The Birth of a Nation (1915, D.W. Griffith)
Nothing can prepare you for watching this movie. You think you might know what you’re in for, but this is a veritable rollercoaster ride of thrills and disgust. At three hours, simply making time for this is a struggle. Still, I felt that this was a movie that, as a film fan, I ought to have seen. Once.
The basic story is that of two families; the Stonemans and the Camerons. As the Civil War breaks out, they must fight on opposing sides, and their friendship is tested. That short synopsis doesn’t begin to describe what you will experience as you watch this though.
It’s split into two acts. The first act is about the war, and how these two families are affected. It concludes with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This act is mostly about the action of war, and the drama of the relationship between the families. It’s also rather dull (except the staging of the assassination, which is exciting and impressive).
The second act, however, is completely different. It covers the aftermath of the war, and the abolition of slavery. We see how the blacks are supposedly liberated, and then proceed to pillage and practically take over society by violent means.
I find it particularly interesting to note how this movie was received in 1915. First of all, Griffith claimed he couldn’t understand any of the criticism it got. He considered himself a great liberal. At the box office, it was a runaway success, charging $2 per ticket (which was astronomical at the time). The movie was even used as a recruiting tool for the Ku Klux Klan at one point.
The movie is undoubtedly of important historical, political, and social value, even today, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hugely offensive and racist. It really is as bad as you might have heard, and then some. The Ku Klux Klan are portrayed as the saviors of women, children, and liberty, while every African-American is depicted as a sex-crazed lunatic. Not only this, but every major black character is played by a caucasian in blackface.
Also, there’s no question that this movie is hugely significant in terms of the technical achievements. Griffith pioneered many of the tools of storytelling we today take for granted. He does many impressive things here, and it’s well worth seeing for that alone. For example, the final (ridiculously offensive and racist) action sequence is staged and edited brilliantly.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this uncomfortable (physically and emotionally) watching a movie before. I’m glad I’ve seen it, but don’t expect me to ever go near it again. I won’t rate it, but just leave you with this: it’s worth seeing, just know what you’re getting in for. It’s a tremendously important movie for many reasons, but don’t expect to enjoy yourself.
Unrateable or perhaps 
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Love the “unrateable” image you created — you or caps should make one that matches the FW stars.
“Unrateable” is for wusses.
Yeah, I suppose it is a bit of a cop-out, but I just can’t fairly rate this movie. As a technical achievement it’s five stars, but as a story, dreadful. I just didn’t know what else to do. Simply giving it a low rating felt harsh.
I was kidding; it’s perfectly understandable that you chose not to rate it. The text is what matters anyway.