The Birth of a Nation

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The Birth of a Nation

More than 75 years after its initial release, The Birth of a Nation remains one of the most controversial films ever made and a landmark achievement in film history that continues to fascinate and enrage audiences. It is the epic story of two families, one northern and one southern, during and after the Civil War. D. W. Griffith's masterful direction combines brilliant battle scenes and tender romance with a vicious portrayal of African-Americans. It was the greatest feature-length blockbuster yet to be produced in the United States and the first to be shown in the White House. After seeing it, President Woodrow Wilson remarked it was "like writing history with lightning!"

There was a time when critics sought to de-emphasize the film's content and celebrate the picture as an artistic masterpiece, but from today's perspective, such an approach seems less tenable. However flawed The Birth of a Nation now seems as an historical epic, it is undeniable that the film itself made history. In cities and states across the country, it energized the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which tried to have the film banned, or at least the most gruesome scenes censored. The film also inspired African-Americans to move into filmmaking as a way to offer alternative images and stories. Original score by Joseph Carl Breil. Supplemental music composed and performed by Jon C. Mirsalis.

With Henry B. Walthall, Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Ralph Lewis.

Selected for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry of American Film.

DVD - Kino International

The Making of The Birth of a Nation (1992. 24 mins. Produced by David Shepard)
Filmed prologue to The Birth of a Nation (1930. 6 mins. Featuring D. W. Griffith and Walter Huston)
Civil War Shorts directed by D. W. Griffith----
In the Border States (1910. 16 mins.)
The House with the Closed Shutters (1910. 17 mins.)
The Fugitive (1910. 17 mins.)
His Trust (1910. 14 mins. -- courtesy David Shepard. Music by Robert Israel, performed by the Biograph Quartet)
His Trust Fulfilled (1910. 11 mins.)
Swords and Hearts (1911. 16 mins.)
The Battle (1911. 17 mins.)
New York vs. The Birth of a Nation -- an archive of information documenting the battles over the film's 1922 re-release, including protests by the NAACP, transcripts of meetings, legal documents, newspaper articles, and a montage of scenes ordered cut by the New York Censor Board.
Excerpts from a The Birth of a Nation souvenir book (1915) and several original programs.

Curator's Comments:
Read Roger Ebert's essays on this DVD Classic.

Director: D.W. Griffith
Color-tinted Black & White
187 minutes
Released: 1915
Rated: NR

Country: U.S.A.
Language: Silent with English intertitles
Genre: Silent/Drama

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