# The Birth of a Nation (1915)

> D.W. Griffith’s monumental silent epic intertwines two families with the Civil War and Reconstruction while pioneering cinematic technique and propagating racist mythology.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/496

## Facts

- Runtime: 195 min
- Genres: Drama, History, War
- Director: D.W. Griffith
- Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Siegmann, Walter Long
- TMDB rating: 5.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004972/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Mood: grandiose, melodramatic, inflammatory, film history study, silent cinema retrospective

## Movies like The Birth of a Nation

- [Gettysburg (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/5723)
- [Cold Mountain (2003)](https://ember.film/movie/1608)
- [Napoleon (1927)](https://ember.film/movie/27512)
- [Arsenal (1929)](https://ember.film/movie/60995)
- [Gone with the Wind (1939)](https://ember.film/movie/615)
- [Gods and Generals (2003)](https://ember.film/movie/9683)
- [Earth (1930)](https://ember.film/movie/30944)
- [Shenandoah (1965)](https://ember.film/movie/12672)
- [Way Down East (1920)](https://ember.film/movie/19723)
- [Cabiria (1914)](https://ember.film/movie/2951)

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