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59% Critic Match
The Birth of a Nation
“The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!”
5.9 / 10• 1915• 3h 13m•NR• English
DramaHistoryWar
Storyline
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
Cast & Crew
Lillian Gish
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Lead
Mae Marsh
Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall
Col. Ben Cameron
Miriam Cooper
Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden
Stoneman's Housekeeper Lydia
Ralph Lewis
Leader of the House Hon. Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann
Lieut. Governor Silas Lynch
Walter Long
Gus
What People Are Saying
3.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. D.W. Griffith's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. The Birth of a Nation is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
