The Birth of a Nation : and the Civil War Films of D.w. Griffith

Locations
Call Number: DVD Silent-Film Birth
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD Silent-Film Birth	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult A/V 1-week checkout	DVD Silent-Film Birth	1-week checkout	On Shelf

Videodisc release of the 1915 motion picture.
Based on the novel The clansman, by Thomas Dixon.
The making of The birth of a nation -- Filmed prologue to The birth of a nation -- In the border states -- The house with closed shutters -- The fugitive -- His trust -- His trust fulfilled -- Swords and hearts -- The battle -- New York vs. "The birth of a nation".
Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Robert Harron, Wallace Reid, Bessie Love, Elmo Lincoln, Raoul Walsh, Donald Crisp, Ralph Lewis.
A Civil War spectacular. Portrays life in the South during and after the Civil War as revealed in a story depicting the war itself, the conflict between the defeated Southerners and emancipated renegade Negroes, the despoiling of the South during the carpetbagger period, and the revival of the Southern white man's honor through the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan.
DVD ; Full screen.
Contents: Clansman.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Birth of A Whole Bunch of Stuff submitted by nbauer on September 7, 2009, 8:55am If you're serious at all about understanding film history, Birth of a Nation is a no-brainer. Griffith is pretty much inventing the feature film here after years of revolutionizing the medium, and to watch where he takes it is still thrilling. He uses the camera in a way that continually heightens the experience of the story. The way shots are set up, with supporting action in the background to add texture and additional meaning to the main scene in the foreground, is still breathtaking.

Extremely impressive is the naturalism of the performances that Griffith is beginning to get out of his actors, particularly the women. Lillian Gish, Miriam Cooper, and Mae Marsh are fascinating to watch, doing more with their eyes and careful movement than a lot of actors can accomplish today. They're particularly interesting in light of all the operatic grandstanding that is still in fairly plentiful supply from other actors in the movie.

The first half of the movie is fairly riveting provided you can ignore the underlying message that the po' black folks are in desperate need of the Benevolent Wise Whites to guide their every step; since Griffith is primarily concerned with the family stories, the paternalism is a little easier to overlook (keep in mind this reviewer is white). The second half of the movie, in which the Klan is portrayed as "the answer to the problem of black anarchy," is completely off the rails. It's hard to watch it for the story and camera moves when the message is so insanely offensive, particularly knowing that the movie gave a big old shot in the arm to a Klan that was hobbling along at the time.

Most bizarre is the use of black extras; it would be fascinating to know their experiences of making the film, and then viewing it afterward.

It would be great if, as a palliative, the library could acquire Oscar Micheaux's Within Our Gates. At this writing, you can get DJ Spooky's Rebirth of a Nation on DVD from the library. Birth of a Nation should be part of a conversation. Watch it so you can jump in with both feet.