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D.W. Griffith's 100th Anniversary The Birth of a Nation Hardcover – April 7, 2014

by Ira H Gallen (Author), Seymour Stern (Author)

3.6 10 ratings

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A HISTORY OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE

A hundred years have passed since the masterpiece of David Wark Griffith, The Birth of a Nation, first appeared on the screens of America, in the winter of 1915. It demonstrated that the cinema, no less than literature and no less than the stage, could become a topic of serious critical, esthetic, intellectual, political, social, and technical discussion. In this way it brought the motion picture into a position of commanding influence in the social life of the American nation.

The denunciation continues, and the storm over the film serves as a barometer of the global conflict, involving forces and issues set in motion by, but no means limited to, race. From the beginning it touched off several emotionally and politically explosive, interrelated, parallel controversies-controversy over Griffith; controversy over the film; controversy over the subject-matter and its treatment; controversy over the controversy.

As Griffith's official biographer Seymour Sterns main purpose of his book was to assemble, as extensively as possible, the rapidly vanishing record of what happened. You'll find Stern's writing on the subject as controversial as the film itself.

Print length

672 pages
Language

English
Publisher

FriesenPress
Publication date

April 7, 2014
Dimensions

6 x 1.63 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

146023653X
ISBN-13

978-1460236536
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

We all have our heroes in life, some look up to Baseball players, Politicians, Astronauts, Actors or even filmmakers. For Seymour Stern it was a director named D.W. Griffith. In fact it became an obsession that Seymour would take to his grave. Seymour Stern was a man obsessed: with the life and work of D.W. Griffith, with the future of artistic cinema, and with the development of a responsible yet impassioned film criticism in America. His lifelong pursuits led him toward some brilliant contributions in all these areas; they also led him astray in the directions of selfindulgence and frustration. His magnum opus on Griffith was never completed, and his increasingly insular ways detached him from many of his colleagues and public. Above all, his strange obsession with Griffith haunted his life, as it continues to haunt those who would follow his footsteps. Writer/historian Ira H. Gallen has spent over a decade going through all of Sterns published and unpublished documentation on The Birth of a Nation, to create one of the most comprehensive and compelling volume on how "the father of American film" created his controversial epic. It's the definitive reference book as the film reaches its Centennial year.

We all have our heroes in life, some look up to Baseball players, Politicians, Astronauts, Actors or even filmmakers. For Seymour Stern it was a director named D.W. Griffith. In fact it became an obsession that Seymour would take to his grave. Seymour Stern was a man obsessed: with the life and work of D.W. Griffith, with the future of artistic cinema, and with the development of a responsible yet impassioned film criticism in America. His lifelong pursuits led him toward some brilliant contributions in all these areas; they also led him astray in the directions of selfindulgence and frustration. His magnum opus on Griffith was never completed, and his increasingly insular ways detached him from many of his colleagues and public. Above all, his strange obsession with Griffith haunted his life, as it continues to haunt those who would follow his footsteps. Writer/historian Ira H. Gallen has spent over a decade going through all of Sterns published and unpublished documentation on The Birth of a Nation, to create one of the most comprehensive and compelling volume on how the father of American film created his controversial epic. It's the definitive reference book as the film reaches its Centennial year.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ FriesenPress (April 7, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 146023653X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1460236536
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.63 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,161,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,828 in Individual Directors
- #2,508 in Movie Director Biographies
- #3,125 in Censorship & Politics

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Marsha Collock

I came for Griffith but stayed for Stern

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2014

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The controversy surrounding this film is as potent today as it was 100 years ago. When great art meets political incorrectness, what is one to do and how does one find the courage to applaud and not condemn? The real revelation is Seymour Stern, An important critical voice had been long forgotten, but thanks to Ira Gallen, Stern's epic work has been saved and presented to the public at last. His research is as epic as Griffith's film and, together, they represent 2 halves to the whole of the story of this always controversial landmark film.

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Cheryl Parry

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016

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Seymour Stern's understanding of Griffith's work is unmatched in depth, detail and devotion.

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Brian Morgan

A Hateful Discourse

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2015

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Having read this book via Kindle, I can, in all honesty, say it is the worse book I have ever read. It is riddled with countless mistakes of spelling and grammar, and the consistent flaws in punctuation can only be described as risible. Whether these mistakes originate in Seymour Stern's drafts, and were left uncorrected, I do not know. I would say that it reads as a first draft, but I have never read a first draft of such poor quality, even from a student.

As for the content, this is no "history" of the most controversial film ever made, but a rambling collection of miscellaneous thoughts and editorial letters of the period. The bulk of the writing is obsessed with "anti-theism" of an almost inconceivable level, with various other paranoiac concerns thrown in for good measure, all of which have little to do with the film under discussion. In fact, almost every page is riddled with hate-speech of an extreme misanthropic nature. The man's one deity was, indeed, D.W. Griffith, which hardly makes for a balanced study.

For a serious treatise of "The Birth of a Nation," I refer the reader to Melvyn Stokes' "D.W. Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation': A History of 'The Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time'" (2008).

4 people found this helpful

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MEB

A political polemic written to justify its writer without a ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2015

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A political polemic written to justify its writer without a forceful condemnation of a repugnant theme in a magnificently made movie

One person found this helpful

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Bill Shaffer

Fascinating! An enormous tome on what is arguably D ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015

Fascinating! An enormous tome on what is arguably D. W. Griffith's masterpiece and it's just as controversial as the film itself. Congrats to editor Gallen for completing Seymour Stern's appraisal. This is a rare book, worthy of attention whether you agree with it or not.

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NORMAN1876

THE BIRTH OF A NATION The Most Controversial Film 100 years later

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2014

The problem is, as quoted in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance that "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." For almost a hundred years now the true story and effects The Birth of a Nation has had on America's cinema has been lost to the false statements that have been written on this epic film. Like the falling domino theory those comments have been past from one history book and article to another. Seymour Stern might not have finished his book on D.W. Griffith, but he has put together a remarkable story documenting the effects The Birth of a Nation has had at the time of it's release through the 1960's before Stern's death. His friend and colleague Ira Gallen has done a remarkable job trying to finish Sterns book. At the same time many will find Ira Gallen's updated statements on the film as controversial as the epic 1915 movie itself. Over thirteen years ago the highest award a director could win with the Directors Guild of America was The D.W. Griffith Life Time Achievement Award. When the first two African American directors got on the West Coast Board they said the never would except the award with Griffiths name on it, and the white members took it off. I hope this book will help give the father of American film a new chance in history.

5 people found this helpful

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George R. Willeman

A Passionate Look at a Controversial Film--Long Overdue!

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2014

A great read. Seymour Stern was not afraid to voice his feeling about "The Birth of a Nation" and many of them run counter to current "enlightened" thinking.A lot of folks are neither going to like or agree with what he says.He lays the history out in minute detail with many anecdotes I had not heard before. I also love that he was able to interview many of the people involved, including DWG, to tell the story of the film's creation. A big tip o' the nitrate to Ira Gallen for making this work available!

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D.W. Griffith's 100th Anniversary The Birth of a Nation Hardcover – April 7, 2014

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