Title: D.W. Griffith
Subtitle: An American Life
First published: 1984
Description: He transformed a nickelodeon novelty into a new art form and a powerful, glamorous American industry. He codified the rules and techniques of screen story-telling, and pioneered the conventions that brought films to life, from surging spectacle to soul-baring close-ups. A poor farm boy from the South, Griffith rose to fame with The Birth of a Nation, a cinematic masterpiece stained by the racism that infected his heritage.

Though he went on to direct some of the most legendary films of the silent era, Griffith was doomed by his over-reaching drives, and he died an embittered man, shunned by the community he had largely created. His story is told here with unsparing truth and compelling narrative sweep.
Subjects: Biography, Motion picture producers and directors, Moving-picture producers and directors, Biographies, Biographie, Producteurs et réalisateurs de cinéma, Griffith, d. w. (david wark), 1875-1948, Motion pictures, united states, Motion pictures, biography
Places: United States
People: D. W. Griffith (1875-1948)