The Birth of a Nation

“The Birth of a Nation” has the distinction of being one of the few films that people tend to hate, even without watching them. Actually, some people hate it but others love it, for different reasons. Those who hate it, do it because of its racist views, while those who love it, do it because of all its technical achievements. At any rate, D.W. Griffith (David Llewelyn Wark Griffith, 1875-1948), its director, was one of the early masters of cinema and would later go on to create United Artists, with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks. Its follow up film, “Intolerance” (1916), was meant to show the dangers of prejudice and the effects of intolerance throughout history. It didn’t matter, though, as the “Birth of the Nation” marked his life and career forever. Now, this controversial but important film is available in a majestic, deluxe 3-disc Blu-ray edition.

The film was originally called “The Clansman” (yes, as of Ku Klux Klan, the KKK), but its name was changed later to “The Birth of a Nation.” Its original name was based on a play with the same title by Thomas Dixon Jr., a racist North Carolina Baptist minister. The complete title was “The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan,” which was the second volume of a trilogy that included “The Leopard’s Spots: A Romance of the White Man’s Burden, 1865-1900” and “The Traitor.” The film opens with the following plea: “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 conceded to the art of the written word – that art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.” Once you watched the entire movie, you’ll have to figure out what Griffith meant with that statement. Furthermore, it also opens with these incendiary words: “The bringing of the African to America planted the first seed of disunion,” which, in a way, prepares you for what is yet to come.

The story is very simple, yet powerful for the times, and it really didn’t need the appearance of the KKK to make its point. Without the later element, it would have been a great anti-war film. It is basically the story of two families affected by the civil war. One of them is the Stonemans, led by Austin Stoneman (Ralph Lewis), a respected and influential member of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. The Camerons, on the other hand, live in the southern city of Piedmont, South Carolina, and their patriarch is Dr. Cameron (Spottiswoode Aitken).These families are bonded by a deep friendship. However, their happy life is interrupted by the civil war, and sons of both families are enlisted in both the Confederate and Union armies, and are sent to the gruesome battlefront. Most of the casualties are taken by the Camerons. The only survivor, Ben Cameron, is attended in the hospital by Elsie Stoneman (Lillian Gish), and he recognizes her voice because, unbeknown to her, he was in love with her after seeing her picture some time back.

After the war, the reconstruction of the country begins, and President Lincoln decides to be merciful with the South. Unfortunately, he gets shot, and his ideals were interrupted. Enter Austin Stoneman, who by now is very powerful in congress. He sends a mulatto that he likes and trusts, Silas Lynch, to Piedmont, in order that he could assist in the integration of the South and the North, between blacks and whites, mainly to get the black vote. Unfortunately, Lynch has other plans and messes things up. It is here that the racist part of the film becomes more of an issue, as the blacks are portrayed as beasts and abusive towards the white population. Because of this, one of the mayor characters of the film has the idea of creating the Ku Klux Klan, with the aim of rescuing the whites from the blacks. Or, as you can read on the screen: “The Ku Klux Klan, the organization that saved the South from the anarchy of black rule” or “The former enemies of North and South are united again in common defense of their Aryan birthright.” At this point, you may probably guess how everything is going to end.

It is said that D.W. Griffith innovations in “The Birth of the Nation” and cinema in general included the “use of ornate title cards, its own musical score written for an orchestra, use of magnesium flares for outdoor night photography, use of still-shots, development of the iris shot, use of multiple angles, the effective use of color tinting for dramatic or psychological effect in sequences, use of outdoor natural landscapes as background, staged battle scenes with hundred of extras,” and, believe it or not, much more creative advances. Add to this the racist story, and you have quite a movie, one that is still controversial, and will probably be so until the end of days. Some of this controversy arose, for example, when the film was included in the National Film Registry in 1993, and as one of the “Top 100 American Films” (spot #44) in 1998. In the end, of course, the viewer is the judge. At any case, I insist, this is a movie to have in any collection for any reasons that can you think of, hate it or not. The formidable deluxe 3-disc Blu-ray edition is loaded with historical extras, such as the DVD version of the film, a making-of documentary, spoken introduction by D.W. Griffith himself and Walter Huston, seven Civil War shorts directed by Griffith (including “In the Border States” – 1910, The House with closed shutters” – 1910, “The Fugitive” – 1910), archival censorship documents over the battle of the film’s re-release in 1922, and more! (USA, 1915, color tinted, 192 min plus additional materials). Reviewed on February 29, 2012. Kino Lorber Blu-ray

To purchase DVD, click here or on image above.