No Matter How Racist It Is, It Certainly Is An Important Work of Art!

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2016)

The highest grossing silent film of all time is a grand, epic film, which (I must admit) is the absolute most racist film of all time. While you can see racist undertones throughout, it isn't until the second half of the film until it gets REALLY racist, in which the Klu Klux Klan is portrayed as heroes. Since the KKK is so glorified and the film is practically promoting hardcore racism, I should give it a much, much lower rating. Why support KKK propaganda? Well it's because, if you set aside the racism, this is a near-perfect epic film!
It's a truly glorious spectacle, and it was pretty much worthy of all the praise and financial success it was given. I mean, it changed the history of cinema, itself! It is one of the first film epics (after the 1914 Italian film "Cabiria", a film Griffith watched twice in one night before making "Nation").
At three hours long, it was a surprisingly engaging experience that used just enough title cards. One of the main scenes that I admire is the assassination of Abraham Lincoln sequence. Very few title cards are used, aside from a few describing the time and what is going on in the scene.
The war scenes are also amazing. Using tons of action and extras these are definitely the most impressive sequences visually and technically. They're are some of the most stunning and epic moments of the entire silent era of filmmaking.
Although it's a very long film (as I said before, it's THREE HOURS), but I found that to be a perfect length for the film. It actually felt like it was less than its length, because of how engaging the whole experience is. At times you could say that, for me, it was entertaining. Yes, I found a three hour long, silent, racist propaganda film quite entertaining at times, but that's just because I found the overall story very interesting and the previously mentioned battle scenes are quite incredible.
Of course, it isn't a film that deserves ONLY praise. While I gave it a 10/10 star rating, it probably doesn't deserve the honor because of it's brutal racism.
As I said, it gets much more racist during the second half of the film in which the forming of the Klu Klux Klan is shown, and how they save the day from the "depressing" period of time in which the "poor" slave owners lost their slaves by killing African Americans.
The most dreadfully racist scene in the film includes the Klan getting cheered on as they salute their fellow southerners .
Many will think that the film is one of the WORST of all time because of its racism, but my opinion begs to differ. As disgustingly and disturbingly racist as it is, with its black face actors, glorification of the KKK, and victimizing of all African American characters, D.W. Griffith's war epic also manages to be a thrilling, engaging, and action packed epic that has influenced later films for decades to come, and is required viewing for any student of film.