The Birth of the Feature Film: Crash Course Film History #6

Movies didn't always look like they do now. There was a period (kind of a problematic one) where movies transitioned from short novelties to big, epic, feature films. That's our focus this week as Craig talks to us about the birth of the feature film and the work of D.W. Griffith.

Want to know more about Craig?

***

Images and Video Used are in the Public Domain and from the Library of Congress.

***

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[isaacs]

Craig taught me more about films than my English teacher could in two terms of film studies *eagle punch*

[wave]

My favorite Crash Course series so far :)

[behemothokun]

Even more reasons to dislike Edison, goddamn, the more I learn of him, the more I hate him.

[Caeruleus]

I really admire how matter-of-fact Craig is about D.W. Griffith. He acknowledges the man's racism - as he should - but doesn't dwell on it longer than necessary; he also points out why Griffith is important to Film History.

[AmeeBor]

I just wanna take a moment to thank CrashCourse for also highlighting the African American filmindustry and their answer to D.W Griffith's Birth of a Nation, my uni never talked about this, so without this video I'd never know. Learning this made me really happy :)

[bentoth]

The "can we get a closeup" bit was great. Sadly, I'm in a state where a lot of people see DW Griffith as a hero, and refuse to see anything wrong with the narrative in Birth of a Nation. The number of those people seem to be dropping with time, but it's sad that they're still out there.

[JSeedProductions]

So, could this be considered a one-reeler?

[CynicalHistorian]

Nice job handling a sensitive subject with Griffith. I do wish you had mentioned his follow-up though: Intolerance (1916). Some have called it his apology for Birth of a Nation (1915). Intolerance is also better sorry telling than what we get from just about all of Hollywood ever since, with it's amazingly complicated plot and cinematography that somehow works.

[quiroz]

I highly recommend D. W. Griffith's next film: INTOLERANCE. It was a far more (shall we say) artistic and experimental film that juggled four different stories set in four different historical ages in order to transmit a powerful and moving message about intolerance.

Yes, the man that made a movie fellating the KKK also did a movie about how intolerance is bad.

[Trublucolurs]

Can I recommend the MIT course on film that is available for free on Opencourseware - It's really interesting & takes you on a tour of the important stages of cinema history. Obviously not as speedy as these videos but damn it's interesting and provides a path through the history of cinema that makes watching old films more enjoyable. Also you pick up a lot about styles & technique along the way. "The Film Experience".

[DANBIIB]

Hey, what about "The Story of the Kelly Gang"?? Made in 1906 Australia, and it ran for over an hour!!!

[harryharris]

did you omit the 1906 Australian feature The story of the Kelly gang for any reason?

[Zeroharpe]

I think this has got to be my favorite crash course since Astronomy.

[Dinuial]

That deal The Trust had going sounds eerily similar to the one attached to film projectors today. (For those unaware, the high quality digital film projectors becoming standard today are prohibitively expensive to buy so most theaters lease theirs. With the lease agreement comes a requirement to screen certain movies. Doesn't matter what the tastes of your community are, if your local theater has one of these projectors they are required to provide x number of screenings of those releases specified under the terms of the lease.)

[InnocentDoodles]

"Oscar-Worthy Bucket of Tears?" My nickname in Highschool.

[jessegarrett]

I love the use of the often overlooked punch transition in these videos. You teach film history in the best way, by example

[danspitalnik]

I dropped out of my university media course and am doing biomed instead. Thank you for making a pleasant, accessible way of learning all the cool stuff without having to do a whole degree in it.

[hyperactivejaz]

CRAIG. You do a wonderful job in this series! I'd love to see your bloopers.

[pierrez]

David Wark Griffith also made "Intolerance" a couple of years after, which was a sort of an attempt to redeem himself.

[locomike]

DW Griffith makes you wonder about controversial artists and whether or not it's okay to still enjoy the piece of art despite the artist being...bad. Richard Wagner was an anti semite, but wrote some of the most important operas. But what about LostProphets, and the Ian Wilkins thing? Should we still enjoy the music despite its tainted legacy?