review for History of American Cinema- ARTS 272_500

Rating: Null/10 (14 September 2009)

Birth of a Nation demanded my full attention in order to follow. At first, it was difficult to figure out who people were, differentiate them, and how they each related to each other. After I got used to the characters, I began to really appreciate this movie. The story of how the civil war tore apart friendships and how friends and brothers killed each other was beautifully portrayed. The battle scene where the two friends and opponents died side by side was very touching.
This movie was also visually pleasing. When the outdoor fire scenes, which were red, switched to the glowing, yellow indoor scenes, it really added a sense of changing atmosphere. I also really liked the music choice, it's not every day that you see a town burning down to the soothing tune of "O Tannenbaum". "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was a wonderful choice for setting a battle scene; it reminded me of playing the old computer game Return Fire.