My review of the 1915 silent movie Birth of a Nation one of the most famous American movies in history is available at Amazon.com here.
After you read my review read Roger Ebert’s from 2003: A peek:
To understand “The Birth of a Nation” we must first understand the difference between what we bring to the film, and what the film brings to us. All serious moviegoers must sooner or later arrive at a point where they see a film for what it is, and not simply for what they feel about it. “The Birth of a Nation” is not a bad film because it argues for evil. Like Riefenstahl’s “The Triumph of the Will,” it is a great film that argues for evil. To understand how it does so is to learn a great deal about film, and even something about evil.
I don’t have much use for Roger Ebert as a political commentator but his review of this movie is spot on. We can only thank God that for the good of society Michael Moore or Oliver Stone doesn’t have the skill or talent of D. W. Griffith.
