They sure don't make propaganda films like they used to. Fahrenheit 9/11 should bow down in shame. DW Griffith was clearly a racist - in any era - but the man was a genius when it came to telling a story and exploring the possibilities of film. I found myself snarkily (yes I made that word up) laughing at the content of the film and how ridiculous it was. However, the production was anything but amateurish which somehow just made it scary. Regardless of the subject matter, this was an epic story, spanning the Civil War through Reconstruction, with engaging characters and a director who knew how to tell a story.
To think that this was created in 1915 is mind-blowing. The recreation of the Lincoln assassination gave me chills - and this is a silent film people! The score and choreography were flawless. The acting was embellished but not like other films around this time - it was a step away from placing theater acting on film. From a technical aspect this film is famous for having played with overlapping images, portrait framing and colored scenes among a host of others. Griffith experimented with the film but did so with a keen understanding of how technical aspects can help tell the storytelling as opposed to just being something cool. I wish James Cameron and the creators of Avatar understood this. In an age where technology is moving super fast and everyone is racing to use it first, Birth of a Nation is a great reminder that technology and creative exploration within film needs to be purposeful. It is a tool for explaining the story, not an enhancement for it.
Here are a couple links to other reviews on the web:
http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030330/REVIEWS08/303300301/1023%20
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/birth_of_a_nation/%20
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I completely agree about the Lincoln assassination scene. I was riveted - with the different shots of Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, security leaving his post - and then JWB finally sneaking into his balcony to shoot Lincoln. I guess because we grew up in the age of JFK, I always assumed that Lincoln was shot from afar. It never occurred to me that it was done up close.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see this film (or any of the silent ones, actually), but snarky is a word. Perhaps a made up word, but I've said it for years. So by default, Snarkily is indeed a word, too.
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