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.

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.