Disturbing yet entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (3 February 2010)

This is one of the most controversial movies I have ever seen. There's a lot of hype over it as being extremely racist and boy did it deliver in that regard. Really the best way to look at this film is to view it as how some people thought of the Civil War and Reconstruction in the early 20th century. Many people bash DW Griffith for being a racist, yet I've heard he was shocked that so many people were offended by his film. I prefer not to be quite as hard on him – he's a product of the times. Yeah he's a racist, but a lot of people were that way. He wasn't trying to be offensive. Woodrow Wilson, a progressive reformer, loved this movie. Go figure, it's just the way America was. That doesn't make it right or make this film not racist, it's just a good look at how people thought.
That being said, the movie was entertaining. The battle scenes and ending (once you get past the shocking fact that the KKK is the heroic force) was exciting to watch and I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Lincoln's assassination, it was very dramatic. The story is quite complex for 1915 and the film should be commended for this. Seeing the KKK portrayed in a positive light is quite hard to stomach. Both images of the Klan and the way black Americans are presented are disturbing for a modern audience. At times it is so ridiculous and offensive, it's just funny.
Watch this for its historical impact on cinema, its interesting story, its shock value (for the modern audience), or for its look into American society in 1915.