The Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith, 1915

Here is one of the many notorious scenes in this film involving the Ku Klux Klan clad as knights and riding to the rescue of the besieged families. Note the complex narrative language, from angles and distance of shots, to the rhythm of the edits in cross-cutting and cutting from long shots to close-ups, etc.

• Category

  • Film & Animation

• License

  • Standard YouTube License