Intolerance (1916)

 D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance"

After the criticism D.W. Griffith received from his controversial film "The Birth of a Nation," he decided to make a film about the intolerance of others. The film he would go on to make would be even more epic in scope and scale than "The Birth of a Nation." Not only this, the techniques he would use would be far more expansive and creative, as well. Griffith chose to divide the film into four separate storylines, all connected by the theme of intolerance. These storylines vary in both time and space. The effect of this decision creates a massive epic, consisting of a viewing experiece that transports you to different times and different places. This interweving of these varied scenes was unlike anything ever done before. The result is a film that is often considered Griffith's 'masterpiece,' far surpassing the accomplishment of "The Birth of a Nation" - even if it's legacy is shadowed by the other. "Intolerance" presents as Griffith's crowning achievement.

One of the stories that is being intercut with the others is the fall of Babylon. Set in 539 BC, a conflict arises between Prince Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great of Persia. The intolerance demonstrated between the devotees of the two rival Babylonian gods, Bel-Marduk and Ishtar, creates the collapse of the empire. The second story centers on the Biblical 'Judea' story. Set in 27 AD, it shows the intolerance of the people that led to the crucifiction of Christ. The third story takes place in 1572 during the Renaissance period in France. It showcases the religious intolerance that led to St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which stemmed from instigations by the Catholic Royal House of Valois upon the Protestant Huguenots. The final story takes place in contemporary times, specifically 1914, two years before the film was released. It shows the strife between factory workers and ruthless capitalists. Each segment demonstrates how crime, moral puritism, and selfish indulgence create conflict between people, inherently leading to a collapse; whether this collapse be the collapse of an empire, the collapse of morality, or the collapse of order. These four stories are intertwined between an image of a mother watching over his baby as it rocks in a cradle. This image seems to be symbolically representing the passing of the generations.

The different depictions of intolerance leading to destruction presents the main thematic focus of the piece. Holding this together seems to be the rocking baby as her mother watches. The baby cradle intercuts seem to suggest that these separated timelines are not only linked thematically, but also these people across time are linked generationally. This intolerance has been passed down over and over throughout the generations creating mahem. The intercut linking the scenes creates this connective tissue, which further identifies the scope of how intolerance is a piece of humanity and has become an endless cyle. 

This intolerance eventually leads to utter destruction, as demonstrated by the varying means of violence that occur. Griffith creates a forward momentum with the piece, often quickening the pace as the film progresses. This increased pace explodes once the violence erupts. Once the violence occurs, Griffith does not hold back on the explosive and obscene brutality of the chaos. Whether it is the Babylions swinging spears and swords at each other, Christ being beaten, the French massacre, or the grim damnation of an innocent man in present day, the utter visual demonstration of these events create an instilled panic and terror in the viewer. In many of the scenes, Griffith often shows characters being stabbed or beheaded, not cencoring any of the gore or violence. This was a major shock to 1916 audiences. This unflinching gaze and demonstration of unkept chaos perhaps alludes to the first World War that was taking place at the time. Nations were fighting other nations across the world in violent battles. With "The Birth of a Nation," Griffith made a point to introduce the film with a title card emploring viewers to view the film as an anti-war piece. This sentiment gets lost in the racial controversy of the film, unsterstandably. However, it seems that "Intolerance" delivers a much clearer intent to portray war and violence with critical views. At a time when the entire world was at war, this film made it very clear what the root causes of this mahem were, as it depicted the hateful and prejudiced behaviors that led to such extreme measures.

Another feat Griffith was able to pull off were the immaculate sets. No film had ever had such epic set pieces. One third of the film's massive budget went into these expansive designs. Further contributing to the scope of these sets were the 3,000+ extras that were cast to inhabit them. The shots almost take your breath away. The Babylonian set was so large that it extended over one mile. Griffith also demonstrates a new breadth of camerawork to incorporate into viewing this spectacle. In entering the second act of the film, we see the city of Babylon. Griffith's camera appears to be on a crane as it slowly pushes into the scene, tracking and hovering over the action. In fact, Griffith empolys several tracking shots troughout the film. These tracking shots extended the visual language of cinema and helped continue Griffith's construction of film grammar.

"Intolerance" is a technical masterpiece. On top of this, it demonstrates how a story could be so expansive in plot, themes, ideas, locations, and time. Despite this, the film did not do well commerically. Aside from its artistic merits, the film ended up being a disappointment, espically when compared to Griffith's vile "The Birth of a Nation" one year prior. However, the artistic merits of the film are unquestionable. The film would be the biggest inspiration for European cinema. The cinematic auteurs oversees would expand Griffith's visual and thematic ideas to create an explosion of artistic credibility the likes film has never seen before.