The Birth of a Nation (1915)

The Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

Thomas Dixon Jr. (adapted from his novel: "The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan") (as Thomas F. Dixon Jr.), Thomas Dixon Jr. (play) (as Thomas F. Dixon Jr.)

Stars:

Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry B. Walthall	...	Colonel Ben Cameron aka The Little Colonel (as Henry Walthall)
Lillian Gish	...	Elsie - Stoneman's Daughter
Mae Marsh	...	Flora Cameron - the Pet Sister
Miriam Cooper	...	Margaret Cameron - the Elder Sister
Mary Alden	...	Lydia Brown - Stoneman's Mulatto Housekeeper
Ralph Lewis	...	Hon. Austin Stoneman - Leader of the House
George Siegmann	...	Silas Lynch - Mulatto Lieut. Governor (as George Seigmann)
Walter Long	...	Gus - A Renegade Negro
Robert Harron	...	Tod - Stoneman's Younger Son
Wallace Reid	...	Jeff - The Blacksmith (as Wallace Reed)
Joseph Henabery	...	Abraham Lincoln (as Jos. Henabery)
Elmer Clifton	...	Phil - Stoneman's Elder Son
Josephine Crowell	...	Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Dr. Cameron
George Beranger	...	Wade Cameron - the Second Son (as J.A. Beringer)

Storyline

Two brothers, Phil and Ted Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.

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Plot Keywords:

ku klux klan | civil war | reconstruction era | propaganda | american civil war | 

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Taglines:

See Lincoln, grant and Lee Achieving Victories as Soldiers (Print Ad-Boston Evening Transcript, ((Boston Mass.)) 11 October 1915)

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

By 1946, the film had been seen by 200,000,000 people worldwide.

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Goofs

It would have been impossible for Mother Cameron to travel from South Carolina to Washington, DC, through a war zone, to visit her son.

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Quotes

intertitle: Dare we dream of a golden day when the bestial War shall rule n o more. But instead - the gentle Prince in the Hall of Brotherly Love in the City of Peace.

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Crazy Credits

The following was listed in the opening credits: A PLEA FOR THE ART OF THE MOTION PICTURE: We do not fear censorship, for we have no wish to offend with improprieties or obscenities, but we do demand, as a right, the liberty to show the dark side of wrong, that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue - the same liberty that is conceeded to the art of the written word - that art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.

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Alternate Versions

The VHS of Birth Of A Nation runs at 125min.The Fully Uncut version is the DVD version and it runs 190min

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Connections

References His Trust Fulfilled (1911)

User Reviews

The Conventional Wisdom is Partially Right

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 promotes a bizarre and disturbing point of view. While that is certainly true in a general way, it might also be something of an oversimplification.

It really is almost like two different movies. The first part, which takes place in the era before and during the Civil War, contains little objectionable material, and it deserves praise both technically and for the acting. The second part, set in the reconstruction era, contains almost all of the disturbing material, and it also is really not all that great in terms of cinematic quality.

Then also, the degree to which "The Birth of a Nation" may have influenced the development of cinema has very likely been overstated . The controversy that it generated may very well have helped it to remain better known than other films of the era that were equally innovative and/or lavish, or nearly so.

If the movie had ended shortly after the memorable and well-crafted Ford's Theater scene, the anti-war sentiment and similar themes would remain the main focus, since the effects of war on families and individuals is depicted convincingly and thoughtfully. In that case, its occasional lapses would possibly at the worst be called "dated", given the quality of the rest of this part of the movie.

The second half, though, is completely unfortunate in almost every respect. Not only does it promote a distorted viewpoint, but the story becomes labored, and the characters lose their depth and become more one-dimensional. The purely technical side, such as the photography and the use of cross-cutting, might still be good, but much of the rest of it loses its effectiveness.

Perhaps more importantly, it really seems rather difficult to justify the credit that this one film gets in the development of cinema. There had already been numerous feature-length movies, and most of the techniques that Griffith used were also in use by others. He may well have been ahead of the pack in terms of appreciating their possibilities, but that does not mean that cinema would not have developed as it did without this particular movie.

Just as one example, the Italian epic "Cabiria", from the previous year, has the same kind of lavish scale, is quite resourceful in its techniques, and is quite entertaining, without causing so much controversy.

Other early feature-length films also include some creative efforts to adapt film-making techniques to longer running times and more complex stories. Finally, many short features from the pre-Griffith era experimented with the same kinds of techniques that he later would use systematically. There's no denying Griffith's considerable technical skill, but others of the era also deserve some credit, even if they and their works were less controversial, and are now largely forgotten as a result.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Release Date:

21 March 1915 (USA)

Also Known As:

In the Clutches of the Ku Klux Klan

Filming Locations:

Jungleland, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David W. Griffith Corp., Epoch Producing Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

195 min 190 min 125 min (video) 187 min (DVD) 133 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1