Controversial, racist, and groundbreaking, D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) utilized a variety of cinematic innovations and techniques that helped developed cinema as an art form. But that wasn’t the case when The Birth of a Nation was released on February 8, 1915. Though the film was a financial … But that wasn’t the case when The Birth of a Nation was released on February 8, 1915. Other film-makers have engaged critically with The Birth of a Nation. "The Sword Became a Flashing Vision": D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation* HE ACHIEVED what no other known man has ever achieved," wrote James Agee. And white violence is justified to ensure this noble end. The film tells the story of the Civil War and its aftermath, as seen through the eyes of two families. After all, years before the film Birth of a nation, makers of film employed techniques to evoke pathos from viewers; whether through the use of a sobbing mother, a frightened child or what have you. Moreover, Griffith frequently improved upon techniques that others had invented. scene from The Birth of a Nation Scene from The Birth of a Nation (1915), directed by D.W. Griffith. Nate Parker’s Nat Turner biopic The Birth of a Nation takes a fascinatingly complicated history and simplifies it into the story of one man’s heroic journey. The Birth of a Nation, directed by DW Griffith back in 1915, has a reputation as one of the greatest movies ever made – and one of the most purely vile. D.W. Griffith, in full David Wark Griffith, (born January 22, 1875, Floydsfork, Kentucky, U.S. —died July 23, 1948, Hollywood, California), pioneer American motion-picture director credited with developing many of the basic techniques of filmmaking, in such films as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1921), and … "To watch his work is like being witness to the beginning of melody, or the first conscious use of the lever or the wheel; the emergence, coordination, In 2004, Paul D Miller, also known as DJ Spooky, audio-visually remixed the film as Rebirth of a Nation. Born on January 22, 1875, in Floydsfork, Kentucky, D.W. Griffith worked as an actor and playwright before turning to cinema, creating highly innovative filmmaking techniques. So with Citizen Kane (and even moreso Birth of a Nation) there weren't that many techniques or variations to review. The Birth of a Nation was re-released in 1924, 1931, and 1938, so it remained in the minds of film lovers and human rights activists for decades. And the film stirred new controversy when it was voted into the National Film Registry in 1993, and when it was voted one of the "Top 100 American Films" (at # 44) by the American Film Institute in 1998.