One of the most controversial films of all time

Rating: 6/10 (16 June 2005)

This 1914 D.W. Griffith historical epic is a legendary film, both for it's (according to film scholars, at least) pioneering use of narrative techniques and for its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. It is often credited for defining the "grammar" by which filmmakers tell stories, and for encouraging a resurgence in the KKK. It's often referred to in reviews as a disturbing masterpiece. To me, on the other, the movie seemed more like a disturbing relic of history, impressive at times but generally more interesting as a piece of history than as an actual story. Perhaps the blame lies with the print's inevitably less-than-pristine condition, but I doubt it. Gone With the Wind, which covers similar ground, may not have been as innovative as Birth of a Nation, but it stands up much better now, even leaving aside the question of racism. Birth of a Nation isn't a bad movie, aside from the racism, but it's also not anything special. The movie first runs into problems in its first half when it attempts to integrate history with drama. Actually, there isn't much of an attempt to combine the fictional story with historical reenactments, at least not until the second half. Griffith just cuts from recreations of famous incidents (Sherman's March, the burning of Atlanta, Grant and Lee at Appomattox) to the fictional characters in unidentified battles. The battle scenes seem to have been a big deal at the time, but, for the most part, I didn't find them to be especially impressive, since the sequences consist mostly of long shots of puffs of white smokes. The second half, which is what has gotten the movie into hot water, at least works better as a story and has more of a focus. The chase and rescue at the end doesn't seem that innovative anymore, but it is still exciting- assuming, of course, that you can overlook what's actually going on in the scene.