The Birth of a Nation (1915)

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The Civil War divides friends and destroys families, but that's nothing compared to the anarchy in the black-ruled South after the war. (imdb)

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Genres: Drama, War

Country: USA

Directed By: D.W. Griffith

Written By: Thomas Dixon Jr.

Starring: Eugene Pallette, Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, Donald Crisp, John Ford, Raoul Walsh, Elmo Lincoln, Madame Sul-Te-Wan

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The Birth of a Nation belongs to 67 collections

1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (public: moderated by kozan26 - 194 stars)

2. Roger Ebert: Great Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 73 stars)

3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 37 stars)

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6. Rotten Tomatoes - over 95% (public: moderated by Pickpocket - 25 stars)

7. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

9. National Film Registry (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 22 stars)

10. Over 3 Hours Long (public: moderated by djross - 17 stars)

11. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (public: moderated by medium pizza - 17 stars)

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18. TimeOut's 1000 films to change your life (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 9 stars)

19. Sight and Sound 2002 (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)

20. Harvard University's Suggested Film Viewing List: Narrative Films (public: moderated by dardan - 8 stars)

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24. David Thomson's 1000 Films (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 6 stars)

25. Epic (public: moderated by Spunkie - 5 stars)

26. Masters of Cinema (public: moderated by hristos - 5 stars)

27. IMDb Top of The 1910s (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 5 stars)

28. AFI 100 Years, Original 1998 list (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 4 stars)

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38. Silent Greats (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)

39. American Civil War (public: moderated by djross - 1 star)

40. Taschen 100 All-time favorites movies (public: moderated by hristos - 1 star)

41. Village Voice Critics Poll: 100 Best Films of the 20th Century (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)

42. "Filmmakers: Favorite Film" (public - 1 star)

43. Highest grossing film of the year (public: moderated by djross - 1 star)

44. Leonard Maltin: 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century (public - 1 star)

45. filmsite 100 Greatest Films (public: moderated by pupetman64 - 1 star)

46. Hate it or love it (public: moderated by comepelicula - 1 star)

47. BBC 100 Greatest American Films (public: moderated by jeff_v - 1 star)

48. Derek Malcolm's Century of Films (public: moderated by MMAlpha)

49. Tom & Bitches' Infinite Watchlist (public)

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53. Intermission (public: moderated by BeeDub)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Date	User	Rating
Sep 16	Kerfoot32	27 _17%
Sep 10	lance20000	40 _13%
The Birth of a Nation is a complicated movie that every film student has seen. On a technical production level, it helped establish the some of the major rules of film making. On a narrative level, it is disgusting and ignorant.
Aug 30	wintersunset	60 _31%
Aug 28	Jesus Rollin	40 _19%
Aug 13	Berk Tuna	80 _%
Aug 09	bal3x	30 _3%
Aug 01	sufjan	30 _%
Jul 27	Amir abbas	70 _38%
Jun 08	Geslimmar	50 _37%
Jun 07	Nangijala	45 _27%
May 27	Dalboz	90 _93%
May 26	Teproc	54 _32%
May 04	Philosofem	64 _33%
Apr 27	nickyeyez	70 _44%
Impossible to judge this film based on its merits of storytelling and foundations of feature film narrative without examining its purely deplorable racist and hateful imagery and content.
Apr 23	AHALE80	70 _%
Apr 07	TheRuins	70 _88%
Mar 23	uLSHAd	100 _%
Mar 21	DarrenCB	90 _84%
Mar 19	QzoS43	24 _%
Mar 07	Nakashima	42 _6%
While technically an achievement in film history, I honestly couldn't watch the whole thing after being assigned it in my film course.
Feb 23	TimeCapsule	59 _48%
Still studied today for its impact on filmmaking and American race relations, the technical masterpiece of racist propaganda is a fascinating source of historical insight into the distorting influences on the collective memory of the American Civil War & Reconstruction. The film's perpetuation of the myth of the "Lost Cause of the Confederacy" and its use in the growth of the second KKK, make it more than just an important piece of film history, but also a troubling part of American history too.
Feb 21	napolenbrady	82 _14%
82.00
Feb 15	mattorama12	40 _8%
Part I on the Civil War is particularly bad, except for the Lincoln assassination. Part II on Reconstruction is where the racism gets turned up to 11, but at least it's not as boring as the first half. Overall, you can appreciate it for its innovation, but it stands out for its historical significance and not for the value a modern audience will get.
Feb 15	Kaan Kavusan	5 _1%
istersen sinemanın kendisini icat etmiş ol, ikinci bölüm, bir buçuk saat komple ırkçılık şovun, ku klux klancılığın karşılığı bu puan. tarihsel değere puanım anca 5.
Feb 11	AAD101192	74 _74%
Feb 05	punpun	50 _17%
Jan 29	livcali	67 _8%
Jan 27	Panunzio	66 _28%
Jan 20	momdadlist	0 _%
Jan 19	jokevv	60 _41%
Jan 19	ibi8588	20 _4%
Jan 13	gossamer2019	50 _22%
Jan 12	Grumblebutt	55 _7%
Jan 05	ekraft	3 _10%
Jan 04	rrppo	1 _4%
Dec 27, 2018	knives	65 _24%
Dec 17, 2018	BabyBlue42	5 _0%
Dec 16, 2018	FraGil	0 _0%
Dec 03, 2018	worrywirt	40 _10%
Nov 30, 2018	vitruvian	80 _45%
Nov 24, 2018	buddhalou	70 _52%
Nov 04, 2018	basedonnthng	80 _59%
Oct 17, 2018	highhorse	10 _1%
Oct 16, 2018	Toke Za	50 _28%
Oct 07, 2018	julesfmb	62 _43%
Oct 05, 2018	Zalgoz	50 _%
Sep 18, 2018	bubsy	7 _88%
Sep 13, 2018	spizcraft	82 _79%
Jul 26, 2018	CMQuinn	70 _49%
Jul 26, 2018	RuruSmasher	10 _0%
Horrible racist propaganda crap vs stunning technical achievement? Obvs, I won't give this an 80 (like the PSI), because I don't give a shit how stunning a movie is technically if its message is dehumanizing, oppressive, abhorrent. I believe in making responsible art.
Jul 25, 2018	drou7	78 _66%
Jul 12, 2018	AchwellFoley	40 _23%
Jul 10, 2018	JepAndButch	5 _41%
Jun 28, 2018	peekingpanda	50 _55%
Jun 01, 2018	allneonslike	55 _33%
May 28, 2018	Harmonica	89 _88%
A technical masterpiece and propaganda piece that has remained terrifyingly watchable through the ages thanks to its immaculate, pioneering construction.
May 12, 2018	hotsake	63 _53%
The movie is an amazing feat of a technical level but I found the movie too long and the story of the second half to be a unenjoyable chore to sit through. The first half of the movie that shows the civil war and leads up to the assassination of Lincoln was grand and reasonably paced. Worth watching once even with the objectionable material in the second half.
May 09, 2018	summerbag	90 _79%
May 07, 2018	Grandaddy	60 _29%
May 07, 2018	peacetop	5 _19%
May 05, 2018	normatic	90 _96%
May 04, 2018	jagarnyfiken	30 _10%
May 03, 2018	madsie	50 _25%
May 01, 2018	John Milton	70 _61%
Apr 15, 2018	nobamba	80 _82%
Apr 13, 2018	dourface	30 _6%
Apr 10, 2018	bd741	60 _42%
Mar 24, 2018	driscarpin	0 _0%
Ano de Centenário de André Bazin: Repassando os filmes citados em Qu'est-ce que le cinéma? Filme #35 Pois vamos lá, é uma experiência horrenda, vil e degradante, não há técnica e aprimoramento da linguagem cinematográfica que sobreviva à desonestidade narrativa deste filme. Fiquem com a obra-prima Intolerance, porque esse aqui não vale a linha que gastaram pra fazer o "uniforme" da Ku Klux Klan. DVD Obras-primas do cinema D.W. Griffith.
Mar 04, 2018	DrWade42	80 _69%
Feb 21, 2018	generaltor	0 _0%
Feb 17, 2018	coldesser	60 _20%
Feb 11, 2018	TaakoDurden	19 _2%
Jan 29, 2018	rememberthis	50 _8%
Jan 14, 2018	thakatk1969	82 _36%
Jan 12, 2018	Uatu	2 _40%
Jan 04, 2018	Kayyum	75 _77%
Jan 03, 2018	cetincelik	80 _74%
Dec 27, 2017	turhank	60 _15%
Dec 24, 2017	eassin	38 _12%
Dec 23, 2017	Kobaruon	90 _93%
Dec 20, 2017	Systematicer	50 _26%
Dec 19, 2017	bennick218	75 _45%
Dec 08, 2017	CMWL	1 _%
Nov 30, 2017	ulm2131	10 _0%
Nov 29, 2017	Cocoa	30 _3%
Nov 28, 2017	jeffayle	30 _2%
Nov 28, 2017	Batty	80 _73%
Nov 17, 2017	teaty666	70 _88%
Oct 29, 2017	misternose	80 _81%
Oct 14, 2017	sosadetz	60 _40%
Oct 10, 2017	jsopanen	33 _1%
Oct 01, 2017	sandrikoti	100 _83%
Sep 16, 2017	jimmyp	60 _24%
Sep 10, 2017	eblakeb	0 _0%
Sep 09, 2017	Arberwaticus	20 _1%
This, very bias piece of history is one of the greatest films ever made. Its about the birth of a terrible plague in the world still today.
Aug 21, 2017	TMDaines	70 _43%
Aug 18, 2017	SnorlaxJones	0 _0%
Aug 17, 2017	kafkalamak	55 _9%
Aug 13, 2017	DeadFox	50 _14%
Aug 10, 2017	lh.bb	99 _99%
Aug 06, 2017	luord	50 _28%
It is, of course, landmark filmmaking. Still, it's morally bankrupt, even for its time. Also too long.
Aug 02, 2017	whataboutit	70 _16%
Jul 15, 2017	milopalmer	41 _0%
Jul 05, 2017	haljordan2	1 _%
Jun 12, 2017	AHP	65 _21%
Jun 04, 2017	deanjames	65 _48%
May 30, 2017	aymansousa	50 _35%
May 19, 2017	andr	1 _15%
May 10, 2017	albajos	40 _28%
May 04, 2017	BadCosmonaut	3 _22%
Apr 12, 2017	SirStuckey	10 _1%
The first part is a decent little anti-war movie with only slight racism a film made in 1915 can be somewhat forgiven for. Then it decides to dive into psycho racist non-sense and literally refuses to end. There's a good chance I just hallucinated the end credits and the movie is still engaging in Ku Klux Klan propaganda. If you must watch a movie with "ground breaking" film making I suggest one that is actually palatable.
Apr 10, 2017	TheMarkle	60 _38%
Mar 26, 2017	Ercan	7 _74%
Mar 08, 2017	letterboxdvo	29 _25%
Feb 28, 2017	wildee	60 _29%
Feb 26, 2017	Lemonade	34 _21%
Feb 25, 2017	lisko	50 _23%
Feb 25, 2017	mCihhh	90 _94%
Feb 22, 2017	RYM-byrates	56 _35%
Feb 20, 2017	NickLeonhart	81 _52%
Feb 03, 2017	pythag3	100 _93%
Feb 01, 2017	clowngirl	43 _22%
Jan 23, 2017	Buff	50 _75%
Jan 14, 2017	mjbreuer	53 _24%
Dec 26, 2016	Rebert	8 _87%
Dec 21, 2016	Bunken	50 _38%
Dec 19, 2016	mw067	85 _57%
Dec 07, 2016	dcrouch1	8 _66%
Dec 01, 2016	kupfertj	85 _86%
Nov 21, 2016	aross	10 _4%
Nov 17, 2016	Mr.Blumfeld	60 _23%
Nov 16, 2016	jerrywarton	84 _95%
Nov 10, 2016	Ronin22	49 _48%
Nov 09, 2016	bahatamer	11 _6%
Oct 03, 2016	strangelime	55 _9%
Sep 30, 2016	BreesKnees	0 _0%
Sep 26, 2016	ERogers	100 _90%
Sep 13, 2016	matthewmj336	0 _0%
Sep 13, 2016	AlexBrisson	0 _0%
Sep 12, 2016	opium_den	94 _50%
Aug 27, 2016	NickP	50 _11%
Aug 27, 2016	Deaths	38 _91%
Aug 25, 2016	sinefilcocuk	8 _83%
Aug 03, 2016	ZaxxonZaxxo	50 _9%
Jul 25, 2016	anaconda-406	60 _43%
Jul 21, 2016	Dark_Ryder14	93 _95%
Jul 19, 2016	walkearth	65 _73%
Striking and very funny racism on that one. Quite sophisticated battle scenes, but Intolerance tops it in terms of set design and costumes. Great performances - Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish, Henry B. Walthall too. Lincoln and the black man with the shifting face were great. Loved it - we rarely see films showing a different angle to stories nowadays.
Jul 18, 2016	ibodirector	75 _72%
Jul 13, 2016	letskillrobots	1 _4%
Can't believe it took 100 years for them to make a sequel
Jul 10, 2016	muratkrks	60 _29%
Jul 07, 2016	izwt936g	91 _87%
Jul 04, 2016	MrWhiplash	70 _36%
Jul 04, 2016	syl7req	61 _50%
Jul 02, 2016	piddle	43 _3%
Jun 29, 2016	ehchandler	100 _90%
Jun 12, 2016	gavinbennett	60 _48%
May 29, 2016	Stricken157	17 _3%
Id rather drink a glass of horse semen and smash the nails off my toes with a sledge hammer than watch this abomination again
May 29, 2016	rocinantes	77 _38%
May 28, 2016	mrci	30 _10%
Apr 28, 2016	Barraoc	60 _38%
The Birth of a Nation is a technically impressive historic artifact. The story, however, is repugnant. #1001Movies
Apr 18, 2016	Implar	60 _0%
Apr 17, 2016	Gifts	75 _62%
Mar 27, 2016	davesv	76 _47%
Mar 27, 2016	Steamlord	10 _0%
Mar 24, 2016	Cebion	60 _10%
Mar 17, 2016	RealMacgyver	70 _48%
As racist as it is long, and it's very long. That said the technical achievements in the film itself are very impressive for the time.
Mar 12, 2016	FrancoZero	17 _90%
Mar 06, 2016	aurora	48 _31%
Mar 01, 2016	TartanLlama	70 _54%
Feb 25, 2016	AmarDesai	80 _70%
Feb 08, 2016	NightGoat72	25 _15%
Jan 28, 2016	gahema94	0 _0%
Jan 22, 2016	Gossamer	1 _33%
Jan 21, 2016	photina	0 _0%
It's just racist. Next?
Jan 17, 2016	Grishma123	50 _3%
Jan 07, 2016	bybrt	25 _6%
Jan 05, 2016	wallmasterz	60 _3%
Jan 02, 2016	kk3thess	70 _62%
Jan 02, 2016	exitexitquit	78 _72%
Dec 30, 2015	amster	10 _3%
Dec 21, 2015	rafaelbastos	95 _93%
Dec 19, 2015	Lammetje	70 _49%
Dec 15, 2015	MUBIvotes	32 _41%
Dec 15, 2015	robot2xl	72 _19%
Dec 12, 2015	gurazuru	70 _30%
Dec 07, 2015	Llanirev	60 _34%
Nov 27, 2015	coroner	80 _83%
Nov 27, 2015	andrev	0 _0%
Nov 26, 2015	Evelyn Waugh	40 _7%
Nov 20, 2015	ZachReviews	89 _62%
This is a hard film to rate. Because like "Triumph of the Wills" its hate is very strong. But as a piece of cinema? It's definitely well crafted.
Nov 18, 2015	dardan	70 _70%
Normally shady shit gets punished hard by me... if those things are actively harmful. In this case the blatant racism was instead comedic and interesting, with the latter adjective mostly pertaining to the blatantness of it. Made me wonder if the shady shit of today will, 100 years from now, be far more obvious and mockworthy ahem zerodarkthirtyamericansnipercough. Of course, these films are much more subtle: but they have to be considering the information age we live in.
Nov 14, 2015	kadirkoc	69 _23%
Nov 11, 2015	maksler	70 _47%
Nov 08, 2015	lillibit	70 _60%
Oct 27, 2015	Moondog	78 _90%
Oct 15, 2015	anandare	70 _32%
Oct 09, 2015	Evan Waters	90 _63%
The film which set the template for narrative cinema, Birth of a Nation is still a driving, intense epic, but its vicious and inescapable bigotry inevitably blunts its impact. As much as one tries to separate the form from a disagreeable message, the film just feels odd- an alternate history where post-Civil-War blacks had power and the whites suffered from their rule. We just can't buy it. Worth trying to watch, at least once.
Oct 08, 2015	sasapos	83 _72%
Oct 05, 2015	ArchieLeach	80 _32%
Sep 27, 2015	SnoopyStyle	50 _21%
Sep 22, 2015	gossamer2	60 _39%
Sep 10, 2015	FullHD	49 _20%
Sep 06, 2015	peyez	6 _54%
Sep 02, 2015	Kublai Khan	64 _62%
Aug 27, 2015	simajudas	76 _68%
Aug 23, 2015	jennica	15 _1%
Aug 22, 2015	moodeuce	60 _9%
Aug 21, 2015	Matthew92	3 _11%
Aug 10, 2015	tecu	47 _1%
Aug 03, 2015	monclivie	75 _54%
Jul 31, 2015	GRouleau	74 _52%
Jul 22, 2015	bschultzthe	70 _48%
Jul 22, 2015	zardoz13	100 _90%
Jul 19, 2015	WilliamOTyle	70 _56%
Jul 17, 2015	thirdeye42	74 _60%
Jul 16, 2015	SleepTight	80 _89%
Jul 12, 2015	auhasarderik	7 _61%
Jul 09, 2015	johnirwin	0 _0%
Jul 05, 2015	mfjlefou	90 _90%
Jun 24, 2015	RodopLu	86 _98%
Jun 06, 2015	ThirdAct	30 _10%
Jun 05, 2015	tinatinas	80 _75%
Jun 05, 2015	W Trumbull	60 _34%
Jun 03, 2015	Sane	0 _0%
May 20, 2015	porzano	44 _29%
May 18, 2015	TheBadgerMan	50 _18%
May 18, 2015	zetes	90 _82%
May 18, 2015	Aylmer	70 _54%
May 18, 2015	dglink	80 _61%
May 13, 2015	Fuentissimo	58 _73%
May 10, 2015	boothmillard	70 _66%
May 09, 2015	khanbaliq2	100 _90%
May 08, 2015	mubi	32 _15%
Apr 30, 2015	ironhorse	70 _63%
Apr 29, 2015	ferguson	80 _83%
Apr 24, 2015	mkdaun	60 _25%
Apr 24, 2015	OldAle1	90 _82%
Apr 17, 2015	LyNcHeR	70 _32%
Mar 28, 2015	ocfn	60 _22%
Mar 23, 2015	Damirageir	53 _68%
Mar 19, 2015	danieldebem	90 _88%
Mar 12, 2015	Judo Koala	50 _12%
I cannot rate this any higher solely on the basis of its technical achievements; at some point, its politics must be included in the film's appraisal, and this is that point for me.
Mar 06, 2015	One_Louder	25 _4%
Mar 02, 2015	10kfilms	67 _62%
Feb 18, 2015	lisa-	0 _0%
there's nothing too advanced: little camera movement, split screen or double exposure for example, all of which were in common use by 1915. i'm not overly impressed by parallel editing either. sure, the primitive blocks of camera, lighting and set advanced narrative progression well. griffith was a good craftsman. but not a pioneer. i suspect that some overstate his technical innovation so they can chide others for oversensitivity and lack of proper film appreciation. teorema is a good example.
Feb 13, 2015	pedrodalen	95 _94%
Feb 10, 2015	ergun	81 _53%
Feb 09, 2015	Fillmore	52 _14%
Feb 01, 2015	kharms2	30 _2%
Jan 31, 2015	Mattias1	50 _37%

Displaying 1 to 250 of 915 total ratings: Prev | Next

Average Percentile 41.18% from 915 Ratings