This film is, by most accounts, D.W. Griffith's greatest. The sets remain unsurpassed in size and greatness (though the sets for 1922's Robin Hood came awfully close). Hollywood could never afford such a film today, or even ten years after the initial release; 1916 dollars had a six digit cost for the film. And viewing it is a real treat, what with the new tinted print and the great musical score (which can be found on CD, too). The film shows intolerance in four different eras: the 1900's in America, the 1500's in France, the 20's in Palestine, and 3,000 BCE Babylon. I didn't quite understand the latter three, but be assured that there is a lot of killing and religious persecution (the killing of Christ, for example). The modern story, however, deals with the Dear One (Mae Marsh), who is one of the many third-class citizens whose father works for the upper-class. To torture the poor, the owners of this company send away the workers, resulting in trauma. The Dear One marries another survivor of this tragedy, but the marriage is rocky. They love each other, but their happiness is tested time and again, ending when her husband is sentenced to be hung. The film shows, quite beautifully, that there is always some jerk out there to spoil everyone else's fun. Also, the consistent image of Lillian Gish rocking a cradle shows that each generation is born in a cradle, but whether they choose to stick to being sweet and loving is up to them. Today, Intolerence is trumpeted as one of the best American films of all time. In 1916, critics and fans ignored it. Griffith was to make many more films, but only a few were classics. Ironic thing, that the film following smash-hit The Birth of a Nation should be called Intolerence when nobody in 1916 could tolerate it.
Review of Intolerance
