Kevin Brownlow:  D.W. Griffith was rightly called the father of American
film, but Hollywood rarely remembers its parentage, and mainly when it is
shamed into recognising it. There are too many examples to quote here, but
the name Chaplin rings a very loud bell. Re feature films, there were many
made before Birth Of A Nation, though I suppose one has to define
"feature". If a four reel running time qualifies, then several hundred
features were produced in the US prior to 1914 - though none of this takes
away the impact of Griffith's mastery (and the impact of Birth...),
starting with his one reelers. By the way, I'm a great admirer of your film
preservation work. Please keep it going!
Peter Warren, Oakville, Ontario.----------
> From: Lang Thompson <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Brownlow on DGA decision
> Date: Sunday, December 19, 1999 11:33 PM
>
> from LA Times
(http://www.latimes.com/news/comment/19991218/t000115137.html):
>
>
>
>  I have always admired the Directors Guild for acknowledging the
importance
> of D.W. Griffith with their award, and I am dismayed to hear they are
> withdrawing it. A sign of maturity is the ability to acknowledge
greatness
> while not being blind to faults--Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, but his
> name remains on the Peace Prize.
>       However uncomfortable it may be, "The Birth of a Nation," beyond
all
> other films, established the feature film and made it possible for the
> members of the guild to practice their craft.
>       The man whose name they dishonor was full of contradictions; yes,
he
> made Hollywood's most racially explosive film, but he also made films
> attacking racial prejudice. In one early Griffith picture, the Klan was
the
> villain and a black boy the hero.
>       Whose name will replace Griffith's? Another pioneer director--John
> Ford, perhaps?  No, like most of his generation, he revered Griffith. How
> about a foreign name, a director of impeccable reputation: Carl-Theodore
> Dryer? Not a bad idea.  Unfortunately, in a 1950s poll, Dreyer selected
> "The Birth of a Nation" as the greatest film ever made.
>                                                              KEVIN
BROWNLOW
>                                                              Photoplay
> Productions
>                                                              London
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>
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