D.W. Griffith Biography

Fast Facts

• The Birth of a Nation was so successful that it is considered to be the first blockbuster in the U․S
• Was made an Honorary Life Member of the Directors Guild of America in 1938
• Towards the end of his career, he donated prints of several of his films to the Museum of Modern Art
• Because of his love of reading, he worked as a book clerk for many years before joining the filmmaking industry as an actor in 1908, when he began appearing in films by Edison and Biograph
• Became the director and head of production at Reliance-Majestic in 1914 and later co-founded United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks Sr․ in 1919
• Best known as a silent film director who worked on more than 500 films, including "The Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance․"
• Is remembered as one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, developing and improving both narrative and camera techniques
• Made only two films with sound, "Abraham Lincoln" in 1930 and "The Struggle" in 1931
• Although "The Birth of a Nation" was his best known film, it was frequently criticized and boycotted for its positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan; "Intolerance," which focuses on the history of prejudice, was a response to these critics