D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith | |
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| Born | David Llewelyn Wark Griffith January 22, 1875 LaGrange, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | July 23, 1948 (aged 73) Hollywood, California, United States |
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| Years active | 1908–1931 |
| Spouse(s) | Linda On (1906–1936) Evelyn Baldwin (1936–1947) |
David Llewelyn Wark "D. W." Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American movie director and white supremacist.[1] He is best known as the director of the Ku Klux Klan 1915 movie The Birth of a Nation and the 1916 follow-up movie Intolerance.[2] The Birth of a Nation made early use of advanced camera and storytelling techniques. It was a very popular movie. It was also a very controversial movie. The movie showed African Americans and White anti-racists in a bad way. It also showed slavery and the Ku Klux Klan as good things. The movie was praised by President Woodrow Wilson. He said it was "history written in lightning". The NAACP boycotted the movie. Griffith responded to all the criticism with another movie, Intolerance. This movie showed the dangers of prejudice. The movie did not make as much money as The Birth of a Nation, but the critics liked it. Many of Griffith's later movies were critical successes. They did not make a lot of money. Even so, he is one of the most important figures of early movies. Other famous movies by Griffith include Orphans of the Storm and Broken Blossoms.