D.W. Griffith

Personal Info

Birthday

January 22, 1875

Day of Death

1948-07-23

(73 years old)

Place of Birth

LaGrange, Kentucky, USA

Also Known As

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith

David Wark Griffith

David W. Griffith

Lawrence Griffith

Captain Victor Marier

Capt. Victor Marier

Victor Marier

Granville Hicks

Irene Sinclair

Roy Sinclair

Granville Warwick

M. Gaston de Tolignac

Gaston de Tolignac

데이비드 와크 그리피스

D.W. Griffith

D.W. 그리피스

데이비드 그리피스

D.W. Griffith

Biography

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance (1916). Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera and narrative techniques, and its immense popularity set the stage for the dominance of the feature-length film. It also proved extremely controversial at the time and ever since for its negative depiction of Black Americans and their supporters, and its positive portrayal of slavery and the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith responded to his critics with his next film, Intolerance, intended to show the dangers of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not the financial success that its predecessor had been, but was received warmly by critics. Several of his later films were also successful, but high production, promotional, and roadshow costs often made his ventures commercial failures. Even so, he is generally considered one of the most important figures of early cinema.