Intolerance (1916)

directed by: d.w. griffith
list: leonard maltin top 100
genre: history, epic, silent
traces to: gone with the wind, the ten commandments, cleopatra

this film truly defines 'epic,' as well as 'audacious.' in his first attempt to atone for 'birth of a nation,' griffith decided to tell the epic story of man's intolerance throughout the ages. not quite the same thing as tackling racism, but he'll get to that later. the film intercuts 4 stories:

1) ancient babylon - this features a famous epic crane shot with a massive set and thousands of extras. this scene is probably now most recognizable because the hollywood and highland shopping complex was built as a re-creation of this set.

2) the crucifixion of jesus

3) events leading up to the st. bartholomew's day massacre in renaissance france

4) and a modern (modern being 1914) story of a lower class guy wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to hang.

the weaving of 4 story lines is impressive, edited together so that they climax at the same time, making for quite a riveting final act. each section of the film is tinted a different color, as well as each having their own style of inter-title card. while it has a Big Important Message, it is also filled with surprising humor, especially constance talmadge, an expressive character actress who appears in both the french and babylonian stories. she is like betty boop dropped into the set of 'stargate'

the entire film can be viewed on youtube:

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

directed by: d.w. griffith
genre: history, epic, silent
lists: ebert's great movies, maltin top 100, afi top 100, total film most influential
traces to: gone with the wind, avatar

self-righteous, ego-driven, racist spectacle. it's a shame that the first major exploit in cinematic storytelling had to be this utterly distasteful narrative of the country's history - it is however an amazing look into our country's racist past, and the attitudes that persisted among many people for generations beyond the close of the war. the entire film can be viewed on hulu:



griffith would spend the rest of his career atoning for the sins committed here. it's hard to conceive that he could not foresee the outrage that would come from adapting a novel entitled 'the clansmen,' which credits the formation of the ku klux klan with restoring peace to the union after the fall of the south. the klan promoted screenings of the film (which at $2 a ticket was the equivalent of $40) by riding their horses in front of the theaters in full costume. the film is credited with inspiring the 'second era' of the klan.

i was most riveted by the scene at the climax of the first half of the film - depicting the assassination of abraham lincoln.

Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)

directed by: winsor mckay
lists: total film most influential
genres: animation
traces to: snow white and the seven dwarves, who framed roger rabbit



these first real animated shorts are surprisingly adept - the body forms are consistent, and there's a general freedom of movement and use of perspective that is nicely executed. It even becomes 'roger rabbit' at the end when gertie 'picks up' winsor. cute, experimental fun.

Cabiria (1914)

directed by: giovanni pastrone
genres: silent, epic, adventure
lists: ebert's great movies, total film most influential
traces to: intolerance, indiana jones and the temple of doom
recommended for: die hard silent film buffs only.

the days of the 15 minute film are over - at more than three hours, 'cabiria' is a tough one to get through, but contains some really great stuff. this film is credited with inventing the dolly shot in 1914. it's surprising that dolly shots are not more prominent in subsequent silent films, though the apparatus required to achieve the movement must have been massive. the story is tedious and difficult to follow, beginning with the burning of carthage, and following the lead character through a series of episodes that parade her through lavish set pieces and place her in harm's way. the dolly shots are used almost exactly as they are today: pushing in at the start of the scene, and pulling out at the end. a couple dollys also follow the action across the space as the characters move through it. ebert says that griffith's camera is more fluid in 'birth of a nation,' but i disagree. 'nation' has some high speed camera movement, but none of the smooth, slow grace displayed here. 'cabiria' inspired griffith to expand 'intolerance' and add multiple storylines and epic sets, but i'm fairly certain that this film is also the inspiration for the heart-ripping scene in 'indiana jones and the temple of doom.' the sacrifical chambers and ceremonies in each film are almost exact duplicates. check it out:

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

directed by: edwin s. porter
genre: western, action, heist, silent
lists: most influential
traces to: greed, the general, stagecoach, butch cassidy and the sundance kid

bandits hijack a train, have a dance party, and then are disposed of by the cops in a forest shootout. as an epilogue, a bandit shoots directly at the camera.



the first action/suspense/heist film! noteworthy for crosscutting between simultaneous action in two different scenes, location photography, train-mounted camera, and even has an optical effect in the station window that shows the train pulling in.

Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902)

directed by: georges méliès
traces to: metropolis, king kong, robinson crusoe on mars, 2001: a space odyssey, star wars, jurassic park, avatar

the original special effects fantasy extravaganza. scientists visit new world, meet natives, kill some of them, and then are driven back home. it's the original 'avatar.'



amazingly, a restored, hand colored version of the film was just screened at cannes this past week with a new score by the band 'air.' i can't wait to see it.

the film primarily uses extensive two dimensional set pieces, matte paintings, painted backdrops, black art compositing, and rudimentary stop motion effects. 'a trip to the moon' is really an elaborate stage play assisted with a few optical effects, and benefitting from the use of editing to allow massive scene changes in the blink of an eye. the film is almost exclusively shot in a master wide shot - filling the screen with images of the players in the same proportions as they would be if a play version was physically staged in the playing space.

in the color version of the film, we see that when the ship lands on the moon's face (the only close-up shot in the film) there is actually blood dripping from his face, which better explains the hostile reception to the scientists' arrival.

Exiting the Factory (1895)

directed by: louis lumiere

'exiting the factory' is the first film on my list. it consists of 45 seconds of people doing just that. it is the original documentary.



turns out this is not actually the earliest film - 'roundhay garden scene' predates it by 7 years. at 12 frames per second, it has a running time of approximately 2 seconds.



recommended for: fans of walking.

lists: total film most influential