The Open Gate (1909) User Reviews (2)

Recreation of Life

[Single-Black-Male · 13 May 2004]

The whole purpose of writing and directing short films like this one is to assimilate experiences of life into an art medium so that it can be recreated in a moving picture form. 'The Open Gate' falls far short of this, mainly because the script did not go through development hell. There is no sense of place in the opening scenes of the one-reeler, forcing the viewer to abandon watching this offering. The characters have no universal accessibility, lacking credibility and believability. It is not a recreation of life but a realization of what takes place in the head of the 34 year old D.W. Griffith. You learn absolutely nothing about yourself or the human condition by watching his films because all he wants to do is to project what is on his mind onto the screen.

A drama of unquestioned power

[deickemeyer · 24 January 2015]

Love and duty. These two forces in life frequently cross and cause untold suffering and sorrow. Here are two lovers, whose troth is plighted, but who because the girl believes it her duty to do a certain thing, are separated, the man leaving, declaring he never would return. For fifteen years he keeps his vow, but the love affairs of a nephew bring him back to the same gate, where he meets his former love. They renew their vows and a double wedding follows. Every life, however commonplace it may be, has its dramatic moments, and the one here indicated is no exception. As is usual with the Biograph actors, they make the most of these moments and create a drama of unquestioned power. Perhaps the question which will come to the minds of most who see it is whether what is thought to be duty really is duty. Sometimes it is only a mistaken sense of the necessity of self-sacrifice. Duty can be, as it could have been in this instance, performed just the same as if one's own wishes are consulted. - The Moving Picture World, December 4, 1909