It's not easy to say that the movie "The Birth of a Nation" is wonderful and not boring. It's a 3-hour black-and-white silent film. With only text prompts, it will be disconnected from the plot if you pay attention. After an hour of watching it, you are already sleepy. Its historical significance goes far beyond its ornamental value. The only thing in the movie that makes me feel refreshed is due to the restriction of silence, the exaggerated and comical body movements and expressions of the actors, the jumping and jumping on the battlefield as if they are on the dance floor, the fight scenes are full of help, and the actors do not know what it is when their eyes widen. Crying or laughing.
However, this is only an evaluation of this film from today's perspective, which was a milestone at the beginning of the last century. It is the proud work of Griffith, known as the "Father of Film", which surpasses the tradition of "short film" and is the first feature film in the true sense of American film history. The use of technology in the film, such as "parallel montage", "flashback", including "last minute rescue" used to create the atmosphere of the plot, is Griffith's contribution to the film, which has been imitated and praised. In addition, the film is all shot in real scenes, especially the war scenes, although crude but still grand.
The film is about the civil war, the turmoil between the two families of the South and the North, and the society at that time. Director Griffith's personal will is evident in this film. In the film, the image of black people is slandered, and black people are portrayed as villains who beat, smash, and kill, but regard the radical organization "KKK" as a hero of salvation. The leader of the "KKK" finally reaps beautiful love.
The historical events depicted in the film have been based on the emotional entanglement of Ben Cameron and Elsie Stoneman as clues. The two first fell in love with each other, and then broke up because of the war and position, but Elsie said to Ben: I hate you very much, but I will not betray you. This is Elsie's promise to Ben. After Ben was wounded in the battle, he reunited with Elsie, who was a nurse in the field. Ben rescues the Cameron family's father after Elsie pleads for the half-blood leader who has been plotting against him, putting him in danger. In the end, the two hugged each other, and the picture superimposed the seaside, which was really romantic. This love also adds a lot to the film.
To my surprise, Griffith's "Last Minute Rescue" was so successful. The so-called "last minute rescue" is to arrange suspense at the last time limit to increase the tension of the plot, increase the watchability of the movie, and make the audience concentrate. There are a total of 3 "last minute rescues" in the movie, namely the rescue of the Cameron family's daughter Flora when he was chased, the rescue of the Cameron family's father by "loyal people" after he was captured, and the Cameron family hiding in the cabin. "KKK" to their rescue. One of the things that caught my attention the most was the scene where Flora evaded the chase and ended up jumping off a cliff to her death. Its tension and cliff-jumping scenes are as real as some of today's films.
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