The Birth of a Nation

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The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith, notorious for its racist portrayal of African Americans, glorification of the Ku Klux Klan, and foundational role in both cinematic history and white supremacist propaganda.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf American film
black-and-white film
feature film
film
silent film
basedOn The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan
The Leopard's Spots
basedOnAuthor Thomas Dixon Jr.
boxOffice over $10 million worldwide (estimated)
budget approximately $110000
cinematographyBy G. W. Bitzer
colorProcess black-and-white with some tinting
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
depictsEvent assassination of Abraham Lincoln
director D. W. Griffith
distributor David W. Griffith Corp.
era silent era of cinema
filmFormat 35 mm
genre historical drama film
propaganda film
war film
historicalImpact influenced development of feature-length narrative cinema
sparked protests by civil rights organizations
used as recruitment tool by Ku Klux Klan
musicBy Joseph Carl Breil
notableFor controversial racist content
innovative narrative film techniques
large-scale battle scenes
use of close-ups
use of cross-cutting
originalLanguage Silent film with English intertitles
portrayalCharacterization depicts African Americans in racist stereotypes
glorifies the Ku Klux Klan
promotes white supremacist ideology
portraysOrganization Ku Klux Klan
premiereLocation Shrine Auditorium
surface form: Clune's Auditorium, Los Angeles
producer D. W. Griffith
Harry Aitken
productionCompany Epoch Producing Corporation
protestedBy NAACP
releaseDate 1915-02-08
releaseYear 1915
runningTime approximately 190 minutes
screenwriter D. W. Griffith
Frank E. Woods NERFINISHED
setDuring American Civil War
Reconstruction era
stars George Siegmann
Henry B. Walthall NERFINISHED
Lillian Gish
Mae Marsh
Miriam Cooper
Ralph Lewis
Walter Long
subjectMatter two white families during and after the American Civil War

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Henry Jackman composedScoreFor The Birth of a Nation
this entity surface form: The Birth of a Nation (2016 film)
D. W. Griffith hasSignatureWork The Birth of a Nation
Lost Cause ideology influencedWork The Birth of a Nation
D. W. Griffith notableWork The Birth of a Nation
Donald Crisp notableWork The Birth of a Nation
this entity surface form: Birth of a Nation
Sam De Grasse notableWork The Birth of a Nation
Raoul Walsh portrayedIn The Birth of a Nation