The Birth of a Nation by D. W. Griffith (1915)

The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was the first 12-reel film in the United States.

Griffith's innovative techniques and storytelling power have made The Birth of a Nation one of the landmarks of film history. In 1992, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Here are some of the innovations the director developed:
  • shots designed to elicit an emotional response, e.g. dramatic scenes are cut faster
  • edited to create a lengthy, dramatic epic narrative
  • subtitles
  • filming at night
  • tinting
  • panning
  • close-ups to show emotion
  • cross-cutting
  • varied camera angles - like high-angle shots and panoramic long shots
  • Griffith did all of this with only one camera and two lenses, in a mere nine weeks.
However, the problem with this film is that it is very controversial because of its portrayal of black men (played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force.



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