Intolerance (1916)

W.D. Griffith's apology for the his masterpiece production A Birth of a Nation was a masterpiece unto itself. Intolerance was a lavish work that far surpassed the scale of anything seen before in Hollywood and would be the benchmark in large-super-spectacular films of its time that still leaves its impact in Hollywood to this day.

With a name like Intolerance I can't help but smirk that Griffith was using this title as a backhanded insult to his critics being intolerant of his controversial views in A Birth of a Nation. But then again the film is about intolerance through the ages. Still, I must giggle even though this is perhaps one of my favorite films of the silent era.

Griffith makes his story large, if fact it is four stories fit into a three hour epic sized film. The four stories include: (1) Ancient Babylon, where worshipers of different gods rise up and battle each other leading to he fall of the empire. (2) The story of Jesus Christ and his death due to intolerance. (3) The story of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre during the French Renaissance. (4) And a modern story of capitalist and striking workers and the intolerance that comes between them.

The stories were edited together into one feature, jumping from one story to another, with all four stories eventually growing more and more tense as the movie runs on leading to their conclusions together as the film closes. This kind of editing was something very new at the time as all films at the time where rather simplistic, running linearly. But Griffith sewed all the stories together, bridging the gaps with the simple shot a mother rocking a cradle to show the passage of time through the ages. Also this shows how that though time passes, man still struggles with each other, and though we as man learn, we continue to experience conflict with one another.

Griffith's scale was incredibly large, with scenes consisting of some of the largest sets ever seen on film with as many as 3000 extra filling the screen. This size forces one to be at awe of the scope, exactly what Griffith was going for. How else are you to manifest the size of an empire other then showing the extraordinary size of its dominance. The Babylon set is the massive structure that seen in Hollywood to this day. The original set is long gone, but it's impact seen everyday by tourists even though they do not know it. Most notably would be the Hollywood and Highland complex in the heart of Hollywood, with includes the Kodak Theatre adjoining the world famous Chinese theatre. The structure based on the Babylon set is nothing more then a shopping center, but it is the equivalent of Times Square for LA ,with all the tourists visiting the area. The Hollywood and Highland complex is a replica of the ancient Babylon set complete with grand archway and gilded elephants sitting on top of pillars. The stone carving from the same Babylon set can be seen recreated on the building housing the Citadel Outlet complex in Commerce, CA just outside of LA and the elephants and carvings can be seen even in Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim, CA. It is rather amazing how that one set has passed down through the ages, yet most people have no clue about it.

Intolerance was a film about the ages and a movie for the ages. It is yet another building block towards the way movies are made and watched today.