The epic apology for his racist BIRTH OF A NATION, INTOLERANCE is often used as an apology for film critics who want to recognize D.W. Griffith's accomplishments without embracing the hard to recommend NATION. In retrospect, Griffith's follow-up to his most notorious film is an overlong experiment that saves itself by coming together so well in the end. At its time of release, audiences were turned off by the four interwoven stories from four unconnected ages as well as the three plus hour running time. Modern audiences will have the same issues. Much like a crumbling ancient ruin, there is much to admire about INTOLERANCE as a historical document, but as a modern piece of art it has not held up over the test of time.
The subtitle for the film is "Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages," which is actually a better description than intolerance of what connects the four tales. The modern story sees the intolerance of the reform movement, leading to the closure of a mine and the poverty of its workers. In the wake of the mine closing, an Irish boy (Robert Harron) gives up a life of crime to marry the innocent little Dear One (Mae Marsh). Framed for two crimes, the boy is sent to the gallows for a murder he did not commit and Dear One tries everything to save him. The Babylonian story sees a poor Mountain Girl (Constance Talmadge) fighting to defender the peace-loving secular Prince Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) and his Princess Beloved (Seena Owen) from the forces of Cyrus (George Siegmann), who has Babylon's traitorous priests on his side. The next segment is set in 1572 in France where Catholic Catherine de Medici (Josephine Crowell) convinces her son King Charles IX of France (Frank Bennett) to carry out the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and how these events affect the Huguenot lovers, Brown Eyes (Margery Wilson) and Prosper Latour (Eugene Pallette). The fourth and shortest tale chronicles key events in the life and crucifixion of Christ (Howard Gaye). Also intercut between all the stories is Lillian Gish as the Mother Mary rocking Jesus' cradle.
The impressive weaving of the four stories in the ending makes the long journey worth the wait, however it also highlights how the first two hours of the film do not meld very well. The longer stories — the modern tale and Babylonian story — often over shadow the other two stories making them feel like afterthoughts. Thematically though, the modern story seems to connect the least with the other three and feels like it should be its own film. (It was actually released as THE MOTHER AND THE LAW in 1919.) The Jesus story is all but forgotten for large parts. In light of the acting in Raoul Walsh's 1915 REGENERATION, INTOLERANCE seems dated. Outside of some moments of subtlety and nice comic timing from Talmadge, the acting has the curse of silent movie pantomime, which takes away some of the film's emotional connection with the audience.
What remains impressive is the epic battle scenes. This is the feature most viewers will not forget. The Babylon battles and celebration scene include amazing sets and more than 3,000 extras. Though the battles often take on the role of spectacle over story too often, there is a grittiness to the violence, at times, that makes a strong point. As the stories build to their conclusions, Griffith finds poetic ways to mirror his themes of tragic love and call for tolerance in the various stories. The Mountain Girl next to the two doves is very effective.
The editing works so well that one finally begins to care about some of the stories that for the previous two and a half hours seemed to drag. This happens because Griffith focuses his attention on the characters that we're supposed to care about instead of focusing on drawn out scenes with the villains. (This is especially a problem in the French story.) Narratively speaking, the extremely melodramatic modern tale gains a real sense of tension and emotion after seeing how the other tales have ended.
In the end, Griffith's film presents a message of hope. Though he lays it on thick, the message that if we do not learn from our past, we are doomed to repeat it is nicely presented. The film deserves to be remembered, but more so as one-sixth of a masterpiece. As a three-hour epic, the weaker parts severely weigh down the rest of superior ending. BIRTH OF A NATION is also extremely long, but Griffith tells one story, making us understand the motivations of its central characters as it builds. INTOLERANCE plays like a patchwork quilt were only a small section has been stitched together tightly. Griffith bites off more than he can chew.
Nonetheless, I'd recommend INTOLERANCE outright versus NATION, which I'd give only two-and-a-half stars to. As a complete film, NATION is far superior to the flawed INTOLERANCE, but the latter film has a more redeeming message for modern audiences. As for representing the work of Griffith without recommending NATION, there are many other great films to pick. INTOLERANCE is more impressive for what Griffith was trying than for its success. Griffith had an epic eye and was a product of his age. With patience, there is greatness to be found here. The rest needs to be watched with an eye for history.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
