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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1205

The Wrath of the Gods

191456 minUnited States

Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs: 56:26
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Reginald Barker · Public domain

Synopsis

A Japanese fisherman's daughter is believed to carry a curse that will bring a volcanic eruption if she marries. A shipwrecked American sailor falls in love with her and encourages conversion to Christianity. Their decision to wed provokes hostility as the feared natural disaster approaches.

Cast

Sessue Hayakawa

Tsuru Aoki

Frank Borzage

Thomas Kurihara

Henry Kotani

DirectorsReginald Barker

Inspirations

News of Sakurajima's 1914 eruption prompted Thomas Ince's production. The resulting romance combines that event with an invented curse and a hostile representation of Buddhist belief, rather than reconstructing the actual disaster.

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.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

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 15, 2026.

Photograph credit

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

Sessue Hayakawa — Fred Hartsook · Public domain
Tsuru Aoki — Film World Publishing; Who's Who in the Film World - edited by Fred C. Justice & Tom R. Smith – 1914 - pg. 120 · Public domain
Frank Borzage — James R. Quirk, editor - Photoplay Publishing Co.; Photoplay Magazine vol. 18 issues 2-6, 1920, pg 43 · Public domain

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