D.W. Griffith and The Birth of a Nation

In 1915 the American film industry was forever changed as it took its first step toward modern filmmaking. It was the year D.W. Griffith’s A The Birth of a Nation was released, a racially insensitive film depicting life during the Civil War and Reconstruction in America. It is arguably first major success in American cinema as it was the highest grossing film of its time. It is no accident that the film destine to redefine the film industry in the United States would inevitable be a national historical epic, for the film was a response to the growing presents of foreign films dominating American cinema. Though ultimately The Birth of a Nation and D.W. Griffith were a product of circumstances created by corporate attempts to industrialize filmmaking.

D. W. Griffith is widely recognized as a pioneer and father of early filmmaking, though in reality he was just a creature of circumstance. In 1907, Griffith departed his theatrical career as failed playwright and somewhat accomplished stage actor to work for the Biograph Company with his first role as the Father in Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest. Griffith entered the American film industry at crucial moment that would shape and define his career. During this time Edison Company was waging a war to monopolize the American film industry through lawsuits against other American companies using versions of Edison’s patented Kinescope without paying royalties. These lawsuits ravaged and prevented the industries growth as film’s popularity was increasing in the United States. In 1907, to meet the growing popularity of nickelodeons (early movie theaters that would charge a nickel for admission and show case 3-4 short films), 1,200 films were released in the United States, of those only ...

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...sted The Clansman as the novel to base his next film. These facts do not capture the underlying motivation for the films creation.

Remember that Griffith was a somewhat accomplished stage actor before he turned to film. During this period of Griffith’s life the majority of plays being produced were Shakespearian adaptations and other European productions. There was very little progression in American theater at the time, with David Belasco being the only notable theatrical producer of the period. The same can be said, for the years between his departure from Biograph to the development of The Birth of a Nation. All the critically acclaimed films before the release of The Birth of a Nation were international films. Stokes agrees with the possibility that Griffith may have thought about the creation of an “American spectacle” to rival the European imports.