Intolerance (1916) - Griffith's incredible and mind-boggling epic accomplishment

♥♥♥

 

A vile hand grabbing at a young mother holding her baby is the striking image on this chilling and somewhat mystifying poster for D.W. Griffith's Intolerance

Four stories about intolerance: Centuries before Christ, Babylon falls to Persia. Around the time of Christ. Unrest in the Medici Renaissance era in France between Catholics and Protestants. - And a contemporary story, of a falsely accused man and his girlfriend's desperate struggle for his liberation.

 

Intolerance is co-written, produced, directed and co-edited by D.W. Griffith (Seven Civil War (1911)), who co-wrote it with Hattie Grey Baker (An Odyssey of the North (1914)), Tod Browning (Inside Job (1946)), Anita Loos (When Ladies Meet (1941)), Mary H. O'Connor (The House Built Upon Sand (1916)) and Frank E. Woods (The Bad Boy (1917)).

The four stories briefly mentioned above are apparently all linked together by the theme of intolerance!

Intolerance is one of the weirdest films of all time; it is very funny and more curious than scores of other movies put together. It is failed in that it is overlong and has a rather feeble message, but it is still extremely impressive, not least from a production point of view. Despite the expansive length, the pace in its mad stories is actually high, - there is plenty of action, - and the fighting and major set piece scenes are outrageously opulent. This aspect makes Intolerance fantastic.

 

Related post:

 

D.W. Griffith: The Birth of a Nation/The Clansman (1915) - Griffith's unlovable work of epic cinema-historical proportions

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 385k $

Box office: 1.75 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Uncertain but at least a big hit (returned 4.54 times its cost in North America alone)

[Intolerance premiered 5 September (New York) and runs 210 minutes, though with most surviving versions today running 197 minutes. Griffith reportedly self-financed the film. Mae Marsh (Man's Genesis (1912)) was paid 85$ a week for her performance in the film. Shooting took place from October 1915 - April 1916 in France and Los Angeles, California. Thousands of extras were employed for central scenes in the film, and they reportedly became so involved in the battle scenes, so that they regularly injured each other. After one battle scene 60 people reportedly needed medical assistance. The Babylon story required a third of the film's budget, which has previously been erroneously reported as 2 mil. $. Details concerning the film's gross numbers are regrettably lost, but it was released in many foreign markets in the years following its domestic release. Griffith returned with A Day with Governor Whitman (1916, short) and theatrically with Her Condoned Sin (1917). Marsh returned in The Little Liar (1916); Robert Harron (The Great Love (1918)) also in The Little Liar. Intolerance is fresh at 98 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Intolerance?