The Birth of a Nation

Released Mar 3, 1915

3h 10m

History

Drama

War

List

91%

45 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine in director D.W. Griffith's controversial Civil War epic. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall) is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman (Lillian Gish) petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father (Ralph Lewis) and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch (George Siegmann).

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Angus D

By far the worst movie I have ever watched. If I could go back in time, I would rather have sat in a puddle of mud for three hours, lost five toes to gangrene, and died of sepsis instead of watching this movie. It is an affront to civilization, and could only have spawned from the most vilest of minds.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

Full Review

Kyle M

I didn't need to see "The Birth of a Nation" to realize that it is one of the most offensive movies ever created. I actually reviewed "Gone With The Wind" as well, and that movie is known for stereotyping African Americans as well. I just find it surprising that "The Birth of a Nation" actually runs at least 3 hours, like "Gone With The Wind," even though it is over 100 years old. You may watch this movie for historical reasons, but beware that this movie is an absolute crime against the African Community!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

Charles F

A classic masterpiece bigger as history

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

Hai B

It's not only offensive for anyone whose NOT a slave owner but it's literally the fact that THIS first American feature length films shows the twisted time and mind of so many US citizens of the that era. (And also bring back the KKK)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Shawan L

I was eager to watch this movie with high expectations. However, what unfolded on the screen left me completely disappointed and disturbed. It's so filled with problematic themes and offensive representations/showings that it left a bad taste in my mouth. the film's glorification of the Ku Klux Klan is deeply disturbing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/20/23

Full Review

Ok_uh_eli_I_guess

Does the innovation even matter with this whole thing going on here?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/22

Full Review

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D.W. Griffith

Director

Lillian Gish

Elsie Stoneman

Mae Marsh

Flora Cameron

Henry B. Walthall

Col. Ben Cameron

Miriam Cooper

Margaret Cameron

Mary Alden

Lydia Brown

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

Problematically, Birth of a Nation wasn't just a seminal commercial spectacle but also a decisively original work of art -- in effect, the founding work of cinematic realism, albeit a work that was developed to pass lies off as reality.

Aug 19, 2013

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

The quasi-Victorian Griffith was in so many respects way ahead of his time even if his philosophy and mind-set could often be said to be behind it.

Aug 19, 2013

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

The Birth of a Nation has become a staple of any film studies course, for its excellent performances, thrilling action sequences and epic landscapes. However it's subject matter is much more controversial now.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 19, 2013

Full Review

Zita Short

InSession Film

You can make all the arguments in the world, but it is still impossible to look past the racial politics.

Rated: B-

Feb 3, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

As a work of art, it is unforgettable; as a social document, it is unforgivable. Quality of Movie: 4 stars. Content of Movie: 1 star.

Rated: 4/4

Aug 10, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

More prominent than the adventuresome Civil War reenactments or the educational historical retellings (the ones based on actual records) are the fictional love stories.

Rated: 8/10

Jul 24, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine in director D.W. Griffith's controversial Civil War epic. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall) is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman (Lillian Gish) petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father (Ralph Lewis) and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch (George Siegmann).

Director: D.W. Griffith
Screenwriter: Thomas F. Dixon Jr., Thomas F. Dixon Jr., D.W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods, Thomas F. Dixon Jr.
Distributor: Reel Media International [us], Continental Home Vídeo [br], Allied Artists Pictures, Hollywood Classics, Kino Video, Lumivision, Joseph Brenner Associates Inc. [us], Image Entertainment Inc., Republic Pictures
Production Co: David W. Griffith Corp., Epoch Producing Corporation
Genre: History, Drama, War
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 3, 1915, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 8, 2016
Runtime: 3h 10m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)