Synopsis
Made on location in Germany during the period of the Great Inflation, Isn't Life Wonderful is a tender ode to the resilience of the human spirit and the all-conquering power of love. Carol Dempster delivers her most moving performance as Inga, a Polish war orphan who struggles to provide for the family that has taken her in, while accumulating a meager dowry from the rubble of a depression-stricken Berlin so that she can marry Paul (Neil Hamilton). Returning to his family, weakened by the battlefront's poisonous gases, Paul invests in his and Inga's future by tending a secret garden which he hopes will provide resources for them to live, and which serves as a powerful symbol of the irrepressible optimism of the two young lovers rising triumphantly from the ashes of a bitter earth. Filled with poignant moments reminiscent of Griffith's better-known classics such as A Corner in Wheat and Way Down East, the rarely-seen Isn't Life Wonderful proves Griffith's flair for small-scale, tender drama. This edition features the original 1924 score composed and compiled by Cesare Sodero and Louis Silvers, arranged and performed by Robert Israel (piano) and Galina Golovin (violin). Isn't Life Wonderful Year: 1924 Length: 117 minutes Director: D.W. Griffith Starring: Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster, Erville Alderson Photographed by: Hendrik Sartov and Hal Sintznich Music: Original 1924 score Composed and Compiled by Cesare Sodero and Louis Silvers Arranged and Performed by: Robert Israel (piano) and Galina Golovin (violin) Copyright 1923, renewed, byD.W. Griffith, Inc Format: NTSC Produced for DVD by David Shepard From the Blackhawk Films Collection Presented by Flicker Alley