The Hero of Liao-Yang (1904) Online

This well-made short feature is pretty interesting, and at times even compelling. Set in the Russo-Japanese War, it focuses on one young soldier who is sent on a dangerous and important mission. The story is good enough to stand on its own, but it also features some good camera usage and some battlefield visual effects.

Dramatically, the best feature of this film is the way that it portrays the main character, showing him first in his everyday life before moving on to the war scenes. Nor does it present this in order to push any heavy-handed perspectives - it simply adds to his character and increases the viewer's identification with him.

The general context of the battle of Liaoyang is not explained in much detail. In part, this keeps the focus strictly on the main character, though it is also possible that some of the film's original viewers may have been fairly familiar with Liaoyang, since it was one of the important battles of the war.

This would have to be considered one of the better movies of the first few years of the 20th century, both in terms of its technique and in terms of its story. Both work pretty well.

Hero of Liao-Yang, The (1904)

*** (out of 4)

Biograph short deals with the war between Russia and Japan. A young Japanese man is picked by the government to lead a very dangerous mission, which could cost him his life. As with the above film, there's a pretty good story here but there's just not a director to bring it to life. Towards the end of the film there's a couple good shoot outs as well as a really nice battlefield sequence. Camera by Bitzer.

Available through Grapevine in their Biograph Without Griffith disc. Contains an original score and nice picture.