This Film is Not Racist: It Only Reflects how Racism Was at the Time of the Civil War

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 2017)

The title of this review says it all. The reason people call this film racist is because it has a very realistic idea of how racism was at the time of the Civil War. And Griffith wasn't racist either; he wanted only to show how white people thought of blacks at the time. So anyone who hates this film is only hating on how black people were treated at the time of the War. That's silly to hate on; that time depicted here is gone and today black people are treated equal.
This film is 3 hours long, much longer than a full-length movie would be today (I was shocked when I heard this films' run time). It is all about 2 families (the Stonemans on the North side, and the Camerons on the South) experiencing the Civil War and its aftermath. The slaves, once they are freed, begin to rise up against the white men, which is when the KKK stepped in, to stop the continual rise of the freed slaves. True, they are depicted as heroes here, but again, that's how it was then: perhaps the Klan was, at the time, considered heroic. Of course, it's different today, as the Klan still exists.
I thought this film captured the essence of the War well. The acting was very good, and it actually looks like it was made during the War, which was, of course, impossible. This film combines fact as well as fiction. Of course the story itself wasn't the work of Griffith or anyone else involved in this film: the story was based on a book called "The Clansman", by Thomas Dixon Jr. I have not read the book but it looks like it was well adapted. True, some of this film is slow-paced (for instance, the beginning introduces the characters and takes quite a bit of time to do so) but when the film gets exciting, it turns into a cliff-hanger at times. It is presented in 2 parts: the first part deals with the historical events of the War, and the second part is a fictional story involving the KKK and a crazy idiot named Silas Lynch. Both parts are well done, and the person who played Abraham Lincoln (Joseph Henabery) was fit for his role. The Lincoln Assassination was also well done too.
Very good. Someday I should find myself a DVD of this one!