One of the first truly epic films is also one of the most infamous.

Rating: 6/10 (29 February 2012)

Very few films have managed this much lasting infamy, so I felt it was necessary for my film watching education.
The first hour and a half actually doesn't come off too badly (well, other than the appearance of the 'pet sister', but that's a relatively small role). You have two families trying to manage during the Civil War.
The changing point in the film is the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. That's when you start seeing the plots against the white south kicking into gear and some pretty over the top African Americans giving that little 'excellent' expression in perfect Mr. Burns fashion. This is when a sort of parody of African Americans begins, where they are 'taking over' the South, given control of any important positions and basically the audience is informed that the African Americans are ignorant of what leadership and these types of positions truly entail. Scenes involving a rowdy parliament filled with African Americans, as an example of the parody, where one guy has his feet up, shoeless, and he is told that in here, they must all wear shoes. He is not too happy with that notion, but complies, while in that same scene, a guy talking to everybody wanders around eating chicken.
I also noticed that the 'African American' characters were played by a mixture of actual African Americans and people with make up on trying to look like them. It doesn't look right. And it looked like the characters that do the worst things were of the latter category along. Aesthetically, this just looks wrong, and I almost wish they would have chosen to go one way or the other, rather than try to mix the two.
Story-wise, it's about as interesting as any other film of this sort, past or present, except without sound (the music doesn't really count, since it only partially fits... sometimes... Don't get me started on musical scores to silent films, because that is a whole other discussion). So, we're watching a bunch of people talk and not being able to see what they are saying. Give me more title cards! It really bothers me watching a bunch of talking scenes (with very few title cards saying what is being said), because I feel like I'm going deaf, and I have enough problems as it is with hearing.
On the other hand, the facial expressions of the characters in this movie were used fairly well, so that you got a good idea of the emotions and feelings of the characters, even if you couldn't understand what the heck they were saying.
You have a very slanted film after the assassination, aiming to show the white south as victims of the north, putting the former slaves in charge of the masters and basically disallowing the white south from having any power (such as the power to vote). You do have a couple African American characters who work for one of the families (one of them as a maid) and go so far as rescuing the Doctor guy (the head of that family) from captivity, which is an odd juxtaposition against the rest of the latter half of the film, because it kind of sort of shows a positive portrayal.
While I don't agree with the overall thrust of the movie and who it decided to paint up as heroes, I thought it would be a lot worse. Granted, at the time it was released, I can see how it would be shocking. But for me, the more horrific moments are the smaller moments and this film is much more broad than that, much more about bigger moments. The fact that they painted the Klu Klux Klan as heroes means that of course, any act of violence they portray must be one that is justified. So, for example, they kill an African American man and leave him on the doorsteps of the lead guy in charge locally, Lynch... but why? It was because he killed a woman. Now, the quotation used to describe their actions was rather ridiculous... but because of the justification, their actions aren't horrific. It would have been much more horrific for me if they went around committing atrocities and the film still treated them like heroes. At least, here, the film is consistent. It's a fantasy loosely based in reality. If you think of it like that, a lot of the film's power is largely negated.
Also consider this, the KKK don't even appear until about 2 hours in this 3 hour film. Their forming is kind of ridiculous, especially when you see the main Cameron guy have a light bulb go on in his head (via his expression), but they only exist in 1/3 of the film (less when you consider that not every scene has them in it).
I've seen more horrific moments in films that portray the reality of them, not the fantasy. The KKK of this film is not the same KKK in those other films. And while my thoughts on the group itself remain negative, it means that this film and its portrayal of African Americans (for the most part) is merely offensive. Still, I have to stand by it as an artistic expression, adapted from a novel, in a country supposedly founded on such ideals, so trying to ban it, even at the turn of the century, I think was wrong.
So, take it or leave it, but worth seeing from a film appreciation standpoint.
Civil War Shorts (Birth of a Nation 3 disc set)
I'd kind of want to recommend these over Birth of a Nation, because they are small, complete little stories with timeless themes with none of the stuff that makes Birth offensive. Plus, they feature very positive portrayals of female characters and even a brave African American character who steps in to take care of a family after the father is killed.