- Born
- Died
- Place
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.
As director
Footlight Varieties
The Struggle
Abraham Lincoln
1930 Prelude to "The Birth of a Nation"
Lady of the Pavements
The Battle of the Sexes
Drums of Love
The Sorrows of Satan
Sally of the Sawdust
That Royle Girl
America
Isn't Life Wonderful
The White Rose
One Exciting Night
Orphans of the Storm
Dream Street
Way Down East
The Love Flower
Remodeling Her Husband
The Idol Dancer
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
True Heart Susie
The Greatest Question
Scarlet Days
A Romance of Happy Valley
The Fall of Babylon
The Mother and the Law
The Girl Who Stayed at Home
Hearts of the World
The Great Love
As actor
Mary Pickford a Blessing and a Curse
Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
Flashback: The First World War
Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
The Tramp and the Dictator
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
San Francisco
1930 Prelude to "The Birth of a Nation"
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
Enoch Arden
Two Daughters of Eve
The Adventures of Billy
At the Altar
1776, or The Hessian Renegades
The Politician's Love Story
The Girls and Daddy
At the Crossroads of Life
At the French Ball
The Black Viper
The Fatal Hour
The Sculptor's Nightmare
Balked at the Altar
King of the Cannibal Islands
Her First Adventure
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest
Cupid’s Pranks
Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker