the beginning of Hollywood films

Rating: Null/10 (2 May 1999)

This movie to many is hard to swallow. Its content is full of racism. The pacing of it will be too slow for most of '90's movie go-ers. However, if one looks at this film from a historical point of view. D.W. Griffith contributed so much to the art of film making through it. All the film language of classical editing are established in "The Birth of a Nation". It may not be as entertaining as other films, but it captured the sentiment of the South after the Civil War. Amazingly it has been shown in the theaters for 12 years straight since it is made. No film can come to such accomplishment... Titanic is far less impressive in comparison.
It is probably the second most important film in American cinema.(first being "Citizen Kane") In turns of its formal aesthetic, for the time being is superb. The reality that it creates inside of the movie frame is unlike any thing that we have seen before. For today's viewer it is definitely not a film for a date. For serious film students it is a must-see.