D.W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance (1916). Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera and narrative techniques, and its immense popularity set the stage for the dominance of the feature-length film. It also proved extremely controversial at the time and ever since for its negative depiction of Black Americans and their supporters, and its positive portrayal of slavery and the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith responded to his critics with his next film, Intolerance, intended to show the dangers of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not the financial success that its predecessor had been, but was received warmly by critics. Several of his later films were also successful, but high production, promotional, and roadshow costs often made his ventures commercial failures. Even so, he is generally considered one of the most important figures of early cinema.
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was,...
Movie pageSan Francisco
as Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days...
Movie pageMary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
as Self (archive footage)This documentary traces the life and work of the legendary "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford,...
Movie pageThe Tramp and the Dictator
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the...
Movie pageA Calamitous Elopement
as PolicemanA young couple are enjoying a romantic interlude in the young woman's home, when her father...
Movie page1776, or The Hessian Renegades
as uncreditedDuring the American Revolution, a young soldier carrying a crucial message to General Washington...
Movie pageScreen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
as HimselfIntimate views of the movie stars of the Silent Era, at work and play; featuring Sessue...
Movie pageRescued from an Eagle's Nest
as FatherA woodsman leaves a hut followed by a woman with their baby. Nearby some men chop down a tree....
Movie pageThe Legend of Rudolph Valentino
as Self (archive footage)A documentary of Hollywood's first great Latin Lover, the contradictions in his personal life,...
Movie pageThe Music Master
as uncreditedWhat is more miserable than love-blighted life? For the heart that truly loves can never forget....
Movie pageThe Sculptor's Nightmare
as uncreditedAt a political club, the members debate whose bust will replace that of Theodore Roosevelt....
Movie pageBalked at the Altar
as uncreditedA woman who is filled with romantic ideas is making no secret of her eagerness to find a...
Movie pageThe Adventures of Billy
as On BenchBilly witnesses two tramps accidentally kill someone during a robbery. The tramps lock him up...
Movie pageFalsely Accused!
as Cop in CourtA wealthy old alchemist and inventor has just perfected a motion picture camera with which he...
Movie pageThe Invisible Fluid
as MailmanHad the poor melancholy Dane, Hamlet, lived in this, the twentieth century, he would never have...
Movie pageTwo Daughters of Eve
as At Stage DoorCalumny is one of the most despicable crimes against our neighbor, and while the wife in this...
Movie pageThe Black Viper
as RescuerA thug accosts a girl as she leaves her workplace but a man rescues her. The thug vows revenge...
Movie pageCupid’s Pranks
as uncreditedAfter receiving a scolding for falling asleep on the job, Cupid is sent out in search of...
Movie pageDeceived Slumming Party
as Reginald O.C. WittingtonMack Sennett appears as a policeman and waiter in this film produced by the Biograph Company.
Movie pageFlashback: The First World War
as Self (archive footage)A collection of 2 minute documentaries that tell not only the historical facts of WW1, but also...
Movie pageAt the Altar
as uncreditedAt the Italian boarding house the male boarders were all smitten with the charms of Minnie, the...
Movie pageStar Power: The Creation Of United Artists
as Self (archive footage)The careers of D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin are...
Movie pageAt the Crossroads of Life
as SuitorAt the Crossroads of Life is a typically Victorian-style melodrama in which a girl's wishes to...
Movie pageEnoch Arden
as Mr. RaySeamen Enoch Arden returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he...
Movie pageFilmed Prologue to Birth of a Nation
as uncreditedA dialogue between director D. W. Griffith and actor Walter Huston on the subject of Griffith...
Movie pageWhen Knights Were Bold
as uncreditedTwo noblemen fight over a lady.
Movie pageThe Politician's Love Story
as Man - First CoupleA haughty politician, on seeing a satirical cartoon in a newspaper, rushes to the paper's...
Movie pageHer First Adventure
as FatherA father arrives home, greets his wife and daughter, and then goes inside with his wife. Though...
Movie pageThe Girls and Daddy
as At Black & Tan BallSisters guarding their house from a burglar set upon stealing their daddy's money.
Movie pageMary Pickford a Blessing and a Curse
as SelfMary Pickford's name remains inseparable from the legend of American cinema. She invented the...
Movie pageAmerican Experience
as SelfTV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform...
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