President Wilson praised it as "history writ in lightning," audiences flocked to see it at record-high ticket prices, and critics lauded its undeniable technical brilliance. But this landmark epic's sympathetic treatment of the Ku Klux Klan sparked protests by African Americans and fierce controversy that continues to this day. To watch D. W. Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation is to shift between delight at the subtle and brilliant acting of such Griffith regulars as Henry B. Walthall and Lillian Gish; amazement at the power of its innovative cinematography (by the renowned Billy Bitzer); and dismay at its unashamed racism, its dependence on "blackface" stereotypes, and its hysteria about the idea of miscegenation. Nonetheless, this Civil War tale, which follows two families -- one Southern, the other Northern -- through the bloody conflict and the bitterness of Reconstruction, is a must-see. Small and sensitively staged scenes, particularly the "Homecoming," still pack an emotional wallop, and the film's richly detailed storytelling, large scope, and visual energy helped change the course of cinema forever.
