Review of The Birth of a Nation (1915) by James R — 14 Sep 2010

Alright I'm going with a very neutral rating for this movie. Yes before all the commotion starts this is one of the most racist films I have ever seen in my entire life! It's from the perspective that the slaves were the evil people and they crushed the South from the southerners who lived there...hmm. The Klu Klux Klan are the heroes in the movie as well. So, taking that into consideration I would not rate this higher.

Yes, the movie in my opinion is one of the first true "full length films." During it's original release it did extremely well, and I can tell why! It is the closest anyone at the time had gotten to making a modern film. There are a ton of cuts, it's well acted for a silent film, and it also has a decent storyline that is easy enough to follow.

The movie has a ton of faults. Other than the blatant racism in the film. It is so god damn long! It's a 3 hour SILENT film. Trust me when I say this. I will never complain about a talkie film length ever again after having to endure this. It could have been edited down, but unfortunately D W Griffith had a bit of an ego when making this film.

The music goes very nicely with this film. It actually is very well done and fits in with key moments of the film. Editing could have been tightened a bit, but it still is literally a technical marvel for it's age.

Overall, if your studying film or interested in the big movies that started up the industry and showed that films could be a medium for emotion and cause give it a look. Just beware of it's biased claims and length!