Birth of a Nation - Review #2

Birth of a Nation is the first silent film I have ever seen. My prior knowledge of the movie consisted of knowing it was incredibly racist, it lasted 3 hours, and Juror #3 has a mad crush on Lillian Gish, the actress who plays Elsie Stoneman in the movie. I expected to feel bored and, quite frankly, icky seeing all the KKK members riding to rescue the white population of Piedmont, South Carolina. 

Though I honestly never got past the ick factor, I wasn’t bored during three hours of silent film. There were parts that were slower for me. For example, the Civil War felt like it was never going to end, but I think that was because I’m from Atlanta and we get our fill of that war down here in Dixie. I also felt at times that there was overacting, in particular with the female characters. I mean, really, you had to jump off a cliff in order to get away from a man who kept yelling, “Don’t worry miss. I won’t hurt you.”?  (I know it was to make a point…but still).

I came away from the movie thinking that DW Griffith is quite a filmmaker. Toward the end of the movie when the KKK is riding to save the white folk in a cabin besieged by black soldiers, Griffith uses cutaway shots showing the men on horseback and then cutting back to the cabin under siege. The result was a highly suspenseful action sequence. I read while doing a bit of research that this was the first time this technique had been used in film, and I think about how exciting it must have been to witness it for the first time in movie theaters.

Overall, I’m happy we started with this movie. For two people who want to see how film has evolved over the years, this was a good movie to start with. On my Netflix star ratings, I give it a three (out of five stars).