Title: Intolerance /
Authors: Griffith, D. W. 1875-1948,; Gish, Lillian, 1893-1993; Marsh, Mae, 1895-1968; Harron, Robert, 1894-1920,; Cooper, Miriam, 1891-1976,; Gaye, Howard, -1955,; Love, Bessie,; Pallette, Eugene, 1889-1954,; Talmadge, Constance, 1898-1973,; Owen, Seena, -1966,; Wark Producing Corporation
Publisher: [s.n.,
Year: 1916
Subjects: Cyrus, In the Bible.; Jesus Christ Adversaries.; Racism; Saint Bartholomew's Day, Massacre of, France, 1572 Drama.; Detectives; Self-preservation Drama.; Babylon (Extinct city) in the Bible.; Harems; Strikebreakers.; Prejudices; Poor families United States.; Huguenots France; Murder; Strikes and lockouts United States Drama.; Huguenots History; Man-woman relationships Drama; Labor unions Organizing; Poor youth; United States History Drama.
Abstract: This enormous film project was only possible due to the incredible commercial success of Griffith's earlier Birth of a Nation, a film that critics accused of promoting racial hatred, criticisms that may have led the director to create a narrative promoting tolerance. Made up of four separate historical events, The Modern Story, The Judean Story, The French story and The Babylonian Story, Griffith's epic ranges from the fall of Babylon to a 19th century tale of corruption and crime. Griffith used his familiarity with the novels of Dickens and the dramatic lighting of Victorian painting to move cinematic techniques away from the theater and towards cinema's potential as a unique art form, while simultaneously creating film techniques that changed the way motion pictures were made. He shot this complex narrative without notes or script; the production employed 6,000 extras and several elephants; a railroad was put in place in order to transport workers and food to the set and a hot air balloon was utilized to create aerial shots. After the completion of shooting Griffith then completed the editing of the resulting 300,000 feet of film within two months. Intolerance was an incredibly ambitious undertaking for its time, it was misunderstood by its audience and in the end was a financial disaster. The film's pacifist message was ill timed to coincide with America's entry in Word War I. For much of the remainder of his career, Griffith would struggle to pay off the debts he incurred with this film.