Intolerance

Directed, co-edited, and production designed by D.W. Griffith and written by Griffith, Tod Browning, Hettie Grey Baker, Anita Loos, Mary H. O’Connor, and Frank E. Woods, Intolerance is a multi-layered epic that cross-cuts different stories in different periods of time to display the concept of humanity. Set in periods from the contemporary world of crime in the early 20th Century, the story of Christ, a story around the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1752 in France, and the fall of the Babylonian empire. Starring Vera Lewis, Ralph Lewis, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Lillian Gish, Constance Talmadge, Josephine Crowell, Margery Wilson, Frank Bennett, Elmer Clifton, Miriam Cooper, and Alfred Paget. Intolerance is a grand yet exhilarating film from D.W. Griffith.

Set in four different periods of time, the film plays into some of the darkest moments of humanity as it cross-cuts from period to period to showcase the impact of intolerance. Among these stories involve the fall of the Babylonian empire in the hands of priests conspiring with Cyrus the Great of Persia where a young woman tries to help Prince Belshazzar maintain his rule. The second involves the story of Jesus Christ and the events that led to his crucifixion. The third is set in 1752 France as it plays into the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre where Catholic royals tried to wipe out Protestant Huguenots. The fourth and final story is set in the 20th Century as it relies on a young woman and a young man whose lives are ruined by a mill owner who tries to help his sister in her charity work in an attempt to do something good.

The screenplay takes in this back-and-forth cross-cutting narrative where each segment is often joined by an image of a woman (Lillian Gish) rocking a baby cradle which plays into the plight of intolerance. The stories about Jesus Christ and the St. Bartholomew’s massacre are the shortest as the latter would include a couple of characters who would become victims of this prejudice involving religion. The segment about the fall of Babylonia starts off with this mountain girl (Constance Talmadge) who is an individual that doesn’t want to do anything until she encounters Prince Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) whom she would worship and later fight for him against Persians though both of them are unaware of priests conspiring against the prince over him favoring the god Ishtar over Bel-Marduk.

The segment involving a young woman (Mae Marsh) whose life of simplicity and innocence is shattered by aging women reformists who want to clean up the world only to make a mess of things for her and her entire life that includes her husband (Robert Harron). It all plays into the idea of what people are willing to do to change things just because they don’t agree with a certain philosophy nor willing to share something despite difference of opinions and ideals. Things go into chaos as it leads to conflicts where many would suffer because of this as the script doesn’t try to go into anything heavy-handed though its narrative is at times a bit jarring due to how repetitive it can be.

D.W. Griffith’s direction is very vast not just in his presentation but also in the way he is able to capture moments that are exhilarating in its set pieces and drama. Much of it involves very extravagant shots to display the vastness of some of the period settings in the film as he and art director Walter L. Hall would do the set design for the film. That approach to large visual pieces would come into play for the scenes set in Babylon where it would include some lavish costumes designed by Griffith and Clare West as well as the settings during the final days of Jesus Christ and at the St. Bartholomew massacre. The usage of wide and medium shots are very prevalent in the film as Griffith isn’t just maintaining a look in time where things were big and new but also a world that is just evolving as everyone just wants to live together and love each other. Yet, there are those that don’t buy into that and ruin it for everyone.

The direction would also have these moments with some unique tracking shots and lavish crane shots to play into the action as well as scenes that are intimate and dramatic which involves the sequence set in the early 20th Century. With the aid of cinematographer G.W. Bitzer and some special effects work by Hal Sullivan, each segment would have a different look as the scenes set in France are often shot in green while most of it is shot in a mixture of sepia, black, and white. Some of it would include red and blue tints to play into some of the moments of the action as Griffith would edit the film with James Smith and Rose Smith to play into the intensity in some of the conflicts and heightened drama that occurs. Sullivan’s effects would come into play for the film’s ending as it has an air of sentimentality that Griffith wanted to show in a world that can be very cruel but also would have moments that are hopeful. Overall, Griffth creates a sprawling yet powerful film about the concept of intolerance.

The film’s music by Joseph Carl Breil and Julian Carrillo, with additional music by Joseph Turrin for its 2002 restoration, is among one of the film‘s highlights in terms of its diversity from bombastic orchestral arrangements for some of the more lavish scenes to the usage of harpsichord pieces for the scene set in France. Turrin’s pieces are more focused on synthesized orchestral music that adds some weight to the drama as well as moments where things do get really tough.

The film’s amazing cast includes a massive ensemble as it features appearances from Lillian Langdon as the Virgin Mary, Bessie Love and George Walsh as a married couple in the Jesus Christ segment, Frank Brownlee as the brother of the mountain girl in the Babylon segment, Carl Stockdale as King Nabondius of Babylon, George Siegmann as Persian leader Cyrus the Great, Tully Marshall as the corrupt High Priest of Bel-Marduk, Josephine Crowell as Catherine de Medici, Frank Bennett as Charles IX of France, Max Davidson as a neighbor of the young woman in the modern story, Tom Wilson as a kind-hearted police officer, Lloyd Ingraham as a trial judge, Ralph Lewis as the governor, and A.W. McClure as prison pastor. Howard Gaye is excellent in the role of Jesus Christ who displays the sense of mercy and grace that would raise the ire of those who saw him as a freak. Alfred Paget is fantastic as Prince Belshazzar of Babylon as the segment includes a wonderful performance from Seena Owens as the Princess. Yet, it is Constance Talmadge who is brilliant in her dual role as the Mountain Girl who fights for Belshazzar and in a smaller role as Princess Marguerite of Valois in the St. Bartholomew’s massacre sequence.

Margery Wilson and Eugene Pallette are terrific as a couple who would endure tragedy due to the St. Bartholomew’s massacre while Vera Lewis is brilliant as a former socialite who aids a group of reformists to clean up the city unaware of the damage she had caused. Sam De Grasse is superb as the socialite’s brother who would create a pay cut for the saw mill he runs as well as do things to ruin the lives of ordinary people. Miriam Cooper is fantastic as a woman in the modern story who would be the lover of a crime boss as she becomes integral to the film’s story while Walter Long is amazing as the crime boss. Lillian Gish is incredible in her small but mesmerizing role as the woman rocking the cradle as she is the link to all of the stories. Finally, there’s Robert Harron and Mae Marsh in remarkable performances as the young man and young women in the modern-day story as they both struggle to find good as the former would briefly turn to crime as the latter would display a sense of innocence into her performance as someone that just wants to be good.

Intolerance is a spectacular film from D.W. Griffith. Armed with a great cast, dazzling technical work, and a wondrous music. The film is definitely the true definition of an epic in terms of its vast visuals and compelling stories that play into the themes of humanity and its dual sides of good and bad. Even as it manages to create offbeat narrative structures to showcase how far the world has and hasn’t come in terms of doing good for a world that is often very complicated. In the end, Intolerance is a phenomenal film from D.W. Griffith.

© thevoid99 2015

2014 Blind Spot Series: The Birth of a Nation

Based on the novel and play The Clansman by Thomas Dixon Jr., The Birth of a Nation is a film that explores the lives of two families from the North and South during the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. Directed by D.W. Griffith and screenplay by Griffith and Frank E. Woods, the film is a controversial look into the lives of families as well as the founding of the Ku Klux Klan as it was film lauded for its cinematic innovations but remains controversial due to its racial context. Starring Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Ralph Lewis, and George Siegmann. The Birth of a Nation is a sprawling but very disturbing film from D.W. Griffith.

The film is a two-part story in the life of two families during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction period. Most of which plays into this sprawling story about the Stonemans of the North and the Camerons of the South as they were friends before the Civil War as the young men of those families would later fight each other in the Civil War. Two of those young men from different families would survive to see the period of Reconstruction in the South as Austin Stoneman (Ralph Lewis) would be part of the Radical Republicans who want to punish the South for the Civil War as he left his mulatto protégé Silas Lynch (George Siegmann) to take control of the small town of Piedmont where whites would lose power in favor of blacks prompting the young Colonel Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall) to form the Ku Klux Klan. It’s a film that is very controversial not just in how they portray the Ku Klux Klan as heroes but also in its depiction of African-Americans.

The film’s screenplay does have a unique structure in exploring the relationship between the Stonemans and Camerons as they were longtime family friends who just wanted to have a good time as Ben Cameron has fallen for the picture of Elsie Stoneman (Lillian Gish) whom he would carry for the Civil War. Ben would survive the Civil War as he would meet Elsie as she is a nurse as his life was spared from war crimes when his mother (Josephine Crowell) plead to Abraham Lincoln (Joseph Henabery) who would let Ben go as the Camerons would see Lincoln as a beacon of hope in the aftermath of the war. Instead, Lincoln’s death and Austin Stoneman’s plans for Reconstruction would take charge with Silas Lynch being its leader.

What would happen in the film’s second half is that Lynch would try to go after Elsie as she is already in love with Ben Cameron. It would create a sense of tension as Lynch would abuse his power and let uncivilized blacks run rampant while they treat their former owners in such abusive ways. A tragic incident in the Cameron family would prompt Ben Cameron to take action where he would later gain an ally in Elsie’s brother Phil (Elmer Clifton) who is in love with Ben’s older sister Margaret (Miriam Cooper). The formation of the Ku Klux Klan would lead to a climatic battle that is sprawling and epic but its idea of history and portrayal of the KKK as heroes does make the story seem not just ridiculous but also discomforting.

The direction of D.W. Griffith is very sprawling not just in the way he stages the battle scenes but also in the drama. Much of the direction in the drama is intimate with a lot of soft lenses and close-ups that are truly gorgeous in its compositions. There’s few moments where the camera moves but most of shots have the camera remain still with some amazing wide shots that showcases a depth-of-field in some of the film’s battle scenes where it has a sense of something that would create an idea of what an epic film should be. Along with some shots at night where Griffith uses a red palette to play into that chaos, he does create something that is truly memorable. For all of the film’s technical work and some ideas in his approach to the drama. Not everything in that film works as it relates to its depiction on African-Americans.

For African-Americans watching this film, there is no question that the depiction of their own race in the film is blatantly racist. Not just in they’re portrayal but also in the fact that much of its cast is played by white actors in blackface. The way Griffith believes they talk in the inter-title cards and how they behave once their free is very terrible. It seems like Griffith wants to say something into how ignorant and dim-witted they are once they’re free while the character of Lynch and a black soldier named Gus (Walter Long) showcase them as animals who are vile. It’s the aspect of the film that isn’t just offensive but really makes the film hard to appreciate for all of its technical brilliance and story. Overall, Griffith creates a fascinating but unsettling film about two families living during the Civil War and the Reconstruction period.

Cinematographer G.W. Bitzler does amazing work with the film‘s photography with its use of tinted colors such as the use of red to convey the chaos in some scenes set at night as well as other colored palettes in its black-and-white look to create something that is chilling. Editors D.W. Griffith, Joseph Henabery, James Smith, Rose Smith, and Raoul Walsh do excellent work with the film‘s editing with its use of rhythmic cuts and match-cutting as well as creating ideas that would be the basis for a lot of action films in the years to come. Costume designers Robert Goldstein and Clare West do nice work with the period costumes from the dressed the women wear to the uniforms the men wear. The film’s music by Joseph Carl Breil is fantastic for its flourishing score with its use of traditional American instrumental themes like Dixie and The Star-Spangled Banner while going for some broad string arrangements to play into its drama and action where the latter would feature Ride of the Valkyries in the film’s climax.

The film’s cast is remarkable for having actors play such real-figures at the time like Raoul Walsh as John Wilkes Booth, Donald Crisp as Ulysses S. Grant, Howard Gaye as Robert E. Lee, and Joseph Henabery as Abraham Lincoln. The performances of Walter Long as Gus, Tom Wilson as Stoneman’s servant, and Mary Alden as Stoneman’s mulatto housekeeper Lydia are very discomforting to watch since they’re played by white actors in blackface which adds to the sense of racism that is prevalent in the film as does the performance of Jennie Lee as the Cameron family maid as she is portrayed as a stereotypical black woman of those times. Other notable small roles include George Beranger and Maxfield Stanley as Ben’s older brothers, Robert Harron as Elsie’s brother Tod who would die in the war, Josephine Crowell as Ben’s mother, and Spottiswoode Aitken as Ben’s father who was once a man of importance until losing it all in the war and in the Reconstruction period. Miriam Cooper is wonderful as the eldest Cameron sister Margaret while Mae Marsh is superb as Ben’s youngest sister Flora who was full of energy as she hoped for Elsie to marry her brother.

Elmer Clifton is good as Phil Stoneman as a man who falls for Margaret as he realizes the severity of his father’s plans where he would help the Camerons in dealing with the carpetbaggers. Ralph Lewis is excellent as Austin Stoneman as a Senator who would lead the group of Radical Republicans only to realize he created a monster in Lynch. George Siegmann is alright as Silas Lynch in how crazed and demonic he looked but the fact that he’s playing a mulatto just makes the performance discomforting to watch as it’s also a form of blackface. Henry B. Walthall is fantastic as Ben Cameron as a man who adores his world as he tries to save his land from Lynch as he forms the Ku Klux Klan. Finally, there’s Lillian Gish in a radiant performance as Elsie Stoneman as a young woman who falls for Ben but is torn towards her loyalty towards her father and her devotion to Ben while being pursued by Lynch.

The Birth of a Nation is a remarkable film from D.W. Griffith although it’s a film that will definitely spark a lot of discussion over its racial context. While it’s a film that film buffs and historians need to see for its technical innovations. It’s a film that will definitely rub people the wrong way over its depiction of African-Americans. In the end, The Birth of a Nation is a superb yet terrifying film from D.W. Griffith.

© thevoid99 2014