Product: Civilization
Rating: 4.0
More Than An Interesting Curio.
Released several months before D.W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE, Thomas H. Ince's large scale production CIVILIZATION was the cry for peace that worked (at least temporarily). It is credited with helping Woodrow Wilson win reelection in 1916 for keeping America out of World War I. This rather heavy handed allegory of a kingdom brought to ruin as a result of war did turn out to be remarkably prophetic.What makes the film so fascinating today are its Dante like depictions of Heaven and Hell with Jesus himself acting as the guide. Producer Ince and directors Raymond B. West and Reginald Barker spared no expense in depicting the horrors of war. The battle scenes are large scale and the brutality is shocking. If the acting is sometimes over the top remember this was meant to be a "message" picture. Subtle it isn't. CIVILIZATION is much more than an interesting curio and is definitely worth seeing.My biggest complaint is with the original 1916 piano score by Victor Schertzinger which is reproduced on this video. It seems trite and surprisingly inappropriate for the intensity of the film's story although the orchestral score may have worked better. Schertzinger, a capable musician and director, is best remembered today for making the early ROAD pictures with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. However a newer, darker score like Ennio Morricone's for RICHARD III would have made this film much more effective. It just goes to show how important a musical score can be especially for a silent film. It is interesting to note that CIVILIZATION was a box office success while INTOLERANCE a better film on a similar theme would fail at the box office after the U.S. entered the war. This video is one of five from Kino International's FIRST AMERICAN FEATURES:1912-1918 series.