Intolerance is a 1916 American anthology silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. Subtitled as Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages and A Sun-Play of the Ages,Internet Archive for Intolerance (1916), D. W. Griffith. Retrieved May 21, 2016. the three-and-a-half-hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines, each separated by several centuries: first, a contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; second, a Biblical story: Christ's mission and death; third, a French story: the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572; and fourth, a Babylonian story: the fall of the Babylonian Empire to Persia in 539 BC. Each story had its own distinctive color tint in the original print. The scenes are linked by shots of a figure representing Eternal Motherhood, rocking a cradle.
Griffith chose to explore the theme of intolerance partly in response to his previous film, The Birth of a Nation (1915), being derided by the NAACP and others for perpetuating and supporting racial stereotypes and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan. Intolerance was not, however, an apology, as Griffith felt he had nothing to apologize for; in numerous interviews, he made clear that the film was intended as a rebuttal to his critics, whom he believed were themselves intolerant. In the years following its release, Intolerance strongly influenced European film movements and is regarded by critics as one of the most influential films of the silent era and one of the greatest films ever made. In 1958, the film was voted number seven in the World Expo film poll. In 1989, it was among the first films selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Storylines
The film consists of four distinct, but parallel, stories—intercut with increasing frequency as the film builds to a climax—that demonstrate mankind's persistent intolerance throughout the ages. The timeline covers approximately 2,500 years.
The ancient "Babylonian" story (539 BC) depicts the conflict between Prince Belshazzar of Babylon and Cyrus the Great of Persia. The fall of Babylon is a result of intolerance arising from a conflict between devotees of two rival Babylonian gods—Bel-Marduk and Ishtar. The Biblical "Judean" story (c. AD 27) recounts how—after the Wedding at Cana and the Woman Taken in Adultery—intolerance led to the Crucifixion of Jesus. This sequence is the shortest of the four. The Renaissance "French" story (1572) tells of the religious intolerance that led to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Protestant Huguenots fomented by the Catholic Royal House of Valois. The American "Modern" story (c. 1914) demonstrates how crime, moral puritanism, and conflicts between ruthless capitalists and striking workers help ruin the lives of marginalized Americans. To get more money for his spinster sister's charities, a mill owner orders a 10% pay cut to his workers' wages. An ensuing workers' strike is crushed and The Boy and The Dear One make their way to another city; she lives in poverty and he turns to crime. After they marry, he tries to break free of crime but is framed for theft by his ex-boss. While he is in prison, his wife must endure their child being taken away by the same "moral uplift society" that instigated the strike. Upon his release from prison, he discovers his ex-boss attempting to rape his wife. A struggle begins and in the confusion the girlfriend of the boss shoots and kills the boss. She escapes and The Boy is convicted and sentenced to the gallows. A kindly policeman helps The Dear One find the real killer and together they try to reach the Governor in time so her reformed husband will not be hanged.
Breaks between differing time periods are marked by the symbolic image of a mother rocking a cradle, representing the passing of generations. The film simultaneously cross-cuts back and forth and interweaves the segments over great gaps of space and time, with over 50 transitions between the segments. One of the unusual characteristics of the film is that many of the characters do not have names. Griffith wished them to be emblematic of human types. Thus, the central female character in the modern story is called The Dear One, her young husband is called The Boy, and the leader of the local Mafia is called The Musketeer of the Slums. Critics and film theorists maintain that these names reveal Griffith's sentimentalism, which was already hinted at in The Birth of a Nation, with names such as The Little Colonel.
Cast
Lillian Gish as The Eternal Motherhood The American "Modern" story
Mae Marsh as The Dear One Robert Harron as The Boy, a worker at Jenkins Mill Fred Turner as The Dear One's father, a worker at the Jenkins Mill Miriam Cooper as The Friendless One, former neighbor of the Boy and Dear One Walter Long as Musketeer of the Slums Tom Wilson as The Kindly Officer/Heart Vera Lewis as Miss Mary T. Jenkins Sam De Grasse as Mr. Arthur Jenkins, mill boss Lloyd Ingraham as The Judge Ralph Lewis as The Governor A. W. McClure as Prison Father Fathley Max Davidson as tenement neighbor of Dear One Renaissance "French" story (1572)
Margery Wilson as Brown Eyes Eugene Pallette as Prosper Latour Spottiswoode Aitken as Brown Eyes' father Ruth Handforth as Brown Eyes' mother Allan Sears as The Mercenary Soldier Josephine Crowell as Catherine de Medici, the Queen-mother Frank Bennett as Charles IX of France Maxfield Stanley as Prince Henry of France Joseph Henabery as Admiral Coligny Constance Talmadge as Princess Marguerite of Valois (first role in film) W. E. Lawrence as Henry of Navarre Ancient "Babylonian" story
Constance Talmadge as The Mountain Girl (second role in film) Elmer Clifton as The Rhapsode, a warrior-singer Alfred Paget as Prince Belshazzar Seena Owen as The Princess Beloved, favorite of Belshazzar Tully Marshall as High Priest of Bel-Marduk George Siegmann as Cyrus the Great Carl Stockdale as King Nabonidus, father of Belshazzar Elmo Lincoln as The Mighty Man of Valor, guard to Belshazzar Frank Brownlee as The Mountain Girl's brother The Ruth St. Denis DancersRuth St. Denis is listed by some modern sources as the Solo Dancer in the Babylonian Story, but she denied this in an interview. However, it is generally believed St. Denis and her "Denishawn dancers" appear on the steps of the Babylon set in the great courtyard scene. as Dancing girls The Biblical "Judean" story
Howard Gaye as The Nazarene Lillian Langdon as Mary, the Mother Bessie Love as The Bride George Walsh as The Bridegroom Cameo appearances/small roles
Mary Alden Frank Borzage Tod Browning (Crook) Frank Campeau Jewel Carmen Constance Collier Donald Crisp Carol Dempster Douglas Fairbanks (drunken soldier with monkey) Mildred Harris (Favorite of the harem) Dell Henderson Harold Lockwood Wilfred Lucas Francis McDonald Owen Moore Carmel Myers Wallace Reid Eve Southern Pauline Starke Erich von Stroheim (Second Pharisee) Madame Sul-Te-Wan Natalie Talmadge Ethel Grey Terry Herbert Beerbohm Tree King Vidor John P. McCarthy (Prison Guard)
Production
Intolerance was a colossal undertaking featuring monumental sets, lavish period costumes, and more than 3,000 extras. The lot on Sunset Boulevard featured a Babylon set with tall walls as well as streets of Judea and medieval France. The total payroll for extras was reported to have reached $12,000 daily. Griffith began shooting the film with the Modern Story (originally titled "The Mother and the Law"), whose planning predated the great commercial success of The Birth of a Nation. He then greatly expanded it to include the other three parallel stories under the theme of intolerance. Three hundred thousand feet of film were shot.
The total cost of producing Intolerance was reported to be close to $2 million including $250,000 for the Belshazzar feast scene alone, an astronomical sum in 1916, but accounts for the film show the exact cost to be $385,906.77. A third of the budget went into making the Babylonian segments of the film.
The extensive sets constructed for the film were destroyed two years after they were built, and the space would be used for another film.
Reception
Intolerance was met with an enthusiastic reception from film critics upon its premiere. Scholar Frank Beaver argues that "Griffith's intended message in Intolerance was not lost on reviewers", noting that in The San Francisco Bulletin a contemporary critic declared, "Griffith's film comes powerfully to strengthen the hand of the believers in love." Although Intolerance was considered a commercial failure upon its initial release, it has since received very positive reviews and later gained popularity. It has been called "the only film fugue". Theodore Huff, one of the leading film critics of the first half of the 20th century, believed that it was the only motion picture worthy of taking its place alongside Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings, etc., as a separate and central artistic contribution.
Intolerance was shown out of competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. In 1989, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", the first year of voting. In 2007, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) ranked Intolerance as the 49th best American film of all time. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the a score of 99 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Pauline Kael considered Intolerance the greatest film ever made: "Intolerance is one of the two or three most influential movies ever made, and I think it is also the greatest." Half-a-century later, Armond White concurs, writing, "A century later we are as close to its subject as we are distant from its art."
David Thomson argued that the film's impact is weakened by its "self-destructive frenzy", adding that "The cross-cutting, self-interrupting format is wearisome. [...] The sheer pretension is a roadblock, and one longs for the 'Modern Story' to hold the screen. [...] Anyone concerned with film history has to see Intolerance, and pass on."
The film has been widely reported to have been a box office bomb, but this is a myth attributed to its misreported budget. Even though up to that time it was the most expensive American film made and grossed far less than The Birth of a Nation, it earned approximately $1.75 million for its backers, a respectable performance and enough to recoup its budget.
The film was included by the Vatican in a list of important films compiled in 1995, under the category of "Values".
Influence
Intolerance and its unorthodox editing were enormously influential, particularly among European and Soviet filmmakers. Many of the numerous assistant directors Griffith employed in making the film—Erich von Stroheim, Tod Browning, Woody Van Dyke—went on to become important and noted Hollywood directors in subsequent years.
The film was parodied by Buster Keaton in Three Ages (1923).
In 1954, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art held a screening of the 1916 film, with organist Vernon Geyer performing the original score.
The 1987 Taviani brothers film Good Morning, Babylon takes place on the set of Intolerance.
Intolerance "Babylon" set is a feature location in the 2011 video game L.A. Noire, even though the game is set in 1947 and the Babylon set was torn down before this date.
Versions
Intolerance is now in the public domain. There are currently four major versions of the film in circulation on home video.