Beautiful, moving film.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The 1912 film Friends, may or may not have been the first film to use a closeup, but it was certainly the first extreme closeup for Mary Pickford. She tells in her autobiography, It was late in the afternoon when Griffith shouted to Billy Bitzer, the cameraman: "Come on Billy, let's have some fun! Move the camera up and get closer to Mary." She had done something different that day herself, putting on a second application of make-up. They took the shot, and Mary couldn't wait to see the results. Back at the studio's projection room, she was shocked at the grotesquely magnified face on the screen, and immediately noticed her excess use of eyebrow pencil and eye shadow. Lionel was just as shocked by his own appearance on the screen, asking Mary "Am I really that fat? She didn't want to answer him, hoping he would let it drop, but he repeated the question insistently, that Mary finally replied, "I'm sorry, Mr.Barrymore, but you are." "Then that does it," declared Barrymore, " no more beer for me." She was also upset with the dress she wore, in Friends, an old dress of her mother's with large balloon sleeves that made it look nearer 1894 than the 1849 called for in the story. Mary Pickford was always hypercritical of her work, especially her early films. The detailed-minded actress worried later, of looking foolish and being laughed at, because of what she considered, the crudeness of her early films. Thank goodness she changed her will, as to not having her movies destroyed and this early Biograph example survives for fans of Pickford and silent film genre to enjoy.

DW Griffith made a fair few westerns, and most of them fit into the genre conventions of the time – tales of adventure and exploration (with the hero often an easterner) which would later give way to the pioneer wagon pictures of the 1920s. Friends however is a small-canvas romance in the same vein as many of Griffith's contemporary pictures of 1912.For whatever reason, Friends sees Griffith in experimental mode, trying out several new techniques and styles, some of which he would never really explore again. First, there is his cutting between long-shots and mid-shots. In the saloon bar, he several times cuts from Mary Pickford in the background on the staircase, with the barflies lounging all over the foreground, to a mid-shot framing her on her own. This technique creates two very different spaces on the same set. This isn't the first time Griffith had done this, but it's certainly one of the most effective examples from this era. The camera is beginning to be freed up, and we are moving towards what would later become normal coverage and editing patterns.It's often been pointed out that Griffith never used point-of-view shots, but here he does come close. While it's true he never actually showed a shot of action from another character's perspective, those close-ups of the photograph in Friends are at least a shot of an object from the point-of-view of a character. Now, arguably such a shot is just a variation on the title card, just as when we see a detail of a letter, but Griffith does at least literalise it, including the hand in the frame and thus making it clear that the audience sees it as the character does.This is also probably Griffith's most extensive use of title cards being character's spoken words, and inserted into the middle of scenes, as oppose to the usual explanatory title cards at the beginning of each scene. Griffith would use "speech" titles a lot more in his features, but they were never the majority. It is possible though that the original titles are lost, and Friends was later restored with new titles, which I believe is the case with some of the Biograph shorts.A pretty distinguished cast is lined up here. Mary Pickford was by now instated as Griffith's primary leading lady, after having spent an unusually long time hovering in the background in supporting roles. She proves herself perfect for the subtle, naturalistic approach that was by now the hallmark of Griffith dramas. Pickford is ably supported by Henry Walthall and Lionel Barrymore. Considering his later status and "type" it's odd seeing Barrymore so frequently playing these unkempt rakish figures in his days at Biograph.By the way, Mary Pickford once claimed that a shot of her in Friends was the first ever close-up, and this was repeated as true in Robert Windeler's biography of her. However, a glance over Biograph shorts from as early as 1910 prove this is not the case.

Friends (1912) *** (out of 4) D.W. Griffith film about a gold digger (Mary Pickford) who goes after two men (Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore) not knowing they are friends. Griffith does a great job at building up the ending, although there's a little too much sugar on it for the film to really work but then again, you come to expect this out of the director. Pickford is downright delightful as the woman after gold while Walthall and Barrymore are great as usual. Harry Carey has a small role.Available on DVD through Kino.

This isn't one of the better silent shorts directed by D. W. Griffith for Biograph Studios. While it isn't overacted or sloppy, the script seems to be awfully simplistic and also seems to be missing something--and it seems to be conflict.Mary is in love with a local man, but the man breaks off their relationship to go looking for money and adventure up North. So, naturally, she sees other guys and falls for Barrymore. When the old sweetheart later returns, he finds that she is in love with a new guy and this new guy is also his friend,...so he does the right thing and bows out of the picture. THAT'S IT! Not a lot to this 13 minute flick.