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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A pivotal moment in film history. After The Birth of a Nation, nothing was the same: not the way audiences watched movies, not the way filmmakers created them. D.W. Griffith's jumbo-size saga of the Civil War expanded the boundaries of storytelling on the screen, conveying a richer, more complicated (and certainly longer) tale than anyone had seen in a movie before. The delicate relationships, the sad passage of time, the spectacular battle scenes all look as fresh and innovative today as they did in 1915. So do Griffith's brilliant actors, most of them--including favorite leading lady Lillian Gish--drawn from his regular stock company. What has become increasingly problematic about The Birth of a Nation is Griffith's condescending attitude toward black slaves, and the ringing excitement surrounding the founding of the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith, whose political ideas were naive at best, seemed genuinely surprised by the criticism of his masterwork, and for his next project he turned to the humanist preaching of the massive Intolerance. Despite protests, Birth sold more tickets than any other movie, a record that stood for decades, and President Woodrow Wilson famously compared it to "history written in lightning." That judgment has lasted. --Robert Horton
Product Description
Based on a play called "The Clansmen," D.W. Griffith's three-hour Civil War epic traces the development of the Civil War itself, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan through the lives of two families.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
While it seems that many reviews posted on the DVD site aren't actually for this DVD, this review is specifically a review of Kino's Griffith Masterworks edition. The DVD contains the most complete version of The Birth of a Nation known and available. The film is 187 min. long on this disk. It is a beautiful print, well restored and re-tinted. A beautiful print. The musical score is clever and very entertaining too. I think of any bad thing to say about the disk. I think most know of the story line and its hints of racism. It's there and it can't be argued away. D.W. Griffith was a son of a Civil War soldier and grew up in the South. He used the book The Clansman by Thomas Dixon Jr. as it jibed with his own viewpoints and many of the day. The hero worship of the Klan actually encouraged its resurgence in late 1910s and 1920s into the 30s. The racism brought Griffith so much grief, he spent his life trying to justify his views and created Intolerance to offset the criticism. What brings The Birth of a Nation is its reliance on story and use of the film camera never tried before in the USA before. It is a cinema powerhouse and actually a pretty moving film. Never before had Americans seen the cinema come to life before. Some French, Italian and German filmmakers created feature films that are quite good and successful, but World War I basically destroyed their film industries and the US reigned supreme. DW Griffith took American film to the next level permanently. No longer were films relegated to the poorer urban areas and Nickelodeons. It was now a popular art form and respectable to attend the cinema. The DVD also includes a making of, and introduction by DW himself made in 1930, and several early versions of his Civil War films. It seems to me that because of the closeness to the time period, the films might indicate a closer idea of how former Confederates actually thought and how they remember the war.
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
There is no need to comment further on this film because so many people have already done so. What I am troubled by are the number of people who have claimed that the movie is "only controversial to modern audiences." It should be noted that this is absolutely false. It was highly criticized at the time for being extremely racist, caused riots in several major cities, spawned movements to have it banned, and inspired African Americans to begin making films to counter its distortions. The storm of criticism was so intense that Griffith himself was personally terribly hurt and attempted the rest of his career to change the impressions people had of him because of the movie. Even President Wilson (who famously declared the movie to be "history written with lightening") had to respond to the criticism of the film by later denouncing it and its message (a fact that rarely gets mentioned when people use his quote). So let's not think that the film's message has only become controversial in our post-Civil Rights Movement age. The film sparked immediate outrage and critcism that continues to this day.
112 of 137 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film was one of the assigned viewings for a History of Film class. The professor specified the 180 minute version and specifically described the ending as being important to a complete analysis of the work. My bad for not checking the specifics for this edition, but be forewarned: if you want the full version, this is NOT it. This version ends with Liberation. Several other key scenes appear to have been edited out.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Yes, It's Historically Important; But It's Also a Lousy Film
This is by far the oldest movie in my collection, and the only silent film. Except, of course, on DVD it is not silent. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Barbara Frederick
BOAN DOA
The movie was brand new like advertised and it was clear and was shipped on time. The movie itself is a whole nother story.
Published 23 days ago by mzgp69
A Grand Accomplishment
This film premiered in 1915; the southern states were still racially segregated, the KKK had millions of members nation-wide, and there were still plenty of southern veterans from... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Doctor S.
The Birth of a Nation
Customer Video Review
Length:
6:33
Mins
Published 2 months ago by Carlos E. Velasquez
The Birth of a Nation
Omitting all b.s. about the historical importance of The Birth of a Nation, I will judge the film unbiasedly, without the typical application of thick gloss a film prude may apply... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jarod
This is Blu-ray??
Ok-I know this is a really old movie and a classic as such, but I was expecting, on a Blu-ray disc, a much cleaner movie, and by that I mean there was so much dirt and scratches on... Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. Nance
BIRTH OF A NATION blu-ray version
GREAT RESTORATION on to B/R and good clear transfer. Sound and picture is the best it will get and I'm so pleased that this film has been given the full treatment.Looks great. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Stephen S. McIver
The Birth of a Nation - Special Edition Blu-Ray
We're stuck with The Birth of a Nation. Few would deny its profound influence on movie history, but fewer still can watch its loathsome treatment of African Americans with anything... Read more
Published 5 months ago by A kids review
Love and Hate
Never have I seen a movie that I both love and hate at the same time. "Birth Of A Nation" is both aw inspiring and disgusting. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Janet Chandler
Cinema is propaganda and Birth of a Nation is Exhibit A!
This is a review of the Blu-ray edition, a three-disc set, two of which are in standard
definition. How does BOAN appear in Blu-ray? Nothing revelatory here. Read more
definition. How does BOAN appear in Blu-ray? Nothing revelatory here. Read more
Published 5 months ago by olympio
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