America

Plot synopsis:
Three childhood friends – Surya (Ramesh Aravind), Shashank (Akshay Anand) and Bhoomi (Hema Panchamukhi) – are from the coastal region of Karnataka. After finishing their undergraduate studies, Shashank goes to the US for further studies. Surya is extremely patriotic about India and doesn't want to go anywhere and starts his business in his hometown, and Bhoomi stays at home. After three years, Shashank comes back to India. He starts going off on India on his way from the airport, saying how much greater America is. While in India, his family arranges his marriage to Bhoomi. Surya, on the other hand, is the one who truly loves Bhoomi and tries to tell her using recorded audio tape and plants it in Bhoomi's room having no idea that she is to be married to Shashank.
That evening Surya learns of the marriage plans. Confused, he rushes to Bhoomi's house to take the tape back. Before he could get there, someone who was cleaning Bhoomi's room accidentally replaces it with another cassette. Surya, thus unknowingly, grabs wrong tape and throws it into a nearby river.After the marriage ceremony, Shashank and Bhoomi leave for the US.
Everything goes well till Shashank loses his job and starts to drink. Surya, in the meantime, surprises Bhoomi and Shashank and goes to the US for business, but egotistical Shashank does not come to pick him up at the airport. Surya ends up taking a cab to Shashank's house. Bhoomi and Shashank drive Surya to a lot of places around. After a few days, Bhoomi and Shashank realize that Surya has come to the US on a business visit and has a very good business running back in India. Bhoomi feels very happy with Surya's achievement. On Bhoomi's and Shashank's anniversary, Surya throws them a surprise and gifts them a rabbit. Next day, they all go to a party hosted by Indians in the US. In the party, a man foul mouths India. Surya hits him, angering Shashank. Shashank leaves Surya behind at the party, forcing him to walk all the way back home.
On the way back, Bhoomi plays a tape in car, the same tape Surya had recorded in India, conveying his love for her. It had come with Bhoomi's bag from India. Shashank asks Soorya to get out of their house and blames India and Indian culture. After Surya leaves their house, he starts suspecting Bhoomi. One day, Bhoomi searches for her rabbit (Minchu), but cannot find her, and Shashank tells her he already ate it, later he tells bhoomi that he donated the rabbit to a humane society, as it reminded him of Surya. They both start arguing, then Bhoomi starts living separately from Shashank. Shashank finds a new job and later learns that Soorya has helped him get that job. Alone, Shashank realizes his mistake and feels guilty. He calls Surya and apologizes. Surya forgives him and learns that Bhoomi has separated from him. He tells Shashank not to take any steps until he returns to US, and Surya leaves for the U.S..
From San Francisco Airport, Surya calls Shashank, who is drunk. This time around, Shashank promises to pick him up from the airport. On the way he meets with horrific accident and Surya is informed by airport authorities and he rushes to the hospital. Meanwhile, Bhoomi also get the news about Shashank and she too rushes to hospital. In hospital they meet Shashank and he apologizes to them and tells that he is going to die. Doctor takes him to ICU and he passes away.
Surya manages all legal formalities around Shashank's funeral, making Bhoomi feel proud of him. Surya asks Bhoomi to return to India but she declines. By mistake he tells that he loves her, but Bhoomi tells him she cannot love or marry him, because he is her best friend and she would like him to remain so for her lifetime. Surya insists she come back to India and gives her a return ticket telling her that he would wait for her in the airport. Finally Bhoomi relents and joins him in the plane. However she tells him that she will not marry him and suggests that they be friends forever.

Tags: violence

Review:
Griffith's story-telling seems a lot less heavy-handed than in his earlier historical epics and his tableaux work is fully integrated into the action.
Lionel Barrymore is an utter swine, Neil Hamilton is poor but dashing and Carol Dempster is....
well, Carol Dempster is most of what is wrong with Griffith in this period, but she doesn't show up often enough to slow the pace and drama.Note that the trivia for this movie says it came in originally at slightly more than 2 hours when first released, but that no cut exists that runs longer than 90 minutes.
By the time he had finished he had a 14 reel history lesson and there wasn't a trace of Patrick Henry anywhere.We all know the story of the Revolutionary War but Griffith threw in a love story with Patriot farmer Nathan (Neil Hamilton) falling in love with Tory aristocrat Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster, a leading lady for Griffith for many years).
It does not help matters when, during a skirmish on the streets of Lexington someone jostles Nathan's arm causing him to discharge his gun and accidentally wound Nancy's dad!Paralelling the love story is the (mostly true but partially embellished) story of Capt.
The sequence of the Battle of Bunker Hill is staged very similarly to a scene in BIRTH OF A NATION with the attacking army, in this case the Redcoats, storming a trench packed with Patriots.
A story goes that he approached Griffith for work and D.W., knowing the reputation of his famous family, said "I am not hiring stage actors." to which Lionel replied "And I am nothing of the kind, sir!" He makes a very good and quite believable villain.
Hare his wild staring eyes and disheveled hair not only mark him as a villain but make you think he is quite mad also.Neil Hamilton later remarked that America was his first time on horseback and "I was scared to death.".
Mr. Griffith was very much in love with Carol Dempster and at one point asked her to marry him.
This is an old-school history lesson with nice, well-lit pictures and it doesn't help a lot that Griffith tries to spice it up with a Romeo & Juliet inspired love affair between Neil Hamilton and Carol Dempster, stilted and artificial.It never ceases to amaze me how the director who staged the riveting finale of 'Way Down East', the whole continuous glory of 'Hearts of the World', 'Orphans of the Storm', 'Broken Blossoms' and, oh yes, the inimitable, symphonic dynamics of the insurmountable 'Intolerance', how can it be that Griffith as late as 1924 is so uncertain as to what will play and what not?He was fifty, so?
"America" (United Artists, 1924), subtitled "Love and Sacrifice," became director D.W. Griffith's second contribution to American history on the silent screen.
Done in grand scale as his Civil War epic, "The Birth of a Nation" (Epoch, 1915), "America," as indicated in it's opening title, "The story of the sacrifice made for freedom in the American Revolution in that of a Civil War between two groups of English people, one group, the Americans, being merely Englishmen while settling on the American  continent ..." What "Birth of a Nation" and "America" have in common are its well staged battle scenes, cast of thousands, authentic costumes, fine scenery, and stories told in two parts (before and aftermath) with run times past the standard two hour mark.
In retrospect, "America" didn't need controversy to achieve any box office appeal, only a simple love story highlighted by a re-enactment of events leading to America's freedom from British rule.Set in the village of Lexington in Massachusetts prior to the Revolutionary War, Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton), a poor farmer and express rider, loves Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster), a Southern bells from Virginia living on the mountain estate on the James River.
Captain Walter Butler (Lionel Barrymore), a deputy for the king's superintendent, takes an interest in Nancy, much to the delight of her father, especially after believing Nathan to have shot and wounded him during their confrontation.
Butler proves not to be her ideal choice for Nancy as he gets the Indians to side with the king against the Americans in the war along with plotting to betray the king in order to acquire the new world for himself.Combining fictional characters with historical figures, quite commonly found in many motion pictures then and now, "America" consists those of John Hancock (played by John Dunton); Thomas Jefferson (Frank Wals); Patrick Henry (Frank McGlynn); John Parker, Captain of the Minute Men (Henry Van Boussen); and Samuel Adams (Lee Beggs).
While "America" fails to compare with Griffith's finest works, the film itself is noteworthy as being one of the very few motion pictures depicting the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) compared to many about the Civil War (1861-1865).
Highlights include Paul Revere's (Harry O'Neil) historic horseback ride warning the colonists, "To Arms, To Arms, the Regulars /British are coming"; the Battle of Bunker Hill; the signing of the Declaration of Independence; and George Washington (Arthur Dewey) leading and his troops at Valley Forge and he being sworn in as first president of the United States (1789-1797).Had "America" been produced in the wake of "The Birth of a Nation," chances are principal actors would have been basically the same, with Lillian Gish or Mae Marsh, Robert Harron and Henry B.
Hamilton and Dempster as its leading players fail to leave a lasting impression as the star quality performances of Lillian Gish or Richard Barthelmess.
In fact, their roles are overshadowed by the major support of Lionel Barrymore as the villainous redcoat, and the late entrance of Louis Wolheim as "Captain Hare, a Tory - an American renegade who uses the excuse of war for his own personal passions of savagery."With silent films commonly shown on public television during the 1960s and 70s, in such weekly series as "The Toy That Grew Up" or "The Silent Years," "America" made its rare TV broadcast in the New York City area on WNET, Channel 13, appropriately during 4th of July weekend in 1972.
It wasn't until 1996 when a fully restored 140 minute/ color tinted version turned up on VHS and later DVD from Kino Video accompanied by newly composed score by the Mammaroneck Theater Orchestra.Overlooking cliché plot and lackluster performances by Hamilton and Dempster, "America" is redeemed by its fine visuals, authentic background, and Griffith's attention to detail, including soldiers marching in bitter cold with shoes so worn out that their feet are seen touching the snow.
"America" should have been among Griffith's greatest work, but it isn't.
With all that said, "America" is something to consider, if not for American history, then for history by the American father of film himself, D.W. Griffith.
America (1924) tells the story of the American Revolutionary War through the perspectives of Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton), a commoner who fights for the American cause, and the aristocratic Montague family, with whose daughter Nancy (Carol Dempster) Nathan has fallen in love.
Things are further complicated when Captain Butler (Lionel Barrymore) declares his love for Nancy as well.
Directed by DW Griffith.SCRIPT: It seems obvious that Griffith is aiming to recapture the epic scale of BIRTH OF A NATION, and thankfully this film doesn't have as much racism as BOAN.
The script has several issues: the clichéd story of "love at first sight" between Nathan and Nancy, told in groan-inducing purple prose; very shallow characterizations (especially Griffith's patronizing attitude toward daddy's girl Nancy, calling her a "little Tory" with "slight knowledge of politics"), and an overemphasis on Butler's villainy at the expense of the main conflict.
The story told here just isn't very interesting, and some of the love scene title cards are really awful.
She does improve somewhat later on, providing some touching moments, but her performance suffers from Griffith's insistence on fashioning her after Lillian Gish.
Neil Hamilton is too understated in the beginning but shows some feeling later, particularly in one scene where he has to make a very difficult choice.
Lionel Barrymore, though, steals the show in his scenes, playing the evil Captain Butler with sadistic glee and gusto.
There were some overlong close-ups on Carol Dempster at times that appear to have been done after the main filming was complete, and she is directed to emote in a way that doesn't match the title cards or the context of the scene.
SCORE: 5.5/10SUMMARY: America stands as DW Griffith's last attempt at an epic-scale production.
Although he tries to replicate the scale of BIRTH OF A NATION, the movie overall feels dull and uninspired.
PLEASE NOTE: Griffith's antiquated insistence on using white actors for the black and Native American parts will not set well with many viewers, myself included, but thankfully this was the last time he would do so.
Sure there were a few mistakes here and there (especially with the timeline--the movie only appeared to last a few months or perhaps a year--not over six years of actual fighting), but the overall spirit of the film and the battle sequences were excellent.
In fact, as much of the romance boiled down to the dumb cliché of "love at fist sight", it was kind of annoying the more I think about it.However, in spite of this romance, the film is truly interesting and inspiring---plus, in so many ways it seems as if the much later film, THE PATRIOT, was copied from this Griffith film!!!
This is a sick and bigoted thing that Griffith did in so many of his films--especially in BIRTH OF A NATION.
America (1924) *** (out of 4) This film is basically a remake of The Birth of a Nation but this time the story is set during the American Revolutionary War. We have George Washington (Arthur Dewey) trying to make our country free while Capt.
Walter Butler (Lionel Barrymore) tries to get the Indians on his side to attack what one hopes to become the new America.
In the mean time, two young lovers (Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster) are split apart due to them fighting on opposite sides of the war.
Time has certainly been kinder to the film than movie crowds in 1924 because this is a pretty strong take on the war that features a nice story, great battle scenes and some fine performances.
Hamilton and Dempster are both fine in their roles, although I'm sure stronger actors would have been better.
The majority of the film deals with the actual story of the war and not the battle scenes.
Griffith handles all the quiet moments very well but there's no question that the battle scenes are where the energy is at.
Hundreds of extras were used and again, like previous Griffith epics, the battle scenes look incredibly realistic as if Griffith were there filming while the real battles were taking place.
The story of the families being split apart probably would have worked better had it not been so familiar as to the story in The Birth of a Nation but either way this was Griffith's last epic and while it's not the masterpiece of The Birth of a Nation or Intolerance, it's still impressive film-making..
Appropriately subtitled "Love and Sacrifice", director D.W. Griffith's fictionalized account of revolutionary "America" should have been more successful, given the obvious costly effort in evidence; it is weighted down by lack of imagination, and a significantly unsuitable performance from the leading actress.
Griffith gentlemanly reveals prejudices early, explaining, "The story of the sacrifice made for freedom in the American Revolution is that of a civil war between two groups of English people; one group, the Americans, being merely Englishmen who settled on the American Continent." Moreover, Griffith asserts, "The government which Canada and Australia now enjoy was absolutely denied to America through the stubborn and false ideals of the autocratic powers guiding the hand of King George the Third." During the running time, Griffith uses Royalist Walter Butler to represent the evil on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Not as despicable a thesis as presented Griffith's similarly plotted Civil War epic, but neither is "America" as excitingly presented as "The Birth of a Nation".And, try as they might, Neil Hamilton (as Nathan Holden) and Carol Dempster (as Nancy Montague) are not Robert Harron and Lillian Gish in "Hearts of the World".Griffith's epics are much more convincing with when characterizations and relationships are well presented.
Compare Dempster/Hamilton with Gish/Harron in "Hearts of the World".
The later film shows how well Ms. Gish and Mr. Harron played the "bedroom window" scene which Griffith re-visits in "America".
Hamilton, a promising actor, had a great career highlight, later, as "Commissioner Gordon" of "Batman" in the 1960s; but, ribald Lionel Barrymore (as Butler) steals the acting honors.
Griffith used his stars better in the forthcoming "Isn't Life Wonderful?" ****** America (2/21/24) D.W. Griffith ~ Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster, Lionel Barrymore.
When watching America (1924) once cannot help but remember DW Griffith's earlier The Birth of a Nation (1915).
Both films are epics concerning families caught up in a war, lustful and power-hungry villains, and star cross'd romance.
America, released nearly a decade after, feels stale and old-fashioned even for 1924.The American Revolution is the setting of the movie, but the central story is the romance between minute man Nathan Holden (Neil Hamilton) and the loyalist aristocrat Nancy Montague (Carol Dempster).
More conflict arrives in the form of Captain Walter Butler (Lionel Barrymore), who seeks to betray his king and take over the colonies, as well as possess the lovely, virginal Nancy.
Nathan and Nancy are dreadfully bland, not helped by Carol Dempster's limited performance.
You can tell Neil Hamilton is trying, but there's little he can do to give such a flat character life, though I will admit he was at his most impressive when agonizing over whether he should warn the people of Valley Forge of a British ambush or rescue his lover from being raped by Captain Butler.
Speaking of the villain, Lionel Barrymore steals the whole show as the wicked captain, delightfully chewing the scenery.Unfortunately, the movie is more interested in the bloodless love story than it is with the revolution.
The battle scenes and conversations about loyalty are the most interesting parts of the film, though even that's not saying much.
This film about the Monteagues during the American Revolutionary war proved this as well.
You see Griffith used doctrines of another time to express things in his contemporary periods, so when watching his films there's a grand sweep of history and layers and layers of his own inherent interest in history.
Considering the man's extraordinary acute vision of cinema - the way he coached actors and actresses for hours and hours, sometimes even showing them the way they have to sit, their body language and the way they have to interact in the scene - then on how he cut film, masked film, brought emphasis on certain things along side his masterful cinematographer Billy Bitzer, who ran his course shortly after "America or Love and Sacrifice" this also proves to be the epitome of a man stuck in his time and frame of mind during which films like "The Iron Horse", "Strike" and "Michael" were getting made amongst some other classics by others like Chaplin and Fairbanks.
Though I can't help to have a soft spot for his work here.It's not contrived as such and it's actually a pretty supreme experience especially when Griffith filmed the dipsomaniacal Paul Revere riding recklessly on the horse to declare "fists to fists" as a way of commencing an act of war against England.
I happen to be from Britain and found the story was interesting for me to look at as it was done with Griffith's perspicacious perspective and albeit I'm not really very conversant with it either, I understood how England was disparate back then (in the sense that they had total control over America) and how America wasn't the way it's today.
As if this was like a lesson in history just goes to show how Griffith substantiating that instead of books, films should be the new source of history, remained completely obstinate in his views.
As a lot of the film centres on Walter Butler's derailment on America, an English man, it's interesting how he pulled the performance from Lionel Barrymore that proved suave and understated and despicable in expression.
In some ways, I wasn't quite clear about whether or not Butler was English or American, so I had to try and resolve that ignorance subsequently watching the film.I agree with another reviewer on here, who said that the subplot was really unnecessary.
Nathan is the main character, who's sent out to War. During this time he's deeply impassioned in love by Nancy Monteague, a very wealthy woman who goes away to Mowhawk Valley.
There's a lot of unnecessary establishing scenes with her and Butler and it's also set during the time Washington was growing to prominence.Even with its preachy didacticism at times and the way it portrayed Men as chauvinistic, scenes such as the entrance into war and when Butler gets closer to the Americans can be intriguing, especially in the way Griffith uses lighting to emphasise them as if they're figures and his impressionistic use of editing to make you feel as though the war was taking place in his mind, which is done adeptly, but in saying so one wishes the film wasn't this melodramatic in the end.
It's a cliché I know, but unless you're interested in history, the film will rank poor.
Interesting to note that during the film there are scenes where Indians seem like they're getting treated the same way Black people were almost a decade before in Griffith's film and yet it's barely looked at.
Well for some of its faults (mainly because Griffith was coming out of his infancy in film making), I can't help, but be enraptured by the heat of war and the way Griffith shows it in great detail.