FILM 2161: THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)

TRIVIA: Among the many film techniques that this movie pioneered were panoramic long shots, iris effects, still shots, night photography, panning shots and the careful staging of battle scenes where hundreds of extras were made to look like thousands. It also employed color tinting for dramatic purposes and creating drama through its own musical score.

The original budget for the film was $40,000, but D.W. Griffith spent $110,000, the largest amount ever spent on a film up to that time.

First film to be shown in the White House (to President Woodrow Wilson).

When it opened in New York City, ticket prices were $2.00 each, which was considered astronomical at the time. In modern-day currency, accounting for inflation, that would be about $17-$20. The exorbitant ticket prices greatly inflated the box office revenue of the film.

Because of its overtly pro-Confederate sympathies and racist overtones, the film was banned in several major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

Some of the black characters are played by white actors with make-up, particularly those characters who were required to come in contact with a white actress. The person playing the Cameron's maid is not only clearly white, but is also obviously male.

The excessive use of smoke-bombs in the battle scenes were to obscure the mostly empty battlefield.

Ironically, D.W. Griffith had previously produced and directed Biograph's The Rose of Kentucky (1911), which showed the Ku Klux Klan as villainous--a sharp contrast to this film, made four years later, in which the KKK was portrayed in a favorable light.

Rated #7 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2006.

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

D.W. Griffith agreed to pay Thomas Dixon Jr. $10,000 for the rights to his play "The Clansman". As Griffith had run out of money and could only offer $2,500, he suggested that Dixon take a 25% interest in the film. Dixon wasn't keen on the idea but reluctantly agreed. The film's unprecedented success made Dixon a very rich man.

After this film was released and criticized as being racist, D.W. Griffith was very hurt. He decided to make Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) as a follow-up, to show how damaging and dangerous people's intolerance can be.

In proportion to its costs, this is one of the most profitable films in history.

Mary Wynn was the last surviving cast member of the film at the time of her death on December 22, 2001 at the age of 99.

Riots broke out in Boston and Philadelphia when the film was shown, while Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Missouri, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and St Louis all refused to show it.

The film was so successful that it spawned the first sequel in the history of cinema: The Fall of a Nation (1916). No copies of the sequel are known to exist and it is consequently a lost film.

The NAACP attempted to have this film banned. After that effort failed, it then attempted to have some of the film's more extreme scenes censored.

Due to the chaotic nature of film distribution of the time, numerous fortunes were made on this film by men who had nothing to do with the actual production. Louis B. Mayer was one such beneficiary, who obtained state's right distribution rights for the film on the east coast and the profits allowed him to launch Louis B. Mayer Productions, which soon relocated to Los Angeles.

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

The earliest feature-length film listed in "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

I’m making my way through the book "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See my blog post about my copy of the book here…

You can buy an updated version (which I will get after I’ve made my way through this edition) here…

I really hope you can come on this journey with me – if you do I’d love to know which films you’ve enjoyed the most!

Watch this here…