The Dragon Painter

[silentscreen]

The Dragon Painter was long considered lost, but was rediscovered in France and brought to the George Eastman House for restoration. Sessue Hayakawa is probably best known for his performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai, but he was actually a silent film star of some acclaim. This film was made through his own production company in 1919, which proves the power he had attained in Hollywood in the silent era.

The film concerns a slightly mad but brilliant artist Tatsu living in the wilds of Japan and painting exquisite portraits of the dragon that he believes has captured his princess/fiancee. Oddly enough, when he finds his true love, he loses his genius to paint.

The princess is played by Hayakawa's real life wife, Tsuru Aoki, and is beautifully shot from a lyrical Japanese perspective.

[Synnove]

The story for the film almost sounds like a fairtytale. That's probably why I'm keen to watch it. I have heard good things about it.

It seems like there are a lot of silents veing rediscovered. I think it's promising.

[silentscreen]

It is like a fairy tale with a moral to it. Sessue plays madman and lover with equal effectiveness. The other movie bundled in the set isn't nearly as good in my opinion, although it does have Frank Borzage in one of his more noted roles as actor. He actually made four films with Sessue!

[Synnove]

Any film from 1914 is automatically worth watching because of how old it is, to me. I'll admit you can't always expect high quality movie making from that time though.

I didn't know Frank Borzage acted. That would be interesting to see.

[Ann Harding]

Here is a picture of Ince's The Wrath of God (1914) with Frank Borzage and Tsuru Aoki. That's really a film I'd like to investigate! Borzage was a very good actor in his own westerns (featured on the new DVD set of The River).

[silentscreen]

He was a good actor. I've recently seen him in three other films dating from the teens that came out on the new The River DVD. He had very curly hair like Chaplin and a dimple in his chin. A multi talented man. There are many early directors that made their start as actors. Mack Sennett comes to mind, but I'm sure you could start a whole thread on directors who were also actors.

[Ann Harding]

Yesterday I watched The Wrath of the Gods (1914) a big Thomas H. Ince production with Sessue Hayakawa, Frank Borzage and Tsuru Aoki (Mrs Hayakawa). I read that the film was a big success when it came out. It even filled the Madison Square Garden to capacity! The film is unusual as it takes place in Japan in a small island threatened by a vulcano. Yamaki (S. Hayakawa) lives in a small hut on the beach with his only daughter Toya (T. Aoki). The family carries a curse than will be transmitted to all its descendants: if Toya marries the Gods will destroy the island. During a hurricane, an American sailor (F. Borzage) is found near the wreck of his ship. He falls in love with Toya...
I have been impressed by Ince's productions before because of their lavish use of locations (here it's only Santa Monica beach but they make full use of it) and its way of tackling racial prejudice. In his westerns, his Indians are not merely cannon fodder, but are given a chance to show their customs and to act like human beings. Here, he is looking at a Japanese legend and his cast is mostly Japanese. There isn't any trace of condescension in his approach. Tsuru Aoki gives a very nice performance. I was also impressed by Frank Borzage, then a young boyish actor. He is totally relaxed and understated unlike some of the other actors who feel more 'stagey'. The film ends with a volcanic eruption rather nicely done. It's just a shame the film ends up on a spectacular aspect rather than concentrate more on the inter-racial love story. Certainly worth investigating!