America (1924)

D.W. Griffith's "America"

By 1924, D.W. Griffith had become very skilled at making historical films. However, with his American Revolution film, "America," that skilled appeared very dull. Expecting the rousing commercial and critical success he was accostomed to, Griffith made the film for $1 million. However, both the critics and the audiences found the film confusing and dull.

The film is an adaption of the Robert W. Chambers' 1905 novel "The Reckoning." It tells the story of a romance between two lovers who are caught on the opposite sides of the American Revolution. The plot mainly focuses on the Northern Theater of War in New York, and doesn't showcase the entire context of the war. However, there are plenty of the characters that pop up throughout the film that audiences would be aware of, like George Washington and Paul Revere. That being said, the film does not focus on these characters as much.

The conception of the film originated in 1923, when the Daughters of the American Revolution petitioned Motion Picture Production Association President Will H. Hays to make a historical epic about the American Revolution. Hayes then sought D.W. Griffith, who was world famous for these types of films. Griffith agreed and was received a large budget. However, the budget was so large that Griffith could not afford famous actors, like his typical muse Lillian Gish. This lack of talent was one of the many reasons the film suffered. 

The film was a massive failure, both critically and commercially. Despite President Calvin Coolidge screening the film to the United States Army as a recruitment method, the film was poorly received by general audiences. Many viewers were confused by the film. One of the more confusing aspects was the lack of clarity in who represented the Americans and who represented the British, as the director seemed to have trouble differentiating the two. Addtionally, the film's time frame was irrational. The film began in 1775, yet seemed to finish in 1789, without any explanation in time passing. Another example of the film's perplexity was its use of title cards. Many of the blocks of text would explain motifs and character relationship without ever actually demonstrating them on screen. All these factors contributed to the film's poor reception.

The film not only put Griffith in massive amounts of debt, it also destabilized his standing in the industry. Many critics and audiences were growing tired of Griffith's film, now seeming outdated compared to the new and creative ventures of other filmmakers at the time. Griffith was already beginning to come off as tired and boring, his foundation for film syntax now a normalcy. Because of this, "America" represented Griffith's imminent decline in his career.