her people's desperation, Jewish widow Judith (Blanche Sweet) poses as a harem worker, which wins her entry into the Assyrian camp, where she plans to kill their general, Holofernes (Henry B. Walthall).

Critics Reviews

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Joshua Lowe Variety Fine as is the acting of the principals, the chief thing to commend is the totally wonderful handling of the mobs and the seriousness with which each super performs his individual task. Nov 19, 2008 Full Review Louis Reeves Harrison Moving Picture World A fascinating work of high artistry, Judith of Bethulia, will not only rank as an achievement in this country, but will make foreign producers sit up and take notice. Aug 17, 2020 Full Review Nathanael Hood The Retro Set Griffith bends over backwards to stretch his story to a feature-length runtime. Rated: 6/10 Dec 28, 2018 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion The cornerstone for Intolerance, which is itself the cornerstone for every other film that followed Feb 13, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Prettily shot and wonderfully costumed Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member The First Feature Length Movie of D.W. Griffith is a grandious Masterpiece great directed and artistic with grandios Battle Scenes, great Costumes, hillarious Performances of Blanche Sweet as Judith of Bethulia and Henry B. Walthall as Holofernes and a great D.W. Griffith typical Soundtrack The story is from the Bible's Book of Judith about the siege of the Jewish city Bethulia by Assyrians. A widow named Judith (Blanche Sweet), has a plan to stop the war of the city when her people suffer starvation, and are ready to surrender. The widow disguises herself as a harem-girl, and goes to the enemy where she beguiles a general of King Nebuchadnezzar, whose army is destroying the city. Judith seduces Holofernes (Henry Walthall), then while he is drunk, cuts off his head with a sabre. She returns to her city, a heroine. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Chafing under the constriants of having to make shorter films while European filmmakers were making increasingly ambitious multi-reel epics, Griffith decided to leave Biograph. His parting shot, at more than twice the length of any of his previous films, was Judith of Bethulia, which was intended to compete with the Italian "sword and sandal" spectacles that were flowing into the American market. Yet the performances of stars Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall lend a human element to his sprawling canvas. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Judith of Bethulia

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Cast & Crew

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D.W. Griffith

Director

Blanche Sweet

Judith

Henry B. Walthall

Holofernes

Robert Harrin

Nathan

Mae Marsh

Naomi

Lillian Gish

The young mother
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Judith of Bethulia

Judith of Bethulia (1914) Judith of Bethulia (1914) Judith of Bethulia (1914) Judith of Bethulia (1914) Judith of Bethulia (1914) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In seventh century B.C., the Assyrians are storming the walls of the Jewish city of Bethulia, leaving its people frightened and ready to hand their homes over to the invaders. As the Assyrians close in, the citizens of Bethulia are cut off from the outside world, and they begin to starve. Seeing her people's desperation, Jewish widow Judith (Blanche Sweet) poses as a harem worker, which wins her entry into the Assyrian camp, where she plans to kill their general, Holofernes (Henry B. Walthall).
Director
D.W. Griffith
Screenwriter
D.W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods, Grace Pierce
Production Co
Biograph Company
Genre
Drama
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 24, 2018
Runtime
59m