The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'

I wrote this to point out a goof by the makers of the video. In the video, the narrator, Russel Merrit, tells us that D.W. Griffith, in an effort to save money,used the same set, a trench on a battlefield, for both Conferate and Union forces. The presence of a tree branch in the middle background is the same for a Confederate trench as a Union trench. It is inferred that D.W. Griffith had both sides using the same trench. However, the flow of the battle depicted in the movie clearly shows the Union army deployed in the trench, the Conferates storming the trench, and then using it, from the opposite side, as a jumping-off point for an attack on the second line of the Union Army. Otherwise the video is okay.

Making of 'The Birth of a Nation', The (1998)

*** (out of 4)

David Shepard narrated this 23-minute documentary about the making of Griffith's masterpiece and highly controversial 1915 film. There's not too much talk about the making of the film but what is here is certainly special. We get to hear about the early day's of Griffith's career as an actor and certain plays that he appeared in, which might have influenced some of his Civil War shorts. These Biograph shorts are also shown and talked about but the main focus is on that 1915 film. I'm not sure how the footage survived but we get several outtakes from the scenes, including an alternate shot of a battle scene, which is very impressive. We also hear about some of the real life people who inspired some of the characters in the film including Stoneman, who you could say was the real villain in the movie.