Hearts of the World (1918) - D. W. Griffith 

Sorry this thread has been so dormant for such a long time, and it's not necessarily because I haven't seen any silent films. After essentially wrapping up TSPDT's top 1000 list, or rather what I can get, I retreated to a very old list of films to look for. Near the top of the list were a few Griffith features I had floating around. Hearts of the World was right up there and I had recorded it years ago on TCM but never watched it (a very familiar fate). I decided it'd be easier to rent it rather than dig in my attic for the film and well I wish I would have done the extra work. The VHS which came from a no-name distributor was among the worst quality films I'd ever seen. The soundtrack was comprised of a loud humming buzz throughout and not a note of musical accompaniment could be heard. The version is also apparently shortened from the original 152 minute run time, but I'm unaware if the original version still exists uncut. That said Griffith's film is quite spectacular. One of a series of timely WWI films made while the action was still going on, Shoulder Arms, The Little American, and The Unbeliever are the other's off the top of my head. In fact Griffith originally came up with the film after visiting the UK to promote Intolerance. Some officials convinced Griffith to make a film that would help draw America into the war in their support. Some prints of the film (this one included) have a prologue featuring some documentary footage of the war and Griffith making the rounds with a few British officials as he sets out to make his movie. 

Like many films of the kind the Germans are typically horrible monsters that rape and pillage at will, but at the insistence reportedly of the first lady, Griffith trimmed much of this footage for the film's eventual release. War as an atrocious and senseless act was on display here and avoids a great deal of the flag waiving patriotism (not to say there isn't a little thrown in). It breaks up families, kills innocent people, etc. Remarkable on scale and the film apparently was so accurate in its battlefield depictions that much of the footage has been substituted for actual WWI films in future docs. Both Gish sisters deliver good performances, Dorothy making the most of her street singer and with a little more charm and resilience than perpetual damsel in distress Lillian. Taken after Birth of a Nation and Intolerance this might seem a step down, but to me it is very much in the same vein and is far from a significant drop in quality. Arguably the best silent film made about the great war.