D.W. Griffith's The birth of a nation : a history of "the most controversial motion picture of all time"
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
D.W. Griffith's The birth of a nation : a history of "the most controversial motion picture of all time"
Oxford University Press, 2007
- : pbk
- : hbk
Available at 10 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
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  Tochigi
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  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
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  United Kingdom
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  United States of America
-
Doshisha University Library (Imadegawa)
: pbk778.253||S9415077600432,
: hbk778.253||S9415107100622
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 373-393) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: hbk ISBN 9780195336788
Description
In this deeply researched and vividly written volume, Melvyn Stokes illuminates the origins, production, reception and continuing history of this ground-breaking, aesthetically brilliant, and yet highly controversial movie landmark.
By going back to the original archives, particularly the NAACP and D. W. Griffith Papers, Stokes explodes many of the myths surrounding The Birth of a Nation (1915). Yet the story that remains is fascinating: the longest American film of its time, Griffith's film incorporated many new features, including the first full musical score compiled for an American film. It was distributed and advertised by pioneering methods that would quickly become standard. Through the high prices charged
for admission and the fact that it was shown, at first, only in "live" theaters with orchestral accompaniment, Birth played a major role in reconfiguring the American movie audience by attracting more middle-class patrons. But if the film was a milestone in the history of cinema, it was also undeniably
racist. Stokes shows that the darker side of this classic movie has its origins in the racist ideas of Thomas Dixon, Jr. and Griffith's own Kentuckian background and earlier film career. The book reveals how, as the years went by, the campaign against the film became increasingly successful. In the 1920s, for example, the NAACP exploited the fact that the new Ku Klux Klan, which used Griffith's film as a recruiting and retention tool, was not just anti-black, but also anti-Catholic and
anti-Jewish, as a way to mobilize new allies in opposition to the film.
This crisply written book sheds light on both the film's racism and the aesthetic brilliance of Griffith's filmmaking. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the cinema.
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- 1. Premiere in Los Angeles
- 2. Thomas Dixon, Jr
- 3. David Wark Griffith
- 4. Making The Birth of a Nation
- 5. Transforming the American Movie Audience
- 6. Fighting a Vicious Film
- 7. Griffiths View of History
- 8. After Birth
- 9. Conclusion
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780195336795
Description
In this deeply researched and vividly written volume, Melvyn Stokes illuminates the origins, production, reception and continuing history of this ground-breaking, aesthetically brilliant, and yet highly controversial movie.
By going back to the original archives, particularly the NAACP and D. W. Griffith Papers, Stokes explodes many of the myths surrounding The Birth of a Nation (1915). Yet the story that remains is fascinating: the longest American film of its time, Griffith's film incorporated many new features, including the first full musical score compiled for an American film. It was distributed and advertised by pioneering methods that would quickly become standard. Through the high prices charged
for admission and the fact that it was shown, at first, only in "live" theaters with orchestral accompaniment, Birth played a major role in reconfiguring the American movie audience by attracting more middle-class patrons. But if the film was a milestone in the history of cinema, it was also undeniably
racist. Stokes shows that the darker side of this classic movie has its origins in the racist ideas of Thomas Dixon, Jr. and Griffith's own Kentuckian background and earlier film career. The book reveals how, as the years went by, the campaign against the film became increasingly successful. In the 1920s, for example, the NAACP exploited the fact that the new Ku Klux Klan, which used Griffith's film as a recruiting and retention tool, was not just anti-black, but also anti-Catholic and
anti-Jewish, as a way to mobilize new allies in opposition to the film.
This crisply written book sheds light on both the film's racism and the aesthetic brilliance of Griffith's filmmaking. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the cinema.
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- 1. Premiere in Los Angeles
- 2. Thomas Dixon, Jr
- 3. David Wark Griffith
- 4. Making The Birth of a Nation
- 5. Transforming the American Movie Audience
- 6. Fighting a Vicious Film
- 7. Griffiths View of History
- 8. After Birth
- 9. Conclusion
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
by "Nielsen BookData"