The Birth of a Nation
(1915)
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D.W. Griffith
Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (novel)
Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (play)
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Genre: Drama /
War
Tagline: The dawn of a new art!
Plot Outline: Two brothers, Phil and Ted
Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the
family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as
the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The
consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection
to major historical events, like the development of the Civil
War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku
Klux Klan.
User Rating:
7.0/10 (3,605 votes)
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| Lillian Gish |
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Elsie Stoneman |
| Mae Marsh |
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Flora Cameron |
| Henry B. Walthall |
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Col. Ben Cameron |
| Miriam Cooper |
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Margaret Cameron |
| Mary Alden |
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Lydia Brown |
| Ralph Lewis |
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Austin Stoneman |
| George Siegmann |
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Silas Lynch |
| Walter Long |
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Gus |
| Robert Harron |
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Tod Stoneman |
| Wallace Reid |
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Jeff (blacksmith) |
| Joseph Henabery |
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Abraham Lincoln/13 other bits |
| Elmer Clifton |
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Phil Stoneman |
| Josephine Crowell |
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Mrs. Cameron |
| Spottiswoode Aitken |
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Dr. Cameron |
| George Beranger |
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Wade Cameron |
Also Known As:
In the Clutches of the Ku Klux Klan (USA) (shorter version)
The Birth of the Nation; Or The Clansman (second copyright title)
The Clansman (USA) (Los Angeles premi?¨re title)
Runtime: Argentina:165 min / 190 min (16 fps) /
USA:125 min (video version) / USA:187 min (DVD)
Country: USA
Color:
Black and White
Sound Mix:
Silent
Certification:
Argentina:Atp /
Canada:PG (Manitoba) /
UK:15 (video rating) /
UK:U (original rating) /
Sweden:15 /
Canada:G (Quebec)
Trivia: The Ford's Theatre scene was filmed on
an outdoor set.
Goofs: Anachronisms: Car tire tracks are
visible in the KKK segment.
Quotes: intertitle: A PLEA FOR THE ART
OF THE MOTION PICTURE / We do not fear censorship, for we have
no wish to offend with improprieties or obscenities, but we do
demand, as a right, the liberty to show the dark side of wrong,
that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue - the same
liberty that is conceded to the art of the written word - the
art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.
Awards: 1 win
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User Comments:
23 out of 43 people found the following comment useful:-
Bad History, 28 July 2003
Author: jdab
from Champaign, IL
Anyone who thinks that this film depicts real history is
seriously deluded. One commenter noted that the KKK was fighting
for a good cause during Reconstruction, but not now. I guess to
him good causes include killing and intimidating freed slaves
who were merely attempting to exercise their rights to vote and
make a living.
Griffith's portrayal of Reconstruction black politicians is
not only racist, but blatantly untrue. Only in rare instances
and for a short time did black representatives control any
Southern legislatures, and this at a time when they were the
majority of voters in many Southern states! For years teachers
of Reconstruction have emphasized carpetbaggers, but have
ommitted the fact that the post-Reconstruction governments were
founded with the explicit purpose of disenfranchising blacks and
violently enforcing their underclass status. For this reason and
others, Birth of a Nation's claims to historical accuracy would
be comical, if not for the horrific implications of the film.
That said, this film should be seen, mainly because it
provides a document of a poisonous way of thinking that is by no
means dead. It also represents the pop cultural moment when
Northern and Southern whites reconciled over the memory of the
Civil War, mainly to the detriment of blacks. Lastly, those who
want this film burned only give ammunition to the idiots who
still praise the KKK. It's better to let these jerks hang
themselves with their own rhetorical ropes than to let them
claim victim status.
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