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The Birth of a Nation
 
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The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Starring: Spottiswoode Aitken, Mary Alden Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)

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Customers buy this DVD with Intolerance DVD ~ Lillian Gish

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  • This item: The Birth of a Nation DVD ~ Spottiswoode Aitken

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
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.

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Customer Reviews

159 Reviews
5 star:
 (69)
4 star:
 (30)
3 star:
 (26)
2 star:
 (15)
1 star:
 (19)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (159 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars This is the SHORT version, July 18, 2004
By Extreme Target Shopper (Avondale Estates, GA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Birth of a Nation (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.
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40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding example of early cinema, January 31, 2000
The Birth of a Nation remains one of the giants of motion picture making and one of the most controversial landmarks in film history. As a cinematic achievement the movie was both a stunning commercial and artistic success. No, Griffith did not create such innovations as the closeup, fade-out, irising effect, etc., but it was he under whom these devices were used so successfully and creatively.

One of the main arguments against the film is its racist portrayal of the newly freed slaves. Yes, the pre-Civil War South is overly romanticized, the movie is historically inaccurate, and the caricatures are insulting. Nevertheless, the movie is an awesome achievement, and here, viewing the definitive version of the film, restored to its full twelve-reel length at the visually correct speeds and with the original color tints and original musical score performed by a full orchestra, it is engrossing entertainment and it is easy to see why it was so influential both as a film achievement and as an opinion-molder.

The Birth of a Nation is often criticized for its racism, but the film is eigthy-five years old this year (2000), and should be viewed with that in mind. As for Griffith, there is ample evidence that Griffith did not hate blacks, but he was a product of his time and the portrayal of the newly freed slaves in the picture reflects this. No, Griffith did not view blacks as equals, but in many ways he did admire them. Yes, his attitude was undoubtedly condescending, but as I said, he was a product of his time.

I have read in many reviews of this film anger over the film's inclusion in the AFI 100 list. The film was enormously influential to the industry, and claims that someone else would have or could have achieved what Griffith achieved have no legitimate foundation. There is no way of knowing whether someone else would have achieved what Griffith achieved, and in any event, if someone would have, that does not change the fact that Griffith did it first. The film is in the interesting position of being supremely white-supremecist yet an undeniable landmark at the same time. It should be given a chance and viewed as superior picture making, and not simply as racist garbage. Such an attitude is as simple-minded as is much of the film's haracterizations and romanticizing of history and the silly wording of some of its intertitles. This, the restored and definitive edition (also available on DVD from Image Entertainment) is the ideal way to see this great cinematic masterpiece, and it is a masterpiece. Beware of inferior shortened versions at incorrect projection speeds!

A definite silent film fan, I recommend this film to anyone else who can appreciate silent drama and who can keep an open mind. Enjoying this film does not make you a racist.

(By the way, the review for this film that someone submitted on January 18, 2000 was copied word-for-word from the VideoHound Golden Movie Retriever review of this film!)

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Always Controversial, May 23, 2006
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring Film.
This film, lauded as a classic, is absolutely boring. It's worth seeing only for the advances in film making that have been made since 1915. Read more
Published 18 days ago by HAMLET

4.0 out of 5 stars Deeply upsetting, and absolutely worth it
It is often suggested that the only way to appreciate D.W. Griffith's masterfully executed romanticism of the Klu Klux Klan is to separate his art from its incredibly disturbing... Read more
Published 21 days ago by shaxper

3.0 out of 5 stars birth of a nation
didnt know it was a silence version would have love to have a talkin version.
Published 29 days ago by Cora D. Elam

5.0 out of 5 stars Defective product DVD.I have reported it on line and verbally. by phone.
I saw it a few years ago.[...]I saw it a few years ago.
Griffith's movie is sympathetic to Lincoln,viewing him as a friend of the south and shown in a kindly light,pardoning... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Roger Hamburg

5.0 out of 5 stars D.W. Griffith
What's truly amazing is that this movie accurately depicts the foundation of this nation. If there was a Fab 5 of American Cinema Directors, D.W. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Hitman

5.0 out of 5 stars Still controversial
"The Birth of a Nation", D.W. Griffith's epic film of 1915, is an amazing look at early cinematography with a topic that is still discussed almost one hundred years after its... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jon Hunt

5.0 out of 5 stars The Version of The Birth of a Nation to Buy!
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. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lynn Ellingwood

5.0 out of 5 stars ADULT'S ONLY...This movie is not for children
Make no mistake about it, this 87 year old film, the foundation of movie-making language and one of the most successful films of all time, is not to be seen through the eyes of an... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jonathan

5.0 out of 5 stars The Birth of an Art Form
The conventional wisdom about "The Birth of a Nation" is that it represents an impressive and innovative display of cinematic skill that was unfortunately wasted on a story that... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Eddie

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly interesting as part of the history of cinema
I've seen the Feuillade serials from 1914/1915, I've seen the Garbo silents, I've seen most of Keaton's and Chaplin's features, etc. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Nixon02

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