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Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages

Theatrical poster
Directed by D. W. Griffith
Produced by D. David Llewelyn Wark "D W" Griffith (January 22 1875 &ndash July 23 1948 was a premier pioneering Academy Award -winning American Film director. W. Griffith
Starring Mae Marsh
Robert Harron
Cinematography Billy Bitzer
Distributed by Triangle Distributing Corporation
Release date(s) September 5, 1916 (U. Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh, November 9, 1894 in Madrid New Mexico, died February 13, 1968 in Hermosa Beach Robert "Bobby" Harron ( April 12, 1893 – September 5, 1920) was an American motion picture Actor of the Gottfried Wilhelm "Billy" Bitzer ( April 21 1874 &ndash April 29 1944) was a pioneering Cinematographer notable for his close association Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year S. release)
Running time 163 min. / Spain:123 min. / UK:178 min. (2000 video release) / USA:197 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language Silent film
English intertitles
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages, a silent film directed by D. W. Griffith in 1916, is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States David Llewelyn Wark "D W" Griffith (January 22 1875 &ndash July 23 1948 was a premier pioneering Academy Award -winning American Film director. The year 1916 in film involved some significant events Events October 17 - A Daughter of the Gods released - first US production with [1] It was made in response to critics who protested against Griffith's previous film, The Birth of a Nation, for its overt racist content, characterizing racism as people's "intolerance" of other people's views. The Birth of a Nation (also known as The Clansman) a Silent film directed by D List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that

In 1989, Intolerance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", going in during the first year of voting. The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

Contents

Background

Lillian Gish in Intolerance
Lillian Gish in Intolerance

Intolerance was a colossal undertaking filled with monumental sets, lavish period costumes, and more than 3,000 extras. Lillian Diana Gish ( October 14 1893 – February 27 1993) was an American stage screen and television actress whose The film consisted of four distinct but parallel stories that demonstrated mankind's intolerance during four different ages in world history. The timeline covered approximately 2,500 years, beginning with:

  1. The "Babylonian" period (539 BC) depicts the fall of Babylon as a result of intolerance arising from a conflict between devotees of different Babylonian gods. Events and trends 539 BC — Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, defeating Nabonidus; noted in such documents as that of Africanus Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq
  2. The "Judean" era (circa 27 AD) recounts how intolerance led to the crucifixion of Jesus. Year 27 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Crucifixion (from Latin crucifixio, noun of process crucifixio, from perfect passive participle crucifixus, fixed to a cross from Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)
  3. The French Renaissance (1572) tells of the failure of the Edict of Toleration that led to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. An edict of toleration is a declaration made by a government or ruler and states that members of a given Religion will not be persecuted for engaging in their religious practices The St Bartholomew's Day massacre ( Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French) was a wave of Roman Catholic Mob violence against the Huguenots
  4. Modern America (1914) demonstrates how crime, moral puritanism, and conflicts between ruthless capitalists and striking workers helped ruin the lives of Americans. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where

Griffith began shooting the film with the Modern Story (originally titled "The Mother and the Law"), whose planning predated Birth of a Nation, then greatly expanded it to include the other three parallel stories under the theme of intolerance. These stories are not told separately. Instead the film constantly cuts between them, setting up moral and psychological connections among the different stories. As the four stories progress toward their climaxes, the cuts become more rapid. Breaks between the differing time-periods are marked by the symbolic image of a mother rocking a cradle, representing the passing of generations.

One of the unusual characteristics of the film is that none of the characters have names. Griffith wished them to be emblematic of human types. An emblem is a pictorial Image, abstract or representational that epitomizes a Concept — e Thus, the central female character in the modern story is called The Dear One. Her young husband is called The Boy, and the leader of the local Mafia is called The Musketeer of the Slums. The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian Criminal Secret society which is believed to have first developed in the mid-19th century Critics and film theorists indicate these names show Griffith's sentimentalism, which was already hinted at in The Birth of a Nation, with names such as The Little Colonel.

Actual costs to produce Intolerance are unknown, but best estimates are close to $2 million (approximately $41 million in 2008 dollars), an astronomical sum in 1916. The movie was by far the most expensive made at that point. When the movie became a flop at the box-office, the burden was so great that Griffith's Triangle Studios went bankrupt.

The film and its unorthodox editing were enormously influential, particularly among European and Soviet filmmakers. Many of the numerous assistant directors Griffith employed in making the film went on to become important and noted Hollywood directors in the subsequent years.

A detailed account of the film’s making is told in the William M. Drew's 1986 book titled D. W. Griffith's Intolerance: Its Genesis and Its Vision. [2]

A scene from the Babylon segment
A scene from the Babylon segment

Different existing versions

Although the film itself is now in the public domain, there are currently four major versions of the film in circulation. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

There are other budget/public domain video and DVD versions of this film released by different companies, each with varying degrees of picture quality depending on the source that was used. A majority of these released are of poor picture quality, but even the restored 35 mm versions exhibit considerable film damage.

Credits

Cast

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ^ Tim Dirks, "Intolerance (1916)", The Best Films of All Time - A Primer of Cinematic History, on line.
  2. ^ William M. These are the films directed by D W Griffith. According to the Internet Movie Database, Griffith directed 534 films between 1908 and 1931. These are the films of Lillian Gish. ---- Silent: 1912 - 1913 - 1914 - 1915 - 1916 - 1917 Drew, D. W. Griffith's Intolerance: Its Genesis and Its Vision, Jefferson, NJ, McFarland & Company (1986); (2001). ISBN 0786412097
  3. ^ La Biennale di Venezia
  4. ^ Internet Movie Database - Full credits
  5. ^ Internet Movie Database - Full credits
  6. ^ "Ted Shawn", IMDB
  7. ^ Internet Movie Database - Trivia

External links

Filmsiteorg is a Website operated by Tim Dirks since 1996. It contains about 300 in-depth reviews of what Dirks judges to be the "greatest films"
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