A Civil War Story and Its Aftermath

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2003)

THE BIRTH OF A NATION (Epoch, 1915), directed by D.W. Griffith, based on Thomas Dixon's book and play, "The Clansman," ranks one of the first and most important silent films ever produced, in fact, the first American movie epic set during and after the Civil War. It features an all star cast including Lillian Gish as Elsie Stoneman; Ralph Lewis as Austin Stoneman; Miriam Cooper as Margaret Cameron, known as "The Daughter of the South"; Robert Harron as Tod Stoneman; Donald Crisp as General U.S. Grant; and Mary Alden as Lydia Brown, along with Eugene Palette and Elmo Lincoln presented in smaller roles.
After a brief prologue set in the 17th century with the introduction of slavery into this country, the dramatization moves forward to the 1860s, introducing the Stonemans, a Northern family, and the Camerons of Piedmont, South Carolina, and how two American families are torn apart after the outbreak of what has become historically known as the Civil War. Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall), better known as "The Little Colonel," thus, heads his troops out of Piedmont, and leads a heroic charge against a Union trench, commanded by Phil Stoneman (Elmer Clifton). Consisting of then realistic battle scenes superbly recreated and retold on screen, the war finishes with General Robert E. Lee's (Howard Gaye) surrender, and that historic evening of April 14, 1865, as President Abraham Lincoln (Joseph Henabery) is seated in the balcony with his wife, Mary, at the Ford Theater attending the play, "Our American Cousin," only to become assassinated by an actor crazed named John Wilkes Booth (Raoul Walsh). END OF PART I. The second half focuses on the painful reconstruction of the South, the newly freed slaves dominating South Carolina, and how Silas Lynch (George Siegmann) uses the ex-slaves with false promises to help him achieve power for himself. During this segment, there's one notable scene in which Gus, a Renegade Negro (Walter Long) becomes responsible for the death of Flora Cameron (Mae Marsh), after being pursued by him in fear of being attacked, thus, plunging to her death. To save the South from mass destruction, Cameron forms a group "to protect the Southern country," better known today as the Ku Klux Klan, with Gus as one of their first victims.
I first stumbled upon THE BIRTH OF A NATION when it premiered on public broadcasting station of WNET, Channel 13, in New York City, an introduction to its weekly series, "Films of Persuasion" in September 1977. Having read and heard so much about this legendary, but controversial silent film, I finally got to see why it is listed among one of the top 50, or 100 greatest movies of all time, and at the same time, how it has been denounced by civil rights organizations. At the length of 158 minutes (depending on the projection speed by various video distributors), the story divided into two parts: The first on the two families, the Camerons and Stonemans, the outbreak of the finish of the Civil War. After a pause of intermission time, the final hour, dealing with the reconstruction, is where the controversy lies. Had THE BIRTH OF A NATION been a simple two hour Civil War story, then it would have been categorized as a historical epic retold. The second half, however, changes all that with aftermath of the war, from the South's point of view, or Griffith's, leading to the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. The surprise is finding how the now free black slaves are portrayed as villains with the Clansmen the heroes. What an eye opener this was way back in 1915, and even today! How much of the story depicted in this photo-play is true actually relies on its director. One would have to do some thorough research to actually find out more about this particular era. Fortunately for Griffith, THE BIRTH OF A NATION didn't destroy his directorial career as a whole, not by a longshot. Griffith followed BIRTH with another epic, INTOLERANCE (1916). Observers would take note that these epics each come to similar conclusions.
Regardless of its controversy over the years, THE BIRTH OF A NATION is fine story telling, and quite a long movie at that. KINO Video restored THE BIRTH OF A NATION with a new orchestral score and color tints in the 1990s. While the restoration is fine, the score that goes with it seems to take away from the full impact of the story. The best copy to obtain is the one by Blackhawk Video, later Republic Pictures Home Video, distributed in the 1980s and '90s. The orchestral score, conducted by Fraser McDonald, seemed better suited. The Blackhawk version lists the actors and their roles along with its staff prior to its opening while the KINO version does not. A shorter version of THE BIRTH OF A NATION exists through its 1930 ninety-minute reissue. To see THE BIRTH OF A NATION today, one would have to accept the fact that the movie has been made, released, studied, and nothing about this film can ever be changed. It can be hailed as Griffith's greatest achievement or a disgrace to cinema history. Sure, an original negative could be found and destroyed, but it'll be hard to pretend it never existed. It'll remain, till the end of time, a matter of taste or a curiosity at best.
THE BIRTH OF A NATION, now available on DVD, occasionally airs on Turner Classic Movies, usually in its nearly three hour print from Kino Video.(****)