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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (novel)
Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (play) ...
more
Release Date:
3 March 1915 (USA) more
Tagline:
Mighty Spectacle more
Plot:
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 synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
The Pride of Precious Jones
(From Huffington Post. 9 November 2009, 2:49 PM, PST)
Pillars Of Society – Henry B. Walthall – d: Raoul Walsh
(From Alternative Film Guide. 29 October 2009, 10:29 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Bad History more (255 total)
Cast
(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:
Runtime:
190 min (16 fps) | USA:125 min (video version) | USA:187 min (DVD) | Argentina:165 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 (2002) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Canada:G (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film was 12 reels long. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: Car tire tracks are visible in the KKK segment. more
Quotes:
intertitle: Over four hundred thousand Ku Klux costumes made by the women of the South and not one trust betrayed. more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (255 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Birth of a Nation (1915) moreRecommendations
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Anyone who thinks that this film depicts real history is seriously deluded. One commenter noted that the KKK was fighting for a good cause during Reconstruction, but not now. I guess to him good causes include killing and intimidating freed slaves who were merely attempting to exercise their rights to vote and make a living.
Griffith's portrayal of Reconstruction black politicians is not only racist, but blatantly untrue. Only in rare instances and for a short time did black representatives control any Southern legislatures, and this at a time when they were the majority of voters in many Southern states! For years teachers of Reconstruction have emphasized carpetbaggers, but have ommitted the fact that the post-Reconstruction governments were founded with the explicit purpose of disenfranchising blacks and violently enforcing their underclass status. For this reason and others, Birth of a Nation's claims to historical accuracy would be comical, if not for the horrific implications of the film.
That said, this film should be seen, mainly because it provides a document of a poisonous way of thinking that is by no means dead. It also represents the pop cultural moment when Northern and Southern whites reconciled over the memory of the Civil War, mainly to the detriment of blacks. Lastly, those who want this film burned only give ammunition to the idiots who still praise the KKK. It's better to let these jerks hang themselves with their own rhetorical ropes than to let them claim victim status.