Only for Those Who Interested in the History of Cinema

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2015)

Though the first real epic film with innovative cinematic language is probably Giovanni Pastrone's 'Cabiria' 'The Birth of a Nation' undoubtedly stands as one of the most important films in the history of (American) cinema and as a landmark for it's many new techniques (panoramic long shots, panning camera shots, night photography, color tinting) that soon after everyone were copying and furbishing these, and that kind of made 'Birth' look outdated pretty quickly.
Controversial upon it's release (it was also a smash box office hit) and stays controversial today. Some people even call it an embarrassment of a film because of it's racist content and vile depiction of blacks who were played by black faced white actors (except some extras on the background). D.W. Griffith wasn't that much interested about the story itself, but more how to tell the story - how to build up tension and stage epic battle scenes. And there lies the duality of the film. The first part is great with it's depiction of two families - northerners and southerners - who were friends but then suddenly were thrown under the wheels of war and terror. And those terrific battle scenes. But the second part - Reconstruction era - that was awkward, it wasn't that much disgusting (for me) , but awkward to see the glorification of Ku Klux Klan.
The fact that 'The Birth of a Nation' is a silent film, it's long running time (over three hours) and outrageously racist second half, will not make it an easy watch. Especially for faint hearted and those who are not very used to silent film medium. Still, it's a must see film, but only open minded persons can see the brilliance of the story telling, the amazing battle scenes, and cringe during the postwar racist scenes. Here writer would recommend to read about 'The Birth of a Nation' before watching it.
'The Birth of a Nation' stays a triumph and total embarrassment in this amazing director's career and life. But with 'Birth' Griffith made people to really take movies seriously. The film just stands as a monument of it's time.