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The Birth of a Nation (1915)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
3 March 1915 (USA) moreTagline:
Mighty Spectacle morePlot:
The Civil War divides friends and destroys families, but that's nothing compared to the anarchy in the black-ruled South after the war. full summary | full synopsisPlot Keywords:
moreAwards:
1 win moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Triumph over "Triumph of the Will" (From Roger Ebert's Blog. 19 June 2008, 9:28 PM, PDT)
Denver Library Allows Movie Downloads
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 22 March 2006)
User Comments:
What does it mean to say something is 'Politically Correct'? moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Lillian Gish | ... | Elsie Stoneman | |
| Mae Marsh | ... | Flora Cameron | |
| Henry B. Walthall | ... | Col. Ben Cameron (as Henry Walthall) | |
| Miriam Cooper | ... | Margaret Cameron | |
| Mary Alden | ... | Lydia Brown | |
| Ralph Lewis | ... | Austin Stoneman | |
| George Siegmann | ... | Silas Lynch (as George Seigmann) | |
| Walter Long | ... | Gus | |
| Robert Harron | ... | Tod Stoneman | |
| Wallace Reid | ... | Jeff (blacksmith) (as Wallace Reed) | |
| Joseph Henabery | ... | Abraham Lincoln / 13 other bits (as Jos. Henabery) | |
| Elmer Clifton | ... | Phil Stoneman | |
| Josephine Crowell | ... | Mrs. Cameron | |
| Spottiswoode Aitken | ... | Dr. Cameron | |
| George Beranger | ... | Wade Cameron (as J.A. Beringer) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
In the Clutches of the Ku Klux Klan (USA) (cut version)The Birth of the Nation; Or The Clansman (second copyright title)
The Clansman (USA) (Los Angeles première title)
more
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
190 min (16 fps) | USA:125 min (video version) | USA:187 min (DVD) | Argentina:165 minCountry:
USAColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 moreSound Mix:
SilentCertification:
Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 (2002) | Australia:PG | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Canada:G (Quebec)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In original program material, George Beranger is listed as "J.A. Beringer" and the character of Duke Cameron is credited to "John French". Also, Wallace Reid's name is misspelled "Reed" in original programs. moreGoofs:
Anachronisms: Car tire tracks are visible in the KKK segment. moreQuotes:
Austin Stoneman: [to Silas Lynch, "mulatto leader of the blacks"] Don't scrape to me. You are the equal of any man here. moreFAQ
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I don't think there's ever been a more maligned phrase than "politically correct" out there; the words immediately evoke a kind of liberal pseudo-fascism that some would have you believe is dominating freedom of speech and thought around universities and media outlets everywhere. I'm not so sure about that, but I am concerned at the counter-trend, of things that are labeled politically incorrect now proudly sporting that label as if they were a rebel, a David fighting these psedo-fascist Goliaths. That is hardly the case. D.W. Griffith's movie, far from being a politically incorrect movie unfairly condemned by the liberal elite, was a movie that perpetuated and, to a certain extent, created a Southern Myth that was damning to black people all throughout the country. The scary bit about this movie is not that it is one voice amoung many giving a personal recount of reconstruction. The movie is not presented that way, nor was it received that way. Until the 1960s, this movie WAS the commonplace, everyday understanding of reconstruction, understood by both Northerners and Southerners (aside: notice how the movie intentionately put as much distance between Northerners and Southerners as possible? The enemy is blacks and "radicals" (who were nothing of the sort), not Lincoln or the union soldiers. The movie was trying to appeal to a Northern audience).
Anyone who ever complains about the political correctness or historical "revisionism" of today's academics, see this movie. And understand, that it is the work of historical "revisionists" that are responsible for teaching the facts about our nation's history, grasped out of the hands of fictions like Griffith's horrific Birth of a Nation. And don't be so smug about complaining of political correctness in the future.
And don't try to seperate this film as an artistic work with the historical perspective of the film. Keep in mind, this film was not only a portrayl of history, it was also a *part* of history. It served to defend racial segregation, lychings, and the Klan at a time when all three of those were very real political issues. It is not a coincidence that the greatest period of lychings and Jim Crow laws came shortly after this movie. In short, this film oppressed people. So don't treat it like it existed in an entertainment vacuum, unaffected by and unaffecting everything else around it.