Review: Nostalgia: "Intolerance" by D.W. Griffith-----the Movie

Years ago, as a student at UW, I hung around with some grad students who were film historians---specifically historians of the 20's and 30's. Imagine the scene. 1969-70. Paul Soglin is a student leader. "Free Bobby Seal" is painted on the side of the buildings on State Street. The Green Lantern is a food cooperative by day and offers old films at night. The Humanities Building, billed as the great building savior of the arts, is just an open hole. A young professor Russell Merritt has been hired to head the film dept at UW.

As a member of the film study group, the obligation of each member was to supply one or two films during the year for the group to study. The films were available in Super 8 format----and were expensive. These were major expenditures for the students, given the average net worth of grad students. When I asked my friend, Charles, what movie would be a good "investment" he replied that the clear best investment would be "Intolerance" by D.W. Griffith. I ordered it for about $100. I also had to order the original orchestra score from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Silents had a full score for orchestra in New York, and then depending on the movie theatre, some had organ music, some piano etc.

Some thirty-eight years later, the film is still in my basement filed right next to the Nordic Track. It was a blockbuster then for its length--over 4 hours, and also because of the impact in its time.

In the structure of the film, D.W. Griffith tells a story of love and compassion, against the backdrop of intolerance throughout the ages. Maybe it did not need four hours to get the point across...... The point that intolerance kills love and compassion in any community.

That simple film viewing back then sparked for me an interest in the career of Lillian Gish, who stared in films from 1916 to 1987. Pretty stunning.

If you are a student of film, "Intolerance" is a must see. The message is still the same. Still relevant. It was one of my best investments. Click on the post for some info on the movie.