"IT IS UNFORGETTABLE....& UNFORGIVEABLE"

D.W. GRIFFITH'S 'BIRTH OF NATION' PREMIERS

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith's controversial silent film, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered here in Los Angeles.  The film, starring Lillian Gish* and Henry B. Walthall**, is based on Thomas Dixon's novel, "The Clansman," and was the first feature length motion picture.

Because the three hour movie reflects racial overtones, the NAACP works to have it banned.  Despite the controversy, D.W. Griffith*** is widely regarded as "the father of cinema."

Tom Brook of the BBC writes...

"One hundred years after it was made, Birth of a Nation still has the power to both enthrall and appall."

Matt Brunson of Film Frenzy writes...

"As a work of art it is unforgettable; as a social document it is unforgiveable."

*Lillian Diana Gish (1893-1993) was born in Springfield, Ohio.  Her acting career spanned 75 years & she was known as "The 1st Lady of American Cinema."  LDG was a Republican who supported Richard Nixon & Ronald Reagan.  She was awarded a Kennedy Center honor for her contribution to American Culture through performing arts.

**Henry Brazeale Walthall (1878-1936) was born in Shelby County, Alabama.  His father was a captain in the Confederate army & HBW served in the Spanish-American War.  He acted professionally 1906-1936.

***David Wark Griffith (1875-1948) was born in Oldham County, Kentucky. DWG made 500 films 1895-1931 & founded United Artists in  1919.  He is recognized for technical contributions to filmmaking.

SOURCES

"The Birth of a Nation," Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/

"The Birth of a Nation:  The most racist movie ever made?," by Tom Brook, BBC, www.bbc.com/

The Birth Of A Nation (1915)

B&W Photo www.henrybwalthall.com/

BIRTH OF A NATION CENTENNIAL

"LIKE WRITING HISTORY WITH LIGHTNING"

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) The Birth of a Nation, the controversial film produced by D. W. Griffith, premiered one hundred years ago today, February 8, 1915, here in Los Angeles. 

The film, based on Thomas Dixon's novel The Clansman, was the first feature-length motion picture but the three hour movie's racial overtones made it both controversial as well as offensive.  

Time's Rachel Janik, who describes the film as "the first American blockbuster, the first historical epic," writes that nonetheless, the movie's centennial will not be celebrated because of the depiction of members of the Ku Klux Klan as "glorious heroes."

Novelist Thomas Dixon, who had been a college classmate of President Woodrow Wilson, arranged for the movie to be screened in the White House. It became the second film to be shown on the property and the first to be shown inside.

Although there are some questions about this, President Wilson reportedly said that The Birth of a Nation was..."like writing history with lightning"  and added "...my only regret is that it is all so terribly true."

Wilson Quote in

The Birth of a Nation

The NAACP protested premiers of the film and published articles condemning the racism portrayed in the production.  Riots broke out when the movie was shown in Boston and Philadelphia.

Rachel Janik reminds us, however, that Birth of a Nation was the beginning of modern cinema.  The film pioneered technical innovations such as "close-ups, fade-outs, and...varying camera angles."

Additionally, engineers at the United States Military Academy provided both advice and artillery for the Civil War battle scenes.

George Beranger

(Wade Cameron)

The Birth of a Nation

Publicity Still (1915)

The silent motion picture, the first to comprise 12 reels of film, starred Lilian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miram Cooper, Ralph Lewis, and George Siegmann.

SOURCE

"'Writing History With Lightning,' The Birth of a Nation at 100," by Rachel Janik, www.time.com/