The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

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

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:

1910s | Assassination Of President | Politically Incorrect | Jump From Height | Abraham Lincoln

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Elsie Stoneman
Mae Marsh	...	Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall	...	Col. Ben Cameron
Miriam Cooper	...	Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden	...	Lydia Brown
Ralph Lewis	...	Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann	...	Silas Lynch
Walter Long	...	Gus
Robert Harron	...	Tod Stoneman
Wallace Reid	...	Jeff (blacksmith)
Joseph Henabery	...	Abraham Lincoln / 13 other bits
Elmer Clifton	...	Phil Stoneman
Josephine Crowell	...	Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Dr. Cameron
George Beranger	...	Wade Cameron (as J.A. Beringer)
Maxfield Stanley	...	Duke Cameron
Jennie Lee	...	Mammy
Donald Crisp	...	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Howard Gaye	...	Gen. Robert E. Lee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Wilson	...	Stoneman's servant (as Thomas Wilson)
Monte Blue	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Bobby Burns	...	Klan leader (uncredited)
Edmund Burns	...	Klansman (uncredited)
Edward Burns	...	Klansman (uncredited)
Fred Burns	...	Klansman (uncredited)
David Butler	...	Northern soldier / Confederate soldier (uncredited)
Peggy Cartwright	...	Young girl (uncredited)
William E. Cassidy	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Dark Cloud	...	A general (uncredited)
Lenore Cooper	...	Elsie's maid (uncredited)
Sam De Grasse	...	Sen. Sumner (uncredited)
William De Vaull	...	Jake (uncredited)
Charles Eagle Eye	...	Man who falls from roof (uncredited)
John Ford	...	Klansman on horse holding up hood with hand (uncredited)
Alberta Franklin	...	(uncredited)
William Freeman	...	The sentry (uncredited)
Gibson Gowland	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Olga Grey	...	Laura Keene (uncredited)
D.W. Griffith	...	Himself (1931 reissue version) (uncredited)
Fred Hamer	...	(uncredited)
Russell Hicks	...	(uncredited)
Walter Huston	...	Himself (1931 reissue version) (uncredited)
Charles King	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Alberta Lee	...	Mrs. Lincoln (uncredited)
Elmo Lincoln	...	Blacksmith (uncredited)
Donna Montran	...	Belles of 1861 (uncredited)
Eugene Pallette	...	Union soldier (uncredited)
Vester Pegg	...	(uncredited)
Alma Rubens	...	Belles of 1861 (uncredited)
Allan Sears	...	Klansman (uncredited)
Charles Stevens	...	Volunteer (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Black woman (Dr. Cameron's taunter) (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh	...	John Wilkes Booth (uncredited)
Jules White	...	(uncredited)
Violet Wilkey	...	Flora as a child (uncredited)
Mary Wynn	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
D.W. Griffith

Writing credits
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.		(novel "The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan")
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.		play "The Clansman" and
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.		novel "The Leopard's Spots"
D.W. Griffith		(writer) &
Frank E. Woods		(writer)

Produced by
D.W. Griffith	....	producer
H.E. Aitken	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Joseph Carl Breil
D.W. Griffith

Cinematography by
G.W. Bitzer

Film Editing by
D.W. Griffith
Joseph Henabery
James Smith
Rose Smith
Raoul Walsh

Costume Design by
Robert Goldstein		(uncredited)
Clare West		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christy Cabanne	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Elmer Clifton	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Jack Conway	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Donald Crisp	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Howard Gaye	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Fred Hamer	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Robert Harron	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Joseph Henabery	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Thomas E. O'Brien	....	assistant director (uncredited)
George Siegmann	....	chief assistant director (uncredited)
Herbert Sutch	....	assistant director (uncredited)
W.S. Van Dyke	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Henry B. Walthall	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ralph M. DeLacy	....	property master (uncredited)
Shorty English	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Jim Newman	....	assistant carpenter (uncredited)
Cash Shockey	....	set painter (uncredited)
Joseph Stringer	....	set builder (uncredited)
Hal Sullivan	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Frank Wortman	....	set designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Walter Hoffman	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)
'Fireworks' Wilson	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Monte Blue	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charles Eagle Eye	....	stunts (uncredited)
Leo Nomis	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Brown	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Frank B. Good	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Goldstein	....	costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Carli Elinor	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Jim Kidd	....	security officer (uncredited)
Abe Scholtz	....	laboratory technician (uncredited)
Herbert V. Walker	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• David W. Griffith Corp.
• Epoch Producing Corporation

Distributors

• Epoch Producing Corporation (1915) (USA) (theatrical) (original release)
• Joseph Brenner Associates (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release with new sound effects track) (musical score and titles)
• Lumivision (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Hollywood Classics (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Specialty Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Eureka Entertainment (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Ermitage Cinema (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• SBP (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Allied Artists Classic Library (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Movies Unlimited (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Goldstein and Company  costumes
• Western Costume Company  wardrobe

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)
Nacimiento de una nación, El (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) (Spain) [es]
Nascimento de Uma Nação, O (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Geburt einer Nation (Germany) [de]
Kansakunnan synty (Finland) [fi]
Naissance d'une nation (France) [fr]
Naixement d'una nació, El (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Narodziny narodu (Poland) [pl]
Nascita di una nazione, La (Italy) [it]
Nationens födelse (Sweden) [sv]
Nations fødsel, En (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 (2002) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | 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:

The film was made with only a single retake of a single scene, due to a continuity error involving Mae Marsh and the piece of cotton pinned to her shirt during the homecoming sequence.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The South Carolina coastline does not have bluffs overlooking the ocean.

Quotes:

Abraham Lincoln: [Lincoln, on his policy for the defeated Southern states] I shall deal with them as though they had never been away.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Junebug (2005)

Is the historical importance of this film greatly exaggerated?

I saw this film at a small "Art House" theatre when I was a graduate student. It was supported by program notes, and reviews of the film by respected critics, these stressed Griffith was a trend setting director who had made significant contributions to modern cinema. I remember three major developments were attributed directly to him, firstly his use of a mobile camera for tracking rather than bringing events to the camera; secondly pioneering the use of close-up photography in the cinema and thirdly the incorporation of pseudo-documentary sequences (e.g. the assassination of Lincoln) into a fictional story. I therefore watched this film with great anticipation; but as something of a young idealist I was more and more sickened by what I then felt was glorification of the KKK, and afterwards I was bitterly disappointed by my evening. I decided that if I ever watched TBOAN again it would only be when I was better informed both about American history of the period and about the work of other contemporary Hollywood film-makers. It is now 60 years later and I see "The Birth of A Nation" is scheduled to be screened on TCM next month, so probably the time has come to watch it again; and perhaps comments based on my original viewing so long ago may be appropriate at this time as the impressions I now have of this film will be those that have been with me for most of my life.

Films showing conflicts must present both sides as believing utterly in the righteousness of their cause; but historical films also have at least a moral responsibility to ensure the material shown has some reasonable approximation to historical accuracy, and whenever possible the convictions of both sides should be equally fairly presented. Most of the criticisms of TBOAN on this database derive not from its sympathetic presentation of the KKK but from the fact that this is presented as the only side which is relevant. We need to remember that slavery was introduced into human society back in prehistoric times - it was usually associated with a recognised obligation on the part of the slave-owner to provide a reasonable standard of living for his slaves, and alternative mediaeval societies from which slavery had been eliminated often did not do even this for their dispossessed citizens. Members of ruling classes everywhere lived a lifestyle which required the full time labours of many slaves or underprivileged workers to maintain, and only after the invention of the steam engine did it become possible to picture a world from which slavery might eventually be eliminated. Although this then probably became inevitable, its elimination has still not been completed; and in the United States it took place in an appallingly destructive way, part of which is pictured in TBOAN. Every nation has shameful episodes in its history which have and will cause distress for many generations before they are gradually outgrown. Recognising that the American Civil War did not result only from a dispute about slavery but much more from a whole range of economic and cultural issues, I appreciate that it would be grossly improper for me as a Canadian to seize on some of the controversial aspects of TBOAN as an excuse to condemn the film. I will re-watch it as a valid and important effort to document the concerns of the group of citizens it featured (although I will still reserve the right to feel Griffith should have made more effort to also document the concerns of those with opposing viewpoints.) My concerns here are directed more to assessing the importance of TBOAN in the development of the modern cinema, and I currently find myself siding with the relatively few users who have commented that its significance seems to be greatly overrated. When I first saw this film I had seen relatively few of the important early silent films, and it was easy to accept claims that Griffith's work was of overwhelming importance. Now I have seen other contemporary works; and have also come to appreciate that all surviving copies of about 90% of these works have totally disappeared (whilst probably half of the 10% of which copies still exist are not available for home viewing even from specialist libraries as the only copies are located in inaccessible archive collections). This is not brought out clearly by most of the 200 user comments on this film listed by IMDb, and it is so important that it has led me to pen these further comments. Film-makers in the silent era were extremely productive - Griffith himself is credited by IMDb with having directed over 500 films, most of them silent, and several other directors/producers have well over 100 films credited. Since so few survive, we must recognise how far our current assessment of early directors might change if we were able to see and compare more of their works. I believe that many innovations in film technology have been exclusively attributed to Griffith primarily because of the ready availability today of copies of 'TBOAN', 'Intolerance' and 'Orphans of the Storm'. I found this feeling very strongly reinforced when I had a rare chance to see a screening of Lois Weber's 'Hypocrites'. Weber was, for a time, the highest paid director in Hollywood and received a best director award in 1916 (ahead of Griffith, just one year after he released TBOAN). All I will say at this point is that, although I am admittedly relying on rather uncertain memories, I believe 'Hypocrites' was more stimulating for its innovative cinematographic techniques than 'Intolerance'. It would be interesting to know whether other database users have had similar thoughts about this or other early works.