Orphans of the Storm (Silent) (DVD)

Lillian and Dorothy Gish star in D.W. Griffith's epic tale of two sisters caught in the turmoil of the French Revolution. Henriette brings her blind sister, Louise, to Paris in hopes of a cure. When Henriette is kidnapped by a lustful nobleman, her helpless sister is left to wander the streets. Rescued by the aristocrat Chevalier (Joseph Schildkraut), Henreitte desperately attempts to locate her lost sibling. During the Reign Of Terror, she is accused of consorting with the aristocracy, and condemned to the guillotine.

In this 1921 masterpiece, D.W. Griffith displays the flair for epic storytelling first seen in his classic Birth Of A Nation. Adeptly referencing the recent Bolshevik rebellion in Russia, he makes a grand statement about excess and tyranny. Lavish sets, magnificent costumes, vast mob scenes, and Griffith's signature cinematic vision punctuate this heroic melodrama. The ethereal beauty of the Gish sisters creates haunting, indelible images. Filmed at Griffith's Mamaroneck, NY studio, Orphans Of The Storm dramatically confirms Griffith's title of "Father of the Cinema."

• silent