Birth of a Nation: D.W. Griffith, Director (Rutgers Films in Print, 21) - Softcover

Lang, Robert

  • 3.14 out of 5 stars
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9780813520278: Birth of a Nation: D.W. Griffith, Director (Rutgers Films in Print, 21)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0813520274 ISBN 13: 9780813520278
Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 1994

Synopsis

The Birth of a Nation (1915) remains the most controversial American film ever made, and its director, D. W. Griffith, one of the most extraordinary figures in film history. It was the first true feature film and did more than any other to launch Hollywood both as an industry and as an idea. The film consolidated a trend in cinematic technique and an approach to dramatic narrative that define American cinema to this day. As a great but ideologically troubled film that offers us a reflection of ourselves as Americans, The Birth of a Nation continues to intrigue, challenge, infuriate, and awe.

Robert Lang's introduction to this volume explores in fascinating detail the warped view of history that this great film presents. Griffith, a Southerner, was intent on resurrecting, idealizing, and justifying the South. In The Birth of a Nation, it is racism that unites the white North and South; the protection or abolition of slavery is not the divisive issue. In a powerful synthesis of spectacle and narrative, Griffith seeks to give the Southern cause a sense of glamour and high purpose. Lang considers the film as a historical melodrama, and by examining Griffith's "historiography as ideological practice," he traces the way in which the bloody, traumatic reality of the Civil War and Reconstruction becomes melodramatic myth. This unparalleled guide to The Birth of a Nation offers a shot-by-shot continuity script; a biographical sketch of the director; a sampling of contemporary reviews; a series of essays by distinguished critics including James Chandler, Michael Rogin, Janet Staiger, and Mimi White; and a filmography and bibliography.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

ROBERT LANG is an assistant professor of English and film studies at the University of Hartford.

From the Back Cover

This unparalleled guide to The Birth of a Nation offers a shot-by-shot continuity script; a biographical sketch of the director; a sampling of contemporary reviews; and a series of essays.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Rutgers University Press
Publication date
1994
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0813520274
ISBN 13 
9780813520278
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
320
Rating
  • 3.14 out of 5 stars
    7 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780813520261: Birth of a Nation: D. W. Griffith, Director (Rutgers Films in Print)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0813520266 ISBN 13:  9780813520261
Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 1994
Hardcover