Details

Abstract / Summary

D.W. Griffith had a vision of the movies as the greatest spiritual force the world had ever known. Just one year after the huge success of Birth of a Nation, he was emboldened to prove his faith in the new medium with the superproduction Intolerance. Four separate stories are interwoven: the fall of Babylon, the death of Christ, the massacre of the Huguenots, and a contemporary (early 20th Century) drama -- all crosscut and building with enormous energy to a thrilling chase and finale. Through the juxtaposition of these well-known sagas, Griffith joyously makes clear his markedly deterministic view of history, namely that the suffering of innocents makes possible the salvation of the current generation, symbolized by the boy in the modern love story. Griffith's concept and execution of Intolerance are awesome, but audiences of 1916 were generally bewildered by his lofty intentions. He aimed too high and spent the rest of his career paying off the large debts that his vision had incurred.

Field of Interest

Film

Accolades / Awards

Won 1989 National Film Preservation Board National Film Registry

Publisher

Alexander Street Press

Copyright Message

Text courtesy of the Celeste Bartos Film Study Center, Museum of Modern Art.

Director

D. W. Griffith, 1875-1948

Content Type

Script

Format

Text

Sub Genre

Drama

Page Count

39

Performer

Robert Harron, 1893-1920, Mae Marsh, 1894-1968, Lillian Gish, 1893-1993

Producer

D. W. Griffith, 1875-1948

Publication Year

2003

Publisher

Alexander Street

Place Published / Released

Alexandria, VA

Release Date

1916

Subject

Film, Music & Performing Arts, Literature & Language, 1910s, Relationships, Religious movements, Love, 1910s, Babilonia, Babylon (Historical Place), Woman Who Rocks The Cradle, Brown Eyes's Father, Man on White Horse

Keywords and Translated Subjects

1910s, Babilonia