Birth of a Nation (The)

  • Naissance d'une Nation (La)
Genre : Historical
Type : Fiction
Original title : Clansman (The)
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 1915
Format : Feature
Running time : 187 (in minutes)
Film Black & white

A pivotal moment in film history. After The Birth of a Nation, nothing was the same: not the way audiences watched movies, not the way filmmakers created them. D.W. Griffith's jumbo-size saga of the Civil War expanded the boundaries of storytelling on the screen, conveying a richer, more complicated (and certainly longer) tale than anyone had seen in a movie before. The delicate relationships, the sad passage of time, the spectacular battle scenes all look as fresh and innovative today as they did in 1915. So do Griffith's brilliant actors, most of them-including favorite leading lady Lillian Gish-drawn from his regular stock company. What has become increasingly problematic about The Birth of a Nation is Griffith's condescending attitude toward black slaves, and the ringing excitement surrounding the founding of the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith, whose political ideas were naive at best, seemed genuinely surprised by the criticism of his masterwork, and for his next project he turned to the humanist preaching of the massive Intolerance. Despite protests, Birth sold more tickets than any other movie, a record that stood for decades, and President Woodrow Wilson famously compared it to "history written in lightning." That judgment has lasted. -Robert Horton (Amazon.com Essentials)


In 1992, the National Film Preservation Board registers The Birth of a Nation on the basis of its "cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance," and in 1999, the American Film Institute ranks the film among the top 100 of the century. Both of these decisions, and related public showings of The Birth of a Nation, prompt protests.
In December 1999, the Directors Guild of America announces that D.W. Griffith will be retired as the namesake of its prestigious award for career achievement in moviemaking because he helped promote what they call "intolerable racial stereotypes." Although Guild members acknowledge his achievements, the vote to rename the award is unanimous.
www.pbs.org

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