The inventor of a submarine of war finds his conscience troubled when called upon to sink a passenger ship suspected of transporting weapons for the enemy. The ill-fated Thomas H. ince's ambitious epic features some spectacular battle scenes, and is admirably compact despite its scale (if it were made by Griffith it would probably have been at least an hour longer) but is far too preachy and simplistic for a modern audience. Must have packed quite a punch back in 1915, though.
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JoeytheBrit16 April 2020
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Producer Thomas Ince was inspired by President Woodrow Wilson pledge to "keep us out of war" during the first couple of years of World War One when he accepted Charles Sullivan's script on universal peace. Ince directed Sullivan's screenplay into one of cinema's first antiwar films, June 1916's "Civilization." The bare outline of the high-budgeted and sprawling movie focuses in on a German submarine commander who refuses to sink a liner carrying both civilian passengers and munitions despite orders to do so. The Count gets a quick trip to heaven after he blew up his sub, where Jesus sends him back to earth with a message to change the king and his countrymen's mind to stop the war and spread peace throughout the world.
A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee claims "Civilization" was a huge asset to Wilson's re-election victory over Republican Charles Hughes in the fall of 1916 on the incumbent's anti-war platform. Because of the film's successful and popular showing, "Civilization" is seen as the first movie to influence voters in a presidential election.
Ince, ever the publicity seeker, paid actress Billy Burke, who was just beginning in film, to pretend to faint in the audience during "Civilization's" showing in a major city's theater. A husband whose wife died as an extra during the movie's production, and who didn't have a photograph of her, was reportedly attending every showing of "Civilization" to see his late wife on the screen. He must have been disappointed when the movie was withdrawn from public viewing as soon as Wilson and Congress had declared war on Germany and its allies the following April 1917.
Another lasting effect "Civilization" had was on young Yasujiro Ozu, who was drawn to its story and its cinematography, and encouraged him to be involved in movies. Ozu would become one of Japan's most heralded directors in the 1950's, with his "Tokyo Story" voted in some polls as the greatest movie ever made. -
The deus ex machina hits you over the head in this film as, literally, God comes down to save the characters. The film ends with tons of happiness and characters reuniting and peacefully playing with their animals on the farm. It's a very blatant anti-war statement, literally showing the characters in a Christmas Carol fashion and what will happen if they continue fighting. Then, we see the utopia after the fighting is done. Clearly, their motives are evident and it works. Parts were boring but the purgatory and war scenes caught my attention the most. Overall, it was enjoyable and an important piece of history, and shows Ince's innovation in the film industry in the early 1900's.
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Nazi_Fighter_David11 April 2004Two blockbuster films with a pacifist message were released in 1916, Thomas Ince's 'Civilization' and Herbert Brenon's 'War Brides.' Both were very popular and preached a strong anti-war message... They have often been cited as having helped to re-elect Woodrow Wilson on a peace platform
The hero of 'Civilization' is a submarine commander who refuses to torpedo a passenger vessel because he is secretly a devoted follower of the pacifist Mothers of Men Society He is murdered by the mutinous crew and his soul is eventually redeemed by Christ Jesus then assumes the dead man's form to plead the cause of peace before the king He is successful and the king hastens to recall his soldiers -
Cineanalyst17 February 2005Thomas H. Ince was one of the independents, who established Hollywood as the motion-picture capital of the world to avoid the strong arm of the Motion Picture Patents Company. He introduced the studio system: the assembly-line production of movies headed by producers. William S. Hart Westerns are one of Inceville's most notable products. They're certainly better than this, "Civilization", which, I suppose, must have been a more personal product than usual for Ince, with its obvious pacifist message.
In this fictionalization of the Great War, a German commander commits treason, sabotages his submarine and kills the crew to prevent the torpedoing of the Lusitania. It takes Christ's second coming to affect the German King, though. The story is ridiculous, with overdone morality and sentimentality, mawkish Christian allegory and over-use of intertitles. On the other hand, there is some nice photography, and the battle scenes, with explosions and smoke, are well edited, but that's merely the craftsmanship one should expect from the assembly line. -
Brent-3020 January 1999The movie is generally pretty silly, even by silent film standards. Still, the first half of the picture has some good scenes -- especially the "moment of truth" aboard the submarine. Unfortunately, once the Count goes to the underworld the film goes with him!
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briantaves15 October 2011Echoes of Biblical teachings were prominent in Thomas Ince's filmmaking, as I outline in my biography of the producer. Civilization (initially titled He Who Returned), had a simple but sweeping purpose; as one newspaper notice headlined, "Aims Film to Shorten Life of War—Thomas Ince Contends Great Movie Spectacle 'Civilization' Is Excellent Peace Argument." Shot in 1915, it was released in April 1916. Even before the public saw it, Ince arranged a viewing by President Wilson and his cabinet, and sent another print to the Pope. The picture was directed by a team, and Ince secured Wilson's appearance in a prologue, photographed at his private home, Shadow Lawn, by Lambert Hillyer.
After the opening in Los Angeles in April, lack of anticipated business prompted additional recutting and new scenes shot before the New York premiere. Not only a "Peace Song," but also a march, both composed by Victor Schertzinger, were issued as sheet music for the film. For British release, Civilization was recut and scenes added to give it a patriotic flavor, and it was retitled Civilization, Or What Every True Britain is Fighting For. Once the United States joined the war, Ince would revise Civilization to bring it up to date. The movie was given a formal theatrical reissue at least as late as 1930.
While probably Ince's most famous movie, it violated one of his tenets. "I have learned, too, that there is a certain type of play that the public loudly demands, but never pays to see. In this class may be placed the allegorical, the symbolical, the diabolical, and those pictures which are so obviously moral that they cease to be interesting." Although advertised as a million dollar spectacle, Civilization actually cost approximately $100,000 and returned $800,000.
While achieving recognition, Civilization has often been derided in subsequent years for such sentiments as the king's conclusion, "During my reign it is my command that my subjects enjoy peace and good will." However, Civilization must be considered in the context of the time in which it was made. Even as Americans were dismayed at the war's slaughter on all sides, the sinking of the British passenger liner Lusitania, in which over 100 Americans drowned, nearly goaded the United States into participation. Less than a year into the conflict, the event signaled the increasingly antagonistic attitude toward Germany for adopting submarine warfare. This innovation which was to become a popular motion picture topic, appearing in other Ince productions in the next few years. Civilization accurately portrays the German motivation, knowing such ships carried war supplies, as well the appalling consequences of their tactics.
Civilization opens in a mythical European nation, where the king (Herschell Mayall) leads his eager people to war, in the name of nothing but conquest, disregarding the pacifists who lament abandoning Christ's teachings. Photoplay noted the absence of the personal element, with the appeal to the mind over the heart in making the spectacle secondary. "In the background are the deserted forge, the invalid mother, the tearful children, the shepherdless flocks, swiftly and graphically suggested in such juxtaposition that when the crash and flame of explosions leave the field strewn with bodies, there is a personal interest in the fate of the army, not weakened by futile guesses as to whether or not some handsome hero will stagger off the field to clasp to his bosom a beautifully damsel, but an interest which embarrasses all these men, compelled by the war power to abandon all that makes life lovely to engage in the business of destroying life." In this way, while Civilization is often historically compared to Griffith's Birth of a Nation, that movie had a direct historical appeal to American audiences and their emotions that Civilization never attempted in its more abstract approach.
A count (Howard Hickman) is the inventor of a deadly submarine and he is sent into combat, compelling him to leave his fiancée, despite protesting the conflict as a Christian. Given the order to sink a passenger liner carrying war material, the count complies, but it changes him. When he is rescued he is taken over by the spirit of Christ (George Fisher). The count leads the nation in protest, and the fearful king, a "modern Pilate," orders him tried. But the count dies before execution, and Christ's spirit leaves his body to show the king the true cost of war with death and starvation. The king also learns that he is condemned for the misery he has caused. Outside the palace, the crowds pray for peace, and the king finally acquiesces to peace at any price.
Despite the pacifist tone, the antagonists seem Teutonic, with spiked helmets and upturned moustaches, satisfying two potential viewpoints. Yet the capitol building of the country is also a domed structure clearly modeled on the United States Capitol; Ince seems to be indicating that warlike actions may well spring up in America. The submarine sequence and the count's reformation urge awaiting the retribution of a higher power, without going to war. Perhaps most effective is the final sequence of the soldiers return home and reunion with their families. As the intertitle notes, "The blare of the war bugle has died and in its place we hear the note of the shepherd's horn." -
Believe it or not this movie was supposed to keep America out of WW1. Bankrolled by a pacifist organisation this movie was produced and at least partially directed by Thomas Ince, who is famous for producing many of William S. Hart's westerns. The king of a small European country declares war on a neighbouring land. The fact that the agressors dress like the Kaiser's German troops was lost on no one back then I am sure. Count Ferdinand invents a new type of submarine which is used to destroy ships carrying arms and supplies to enemy soldiers. He refuses to fire on lifeboats carrying innocent passengers though and sinks his own sub. This is where things go slightly out of hand. Sent to the Underworld (where the dead souls are all nude, regrettably they are also all male) he meets Jesus himself who decides the time is right to return to Earth to remind people to live in peace. Taking over Count Ferdinand's body the poor guy is almost crucified a second time before showing the King the horrors of war that he has overlooked while being safe in his palace. Alas the message of this film did not reach audiences the way it was supposed to; a year later America entered the war anyway. Many young men learned the hard way that the terrors depicted in the movie were right on the money. D.W. Griffith made an anti-war film called HEARTS OF THE WORLD but it was in release for only about 2 months when the war ended. Cecil B. DeMille got into the act too when he cast Mary Pickford as THE LITTLE AMERICAN in 1921. Thomas Ince wisely went back to doing westerns. If you want to see a silent film with a really effective anti-war message check out King Vidor's THE BIG PARADE (1924).