The Birth of a Nation Popularizes New Film Techniques
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Arts and Culture Series
- Categories: Arts, Popular Culture
- Subcategories: Entertainment, Entertainers, Race, Ethnicity, Racism, Films, Movies, Motion Pictures
- Curriculum: American History 1901-1950, African American History
- Geographical Location: New York City
- Date: March 3, 1915
Article abstract: D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, a huge commercial success, was hailed as a great achievement of art but assaulted as a vicious distortion of history.
Summary of Event
D. W. Griffith took more than two months in late 1914 to shoot scenes for The Birth of a Nation, at first called The Clansman (the title of the novel from which the story was taken). He had twelve reels of film after spending about three months on editing, with more than fifteen hundred shots. He gave a private showing in February, 1915, after which...
[The entire page is 2320 words long]
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