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.
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