Product Details

• Actors: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, F.A. Turner, Sam De Grasse
• Directors: D.W. Griffith
• Writers: D.W. Griffith, Anita Loos, Frank E. Woods, Hettie Grey Baker, Mary H. O'Connor
• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 19, 1999
• Run Time: 197 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305186685
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,526 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Intolerance" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

After Birth of a Nation, what do you do for an encore, especially after said film has branded you a racist? D.W. Griffith, the silent era's "king of the world," mounted this melodramatic spectacle of "Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages," four stories that illustrate "how hatred and intolerance have battled against love and charity." Critic Heywood Broun, upon the film's release, probably said it best: "Quite the most marvelous thing which has been put on the screen, but as a theory of life it is trite." But what's on the screen is dazzling!

Griffith interweaves the four parallel stories set, respectively, in the modern era (fuddy-duddy reformers and a workers' strike), Jerusalem (Christ's crucifixion), 1572 Paris (a "hotbed" of persecution against the Huguenots), and ancient Babylon. No collection of silent films is complete without this landmark, awe-inspiring epic, which really does boast a cast of thousands (the most memorable of which is Constance Talmadge as the spunky Mountain Girl). The fall of Babylon ranks with one of the great action set pieces, complete with racing chariots, a nifty decapitation (at the hands of Elmo Lincoln, the man who would be Tarzan), and falls from what appear to be incredible heights. The edge-of-your-seat climax to the modern story, a race against time to save an innocent young man from the electric chair, is another bravura sequence. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

D.W. Griffith's towering epic of man's inhumanity to man throughout the ages, "Intolerance" is considered the greatest film of the silent era and perhaps the greatest film ever made. This edition of "Intolerance" has been restored and reconstructed to 178 minutes with the original color tinting specifications and a digital stereo organ score by Gaylord Carter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars D.W. Griffith and INTOLERANCE In The 21st Century., February 14, 2006

By 

Chip Kaufmann (Asheville, N.C. United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intolerance (DVD)

Imagine that Steven Spielberg was no longer directing movies and that WAR OF THE WORLDS would be the one film he is remembered for. Would that be a fair assessment of his career? Absolutely not but that is what has happened to cinema pioneer D.W. Griffith. The film he is remembered for today is the 1915 BIRTH OF A NATION which was the first important American epic. Unfortunately its source material THE CLANSMAN (the film's original title) is a Southern view of the Civil War which glorifies the Ku Klux Klan and is extremely racist (although toned down considerably from the book by Thomas Dixon). Griffith made 34 feature films and over 400 shorts between 1908 and 1931. In the overwhelming majority of these he is a social progressive tackling such issues as poverty, political corruption, worker exploitation and interracial romance. He even made an anti-Klan film THE ROSE OF KENTUCKY back in 1912.

I mention all of this because in this current climate of political correctness Griffith is being judged and censured on the basis of one film as opposed to his whole body of work and the damage being done to his reputation is still going on. In the recent Oscar nominated film JUNEBUG, one of the characters is a Southern racist Civil War painter who happens to be named David Wark (the D.W. in Griffith's name).

INTOLERANCE, the follow-up to NATION, was the most ambitious and expensive film ever made up to that point (1916) and forever changed the way that movies would be made after it. Because of the lifesize sets of Ancient Babylon and the thousands of extras employed, the movie would cost over $500 million to remake today. Its central theme shows how intolerance through the ages breeds anger, anger then breeds repression and repression breeds more intolerance. Set in four different historical time periods (including then present day 1916), the film shifts back and forth from story to story with ever increasing frequency until it reaches its dramatic climax followed by a fanciful epilogue of what the world would be like if we could only banish our fear and hatred. Virtually every visual film technique you can think of appeared in this film inspiring filmmakers around the world who quickly followed suit. After 90 years it still remains a wonder to be seen.

There are several different versions of INTOLERANCE currently available on DVD. This Kino edition is the most complete while the Image edition follows Griffith's reissue wishes for the film. AVOID at all costs all the low budget DVDs of this cinematic milestone as they are of inferior visual quality and have uncoordinated sound accompaniment. It's time once again to give D.W. Griffith his due and this is the place to start. Follow this up with his BIOGRAPH shorts and then some of his features such as BROKEN BLOSSOMS or SALLY OF THE SAWDUST and see just what he was capable of. Griffith's wheel of fortune has come full circle a number of times and will continue to do so. That is the measure of a true artist. Remember to look for the Kino or Image DVD versions of his films. They cost a lot more but like Criterion DVDs they are loaded with extras and are more than worth it.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic Landmark, January 22, 2001

By 

Daniel H. Hawkins (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intolerance (DVD)

I must admit that I was intimidated by "Intolerance" before sitting down to watch it. I knew it was an early silent movie (1916) consisting of four different stories. I knew that the three hour running time would be spent intercutting between these four stories. Would I be able to keep up with all four stories? Would I be able to tell the different characters apart in the grainy black and white (with color-tinting)?

After watching it, I have a whole new appreciation for D.W. Griffith. Yes, I was able to tell the characters apart, and yes, I was able to keep up with all the storylines. This film was a giant leap forward in filmmaking from Griffith's previous film, "The Birth of a Nation." The most impressive story of the film is the fall of Babylon. The sets were magnificent, and the battle scenes were spectacular. Constance Talmadge was wonderful as the Mountain Girl. The modern story was entertaining and moving. The French and Judean stories were very underdeveloped, but that really didn't bother me.

Anyone with an interest in silent movies or film history must see this film.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Gotham/Alpha Video version is unwatchable, January 3, 2005

By 

matthewslaughter "matthewslaughter" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intolerance (DVD)

This cheapy version of Griffith's "Intolerance" (as opposed to the Kino version) is practically unwatchable -- out of focus, poorly scanned, and at times you can even detect tracking lines (i.e. this DVD was simply transferred from a videocassette version). Would not recommend at all. Check out the Kino version, as they tend to do good job at transfering old silent films to DVD.

The 1 star review is not reflective of Griffith's film. It is one of my favorite silent films and probably the most ambitious film ever made in terms of casting, sets and the enormity of the timespan of the four separate stories. This film is probably much more representative of Griffith's acievements than the racist and way outdated "Birth of a Nation." So this film deserves to be preserved properly, not in this bastardized cheapy version. Alas, I got what I paid for :-(