The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (novel)
Thomas F. Dixon Jr. (play) ...

Release Date:

3 March 1915 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War | Western

Tagline:

Mighty Spectacle

Plot:

The Civil War divides friends and destroys families, but that's nothing compared to the anarchy in the black-ruled South after the war.

Plot Keywords:

Civil War | Lincoln Assassination | Ku Klux Klan | Assassination | Public Domain

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Elsie Stoneman
Mae Marsh	...	Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall	...	Col. Ben Cameron (as Henry Walthall)
Miriam Cooper	...	Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden	...	Lydia Brown
Ralph Lewis	...	Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann	...	Silas Lynch (as George Seigmann)
Walter Long	...	Gus
Robert Harron	...	Tod Stoneman
Wallace Reid	...	Jeff (blacksmith) (as Wallace Reed)
Joseph Henabery	...	Abraham Lincoln / 13 other bits (as Jos. Henabery)
Elmer Clifton	...	Phil Stoneman
Josephine Crowell	...	Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Dr. Cameron
George Beranger	...	Wade Cameron (as J.A. Beringer)

Also Known As:

In the Clutches of the Ku Klux Klan (USA) (cut version)
The Birth of the Nation; Or The Clansman (second copyright title)
The Clansman (USA) (Los Angeles première title)

Runtime:

190 min (16 fps) | USA:125 min (video version) | USA:187 min (DVD) | Argentina:165 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 (2002) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

David W. Griffith Corp.

Trivia:

Director D.W. Griffith visualized the whole film in his mind and did not write out a script or keep written notes.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the window in the small cabin changes.

Quotes:

intertitle: [Flora has jumped to her death to escape Gus] For her who had learned the stern lesson of honor we should not grieve that she found sweeter the opal gates of death.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Proud (2004)

A Great Classic

Despite the criticism that this film has received for the bias it shows, I think its artistic merit alone puts it on a par with other great films. It is a story of the Civil War and its aftermath; we should remember this film as the one that ushered in the tide of later classics. I fully recommend it.