As of the past few months, I have neglected my blog. I blame Netflix. I signed up for a Netflix account in order to have easy access to these films. However, I got sucked into the trap that is Netflix because I soon forgot my endeavor in favor of instant streaming of my favorite movies and television shows. Now that I have realized everything worth seeing is not on instant streaming, I have renewed my interest in film study.
The Facts:
U.S. (DW. Griffith & Epoch) 190m Silent BW
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Screenplay: Frank E. Woods, D.W. Griffith (Adapted from two novels and a play.)
Photography: G.W. Bitzer
Music: Joseph Carl Breil, D.W. Griffith
Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Siegmann, Walter Long, Robert Harron, Wallace Reid, Joseph Henabery, Elmer Clifton, Josephine Crowell, Spottiswoode Aitken, George Beranger.
Before I blame my neglect solely on Netflix I have to point out that Birth of a Nation is not easy to watch. I had attempted to watch this film in March, but after several unsuccessful viewing sessions, I gave up. It is a three hour long epic that is basically a Ku Klux Klan propaganda film. Why is a film with a hateful message featured in this book you may ask? Well, let me explain. Although I do not agree with the political message of the film, it features several new film innovations for its time. These innovations included dramatic close-ups, tracking shots, expressive camera movements, parallel action sequences, crosscutting, editing techniques, and the first orchestral score. (This information, of course, provided by Schneider's book.)
Personally, I could have done without this film in my viewing experience. Not only was it unnaturally long but also quite boring. By the end of the film, the Ku Klux Klan ride in to save the day because, get this . . . the rise of the evil black empire . . . yes, really, that's the climax. After the fall of the south in the civil war, black people go mad with power and take over the south. A black governor is voted into office and legalizes interracial marriage. Then he kidnaps a defenseless white girl and plans to force her into marriage, but don't worry the heroic . . . hehe . . . the heroic Ku Klux Klan . . . haha . . . (by this point I'm laughing so hard I can't take this film seriously anymore) the Ku Klux Klan rides in and stops the overwhelming chaos in the streets freeing white people . . . . my sides are aching . . . freeing white people of black . . . . ahaha . . . of black oppression. Totally original isn't it?
There were other moments when my twenty-first century mind found amusement. For example, shots like these lead me to some illuminating discoveries.
Clearly the reason for racism in the south is that it was overrun by vampires and zombies. And as you can see, Abraham Lincoln is a zombie responsible for the civil war. I understand that black and white film required dark makeup, but it still made me giggle.
Last but not least, I would especially like to applaud the animals who made this film what it is . . .
. . . adorable.
Stats: 3/1001 (I know)
Rating: 2/10
The Facts:
U.S. (DW. Griffith & Epoch) 190m Silent BW
Director: D.W. Griffith
Producer: D.W. Griffith
Screenplay: Frank E. Woods, D.W. Griffith (Adapted from two novels and a play.)
Photography: G.W. Bitzer
Music: Joseph Carl Breil, D.W. Griffith
Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Siegmann, Walter Long, Robert Harron, Wallace Reid, Joseph Henabery, Elmer Clifton, Josephine Crowell, Spottiswoode Aitken, George Beranger.
Before I blame my neglect solely on Netflix I have to point out that Birth of a Nation is not easy to watch. I had attempted to watch this film in March, but after several unsuccessful viewing sessions, I gave up. It is a three hour long epic that is basically a Ku Klux Klan propaganda film. Why is a film with a hateful message featured in this book you may ask? Well, let me explain. Although I do not agree with the political message of the film, it features several new film innovations for its time. These innovations included dramatic close-ups, tracking shots, expressive camera movements, parallel action sequences, crosscutting, editing techniques, and the first orchestral score. (This information, of course, provided by Schneider's book.)
Personally, I could have done without this film in my viewing experience. Not only was it unnaturally long but also quite boring. By the end of the film, the Ku Klux Klan ride in to save the day because, get this . . . the rise of the evil black empire . . . yes, really, that's the climax. After the fall of the south in the civil war, black people go mad with power and take over the south. A black governor is voted into office and legalizes interracial marriage. Then he kidnaps a defenseless white girl and plans to force her into marriage, but don't worry the heroic . . . hehe . . . the heroic Ku Klux Klan . . . haha . . . (by this point I'm laughing so hard I can't take this film seriously anymore) the Ku Klux Klan rides in and stops the overwhelming chaos in the streets freeing white people . . . . my sides are aching . . . freeing white people of black . . . . ahaha . . . of black oppression. Totally original isn't it?
There were other moments when my twenty-first century mind found amusement. For example, shots like these lead me to some illuminating discoveries.
Clearly the reason for racism in the south is that it was overrun by vampires and zombies. And as you can see, Abraham Lincoln is a zombie responsible for the civil war. I understand that black and white film required dark makeup, but it still made me giggle.
Last but not least, I would especially like to applaud the animals who made this film what it is . . .
. . . adorable.
Stats: 3/1001 (I know)
Rating: 2/10
