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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 286

Broken Blossoms

191990 minUnited States
Drama

Synopsis

A Chinese idealist arrives in London hoping to share a message of peace but becomes disillusioned. His care for a girl abused by her father gives that hope a fragile new purpose. Their refuge exists within a neighbourhood where cruelty can quickly reach them.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
88:24
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · D. W. Griffith; YouTube · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsD. W. Griffith

Inspirations

Thomas Burke's story supplies the relationship at the centre of the film. Its sympathy across racial boundaries coexists with period stereotypes and a white actor playing the Chinese lead, tensions relevant to its historical interpretation.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

WikipediaInternet Archive

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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