I totally enjoyed watching "Way Down East." It has a great story, great acting, and the accompanying music was another part of this show that makes it so delightful.

A friend of mine found a book at a library sale called "Classics Of The Silent Screen" by Joe Franklin (Cadillac Publishing, NY, NY, 1959). According to the book, the ice-floe scene was filmed on the Connecticut River in Mamaroneck, NY. The scenes with Lillian Gish floating down the river while lying on a block of ice ARE REAL! Those scenes are also mixed with studio shots featuring close-ups of Lillian Gish and a finale filmed at Niagara Falls. But the ice-floe scene looks very real because it is. The book goes on to say that she had to be periodically revived with cups of steaming tea.

I doubt that the professional actors of today would volunteer to perform to this extent for today's movies, given the incredible special effects possible. The ice-floe scene is an awesome display of the dedication to the craft of both Lillian Gish and the crew that filmed this movie. While the morality of the story line would never attract audiences today, the finale is more than worth the price of this DVD.

I haven't seen this print, but last time I saw this was in a packed 'classic' movie theater, and man it was spectacular!

But there's one scene that's worth far more than the price of the video or DVD, and tha'ts when Miss Gish actually is jumping on ice flows in a river, and she's doing this for real... no nets, little safety equipment, and the river and ice is moving... something no one in their right mind would do today. Just seeing this alone will chill your bones!

And this is a true classic of film. There's so much more here that this should be on anyone's must-have list... I'm excited that it's finally on DVD and I've ordered it today - you should as well!