In 1915, D.W. Griffith was developing a film focused on the dangers of social reform called "The Mother and the Law" when critiques of his previous film Birth of a Nation started rolling in. Angered by the accusations of racism in the film, he added additional storylines to his new project that showed the result of intolerance throughout history. This was his attempt at silencing critics.
The outcome was a sprawling, ambitious film that cost a then unheard of $2 million to produce. It received positive critical reviews, but did not do well with the American public (protip: don't make an anti-war film when your country is about to enter a World War ...). The film was originally 3 hours and 30 minutes long, but most modern cuts are 3 hours and 17 minutes. The one I watched was 3 hours 17 minutes.
The plot consists of four stories set in different historical periods that span 2,500 years. To emphasize the thematic connections between the stories, they are intercut throughout the movie instead of being presented linearly.
The film opens with a shot of a woman deemed "Eternal Motherhood" rocking a cradle. She symbolizes the passing of generations, and subsequent shots of her are used to transition between the four stories throughout the film.
The Modern Story (The Mother and the Law)
The largest portion of the film is occupied by the plot of Griffith's original idea pre-Birth of a Nation. A group of early 20th-century female social reformers called "Uplifters" try to gain the patronage of a wealthy spinster whose brother owns a mill so they can further their cause. The wealthy spinster agrees to help finance the Uplifters, but after a while she finds that the mill is not generating enough revenue to satisfy her altruistic pursuits. She complains to her brother, whose response is to order a 10% cut in wages for all his factory workers. After the mill owner orders the wage cut, the workers go on strike but are quickly and violently suppressed by the state militia. (This was based on a real event.) Many victims of the strike move to a nearby city, including the Little Dear One, a young woman who takes care of her father (a former mill worker), and The Boy, another former mill worker. After arriving in the city, the Boy falls into a life of crime working for the Musketeer of the Slums. Another disenfranchised young person called The Friendless One falls in with the Musketeer and becomes his mistress. After struggling to adapt to his sudden life changes, the Dear One's father dies, leaving her alone in the world. The Dear One and the Boy get married and he swears off his former life of crime.
He returns his gun to the Musketeer, but they get in a scuffle and the Musketeer vows revenge because he is now afraid the Boy will turn him in to the police. The Musketeer stages a setup to implicate the Boy in a crime and the Boy is sent to jail. Intercut scenes show the Uplifters celebrating their successes at reforming society. A few months pass and the Dear One has a baby. As her husband is in jail (nevermind that he's falsely incarcerated), the Uplifters are convinced the Dear One is a negligent mother and take her baby away. Once again, the Dear One is alone.
.jpg)
The Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment and promises to help her get her baby back. The Friendless One (the Musketeer's girlfriend) watches jealously. The Boy is released from jail and reunited with the Dear One.
While the Boy is out one day, the Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment to get the address for where the baby is being held. His girlfriend puts a gun in her handbag and follows him without his knowledge. He enters the Dear One's apartment and tries to assault her. As this is happening, an informant tells the Boy that the Musketeer has gone to the apartment. When the Boy arrives, he can already hear a scuffle inside and he kicks down the door. He and the Musketeer get into a fight, during which the Boy and the Dear One are knocked unconscious. The Friendless One (whom nobody knows is watching) leans in through a window and shoots the Musketeer. When the Dear One and the Boy come to, they see the dead Musketeer on the ground. The police arrive and arrest the Boy.
The Boy is put on trial. As he gives his testimony, a closeup shows the Dear One wringing her hands.
The Friendless One--the real murderer--watches the trial but says nothing of her guilt.
The Boy is found guilty and sentenced to death. Back at the Dear One's apartment, a 'kindly police officer' tries to comfort her.
Upon inspecting the room where the crime was committed, the police officer realizes the gunshots must have been fired from an observer through the window. This gives the Dear One hope that they can appeal the Boy's case. The police officer and the Dear One rush off to the governor's house to plead their case, followed by the Friendless One, who is still racked with guilt. After denying the Dear One's pleas, the governor leaves his house. As the Dear One collapses on the steps outside, the Friendless One finally admits her guilt to the Dear One and the police officer. Scenes are intercut showing the boy being administered last rites by a priest and being led to the gallows. The Dear One, Friendless One, and police officer chase after the governor and stop the train he has boarded from going any further. The Friendless One confesses to the murder. The governor signs a pardon and instructs an aide to halt the Boy's hanging. As the Boy is being prepared for the gallows, a phone rings nearby--at the very last second--letting the executioners know of the pardon. The heightened tension is finally diffused as the Boy is reunited with the Dear One. The Dear One gets the baby back and the story ends with "justice and restoration" (title card).
Three other stories are intercut with this one--the fall of ancient Babylon to Cyrus the Great, Christ's crucifixion, and the St. Bartholomew Day Massacre in France in 1572--but the modern story is the longest and most interesting. It's also notable because it is the only one in the movie that has a happy ending; the others end with death and destruction.
Overall, this film is too preachy to be enjoyable. Notice how many of the characters don't have regular names, but are titled according to how Griffith wanted the audience to view them: the Dear One, the Boy, the Friendless One, the Musketeer of the Slums.
Film is often used as a way to express personal views, but Griffith is too overt with it for a narrative film. Most directors employ emotional manipulation in their films, but I like for it to be more subtle so there is at least an illusion that the audience is thinking for themselves. The discovery of "oh, he's the bad guy" or "I feel sympathetic toward that character" is paramount to the movie-watching experience, and Griffith deprives his viewers of that. As for the anti-progressive stance he takes, it was probably influenced in part by the fact that many reformers were supported film censorship, which Griffith would rail against throughout his career.
Even if his did go a little overboard with his emotional manipulation of the audience, Griffith is regarded as a master of silent film techniques and there are many technical aspects of this film that are appreciable.
For starters, the scenes set in ancient Babylon are breathtaking.
Look at those set pieces! They are jaw-droppingly big.
The outcome was a sprawling, ambitious film that cost a then unheard of $2 million to produce. It received positive critical reviews, but did not do well with the American public (protip: don't make an anti-war film when your country is about to enter a World War ...). The film was originally 3 hours and 30 minutes long, but most modern cuts are 3 hours and 17 minutes. The one I watched was 3 hours 17 minutes.
The plot consists of four stories set in different historical periods that span 2,500 years. To emphasize the thematic connections between the stories, they are intercut throughout the movie instead of being presented linearly.
The film opens with a shot of a woman deemed "Eternal Motherhood" rocking a cradle. She symbolizes the passing of generations, and subsequent shots of her are used to transition between the four stories throughout the film.
The Modern Story (The Mother and the Law)
The largest portion of the film is occupied by the plot of Griffith's original idea pre-Birth of a Nation. A group of early 20th-century female social reformers called "Uplifters" try to gain the patronage of a wealthy spinster whose brother owns a mill so they can further their cause. The wealthy spinster agrees to help finance the Uplifters, but after a while she finds that the mill is not generating enough revenue to satisfy her altruistic pursuits. She complains to her brother, whose response is to order a 10% cut in wages for all his factory workers. After the mill owner orders the wage cut, the workers go on strike but are quickly and violently suppressed by the state militia. (This was based on a real event.) Many victims of the strike move to a nearby city, including the Little Dear One, a young woman who takes care of her father (a former mill worker), and The Boy, another former mill worker. After arriving in the city, the Boy falls into a life of crime working for the Musketeer of the Slums. Another disenfranchised young person called The Friendless One falls in with the Musketeer and becomes his mistress. After struggling to adapt to his sudden life changes, the Dear One's father dies, leaving her alone in the world. The Dear One and the Boy get married and he swears off his former life of crime.
He returns his gun to the Musketeer, but they get in a scuffle and the Musketeer vows revenge because he is now afraid the Boy will turn him in to the police. The Musketeer stages a setup to implicate the Boy in a crime and the Boy is sent to jail. Intercut scenes show the Uplifters celebrating their successes at reforming society. A few months pass and the Dear One has a baby. As her husband is in jail (nevermind that he's falsely incarcerated), the Uplifters are convinced the Dear One is a negligent mother and take her baby away. Once again, the Dear One is alone.
The film's poster showing an evil reformer's hand trying to take the baby from its mother.
The Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment and promises to help her get her baby back. The Friendless One (the Musketeer's girlfriend) watches jealously. The Boy is released from jail and reunited with the Dear One.
While the Boy is out one day, the Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment to get the address for where the baby is being held. His girlfriend puts a gun in her handbag and follows him without his knowledge. He enters the Dear One's apartment and tries to assault her. As this is happening, an informant tells the Boy that the Musketeer has gone to the apartment. When the Boy arrives, he can already hear a scuffle inside and he kicks down the door. He and the Musketeer get into a fight, during which the Boy and the Dear One are knocked unconscious. The Friendless One (whom nobody knows is watching) leans in through a window and shoots the Musketeer. When the Dear One and the Boy come to, they see the dead Musketeer on the ground. The police arrive and arrest the Boy.
The Boy is put on trial. As he gives his testimony, a closeup shows the Dear One wringing her hands.
The Friendless One--the real murderer--watches the trial but says nothing of her guilt.
The Boy is found guilty and sentenced to death. Back at the Dear One's apartment, a 'kindly police officer' tries to comfort her.
Upon inspecting the room where the crime was committed, the police officer realizes the gunshots must have been fired from an observer through the window. This gives the Dear One hope that they can appeal the Boy's case. The police officer and the Dear One rush off to the governor's house to plead their case, followed by the Friendless One, who is still racked with guilt. After denying the Dear One's pleas, the governor leaves his house. As the Dear One collapses on the steps outside, the Friendless One finally admits her guilt to the Dear One and the police officer. Scenes are intercut showing the boy being administered last rites by a priest and being led to the gallows. The Dear One, Friendless One, and police officer chase after the governor and stop the train he has boarded from going any further. The Friendless One confesses to the murder. The governor signs a pardon and instructs an aide to halt the Boy's hanging. As the Boy is being prepared for the gallows, a phone rings nearby--at the very last second--letting the executioners know of the pardon. The heightened tension is finally diffused as the Boy is reunited with the Dear One. The Dear One gets the baby back and the story ends with "justice and restoration" (title card).
Three other stories are intercut with this one--the fall of ancient Babylon to Cyrus the Great, Christ's crucifixion, and the St. Bartholomew Day Massacre in France in 1572--but the modern story is the longest and most interesting. It's also notable because it is the only one in the movie that has a happy ending; the others end with death and destruction.
Overall, this film is too preachy to be enjoyable. Notice how many of the characters don't have regular names, but are titled according to how Griffith wanted the audience to view them: the Dear One, the Boy, the Friendless One, the Musketeer of the Slums.
Film is often used as a way to express personal views, but Griffith is too overt with it for a narrative film. Most directors employ emotional manipulation in their films, but I like for it to be more subtle so there is at least an illusion that the audience is thinking for themselves. The discovery of "oh, he's the bad guy" or "I feel sympathetic toward that character" is paramount to the movie-watching experience, and Griffith deprives his viewers of that. As for the anti-progressive stance he takes, it was probably influenced in part by the fact that many reformers were supported film censorship, which Griffith would rail against throughout his career.
Even if his did go a little overboard with his emotional manipulation of the audience, Griffith is regarded as a master of silent film techniques and there are many technical aspects of this film that are appreciable.
For starters, the scenes set in ancient Babylon are breathtaking.
Look at those set pieces! They are jaw-droppingly big.
A lot of live animals were used in the Babylon scenes to make them extra exotic.
Aside from being known for its sheer scale, this film is also known for its revolutionary editing style of intercutting multiple plotlines. As the film reaches its climax, the cuts get quicker and quicker. This style influenced European and Soviet filmmakers in particular.
Many of Griffith's assistant directors went on to illustrious Hollywood careers themselves, including Erich von Stroheim (Greed, Foolish Wives, Sunset Boulevard), Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks) and W.S. Van Dyke (The Thin Man, San Francisco).
I find it interesting that the controversy surrounding Griffith's earlier film and the commercial failure of this one did not halt his career. Despite the questionable content of his movies, the man is regarded as a genius and forefather of modern cinema. The question of whether you should you judge ones art separately from their personal life/beliefs is thrown around often in reference to controversial figures. The answer to the question when applied to D.W. Griffith is a resounding "yes." His artistry was impressive enough that people overlook his themes, but I have a hard time getting past them. This film really touched a nerve with me. The themes probably stick out to me the most because I'm a 21st-century viewer. I'm used to seeing big movies with special effects. While the set pieces and editing are impressive for their era, they don't make this a "good" movie to me.
Fun fact: false eyelashes were invented during the production of this film because Griffith wanted the Babylonian princess' eyelashes to be so long they brushed her cheeks when she blinked.
This film is available on Netflix.
I was most impressed with the Babylon sets, too. As you pointed out, the stories are not necessarily that engaging.
ReplyDelete