D. W. Griffith - Intolerance 1916

The success of The Birth of a Nation inaugurated the age of Films as Art--and brought on the first great controversies about the political dimensions of film. Successful efforts to suppress Birth of a Nation because of its appalling interpretation of American history and its offensive treatment of African-American characters motivated Griffith only to a kind of reflexive self-pity: His intentions were so obviously good, who could possibly want to prevent audiences from free access to the beneficial effects of his art?
The great director found himself inspired to tell the story of Intolerance (of the kind that he felt he suffered from). A contemporary melodrama is intercut with tales of ancient Babylon, the suppression of Protestants in 16th-century France, and Griffith's own spin on the story of Jesus Christ. Some of the most elaborate sets in film history were constructed for this spectacle; some were tourist attractions in Los Angeles for years afterward. But compared to his less grandiose melodramas such as Broken Blossoms and Way Down East--which still convey great emotional power--the story-telling in Intolerance seems flaccid and uninspired. Over the decades, however, it has provided generations of film students with lessons in editing.