Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Terrible beginning in a story of a naive girl being hoodwinked into a sham marriage by the worst kind of pariah.Many lessons here about Money,Betrayal,Love,and Life being unfair.Musical score is too similar to a lot of Silents and Lillian Gish looks too much the same in her movies.The comical faces are too funny in this movie and I enjoyed the Party Scene where they all danced to old time tunes.For an early silent it is worth watching..

The reason I say that WAY DOWN EAST is a very good film for 1920 is that even by the mid-1920s, the style film this is would probably have seemed a bit old fashioned. So, compared to late silents it's not a great movie by any stretch but it is a decent movie nonetheless and better than most films of the day. So why is it old fashioned? Well, like the characters in many of the earlier D.W. Griffith films, the peopleof in the movie often seem very one-dimensional--like a 19th century morality play. For example, Lillian Gish plays a wonderful virginal sort, there is the town tattletale, the judgmental man, the cad and the professor--all stereotypes instead of real people. But despite all this, it still is a very good film.WAY DOWN EAST begins with a poor cousin (Lillian Gish) going to the big city to spend time with her rich relatives. At this home, she is spotted by a total cad (Lowell Sherman) and he eventually asks her to marry him. However, the marriage is fake--and Gish has no idea it's not legal. After getting her pregnant, Sherman runs away--leaving her to have the baby on her own. Soon the baby dies and Gish is forced to go look for work in another town. There she gets work as a maid and becomes a beloved member of the family--that is, until word gets to the townsfolk that Gish is "that kind of woman"! This leads to an amazingly climactic scene on the ice (reminscent of the video game "Frogger") that you just have to see to believe and it's one of the best scenes Griffith ever filmed---very tense and amazing even when seen almost 90 years later.What's to like about the film? Well, the biggest star of the movie are the special effects and camera work. As mentioned above, the ice scene is simply amazing, though the snow storm is also very realistic and well done. Also, there were some very lovely camera shots--such as the scene by the lake. All these made this a first-class project.Overall, this is an important film but one that I would recommend mostly to people who already love silents. They will enjoy it considerably. However, for people not accustomed to and appreciative of the silents, it's probably one to hold off on--as you may be too quick to dismiss it because of the preachy plot and one-dimensional characters. For 1920, it was quite the accomplishment.

Skilled early film makers, like D. W. Griffith, made the most of the technology available at the time. Way Down East, produced in 1920, is an exciting visual experience with dramatic views of natural hazards like snow storms and ice strewn rivers. There are also romanticized pastoral settings that serve, in one way, to evoke the past, and, in another, to make the harsh environment scenes seem even harsher.A title tells us that the film occurs in the recent past, but most of the film looks like 20 to 30 years before 1920, or about 1890 or 1900. Lillian Gish's costumes are deliberately old-fashioned, and Richard Barthelmess's character seems based on the ideal 1900's man: strong but sensitive. Cars, telephones, and electricity are kept to a minimum. In the United States in 1920 many rural areas were 30 years behind, but Griffith's intention is not accuracy as much as mood. Setting the story in the vague past suggests a nobler, more romantic era.Griffith does not seem to be an actor's director. A few of the supporting performances are hideously exaggerated, while some of the stronger performances, like that of Mary Hay, give the impression of originating from the artist. Lillian Gish's naturalness and inherent screen magnetism are well-suited for such a directorial environment. She gives a believable, appealing performance.This was a popular, culturally influential film. It is easy to understand how thrilling it must have been to 1920 audiences.

Way Down East (1920)Directed by D.W GriffithStarring Lillian Gish, Richard BarthelmessThis big modest spectacle is one of Griffith's best! This tale full of melodrama is about Gish (Beautiful as ever!) being lost in a world full of lies and greed and suddenly she founds Barthelmess, but not all is perfect when Sherman arrives the place. Creative, entertaining, funny and sweet - maybe a bit too religious, but that doesn't care if you see that magnificent scene of Gish and Barthelmess in the ice in the waterfall. One of the greatest. A must see!