Review of The Birth of a Nation (1915) by Oscar T — 15 Apr 2014

Probably the most controversial and divisive movie ever made.

For its time (1915), its cinematography is superb. Even today some of the battle scenes are great. Orson Welles once listed DW Griffith as one of the greatest directors who had ever lived, and did so mostly for his innovative cinematography. Considering that Orson Welles IS one of the greatest directors who has ever lived, that's quite a compliment.

For the first half of the movie, DW Griffith stuck to history (except for the fictional families at the centre of the drama) and this had the makings of a great epic.

Then Griffith turned the movie into a racist, revisionist piece of pro-Ku Klux Klan propaganda. The latter half of the movie could easily have been a Nazi Germany propaganda movie from the 1930s or 40s, it was that bad.

Sad, that anyone could make such utter racist bullshit and especially considering the objectivity and solid storyline of the first half.

3.5-4/5 for the first half and the innovativeness of the cinematography. 0/5 for the second half.

Definitely worth a watch. Worth seeing as a piece of cinema history, and to see what all the fuss is about.