Intolerance

Stung by criticism of racism after “The Birth of a nation”, director D. W. Griffith, made amends with his next feature “Intolerance”. Set over the ages, this is an epic silent film, a tale of misguided human nature expressed through the themes of intolerance, hypocrisy and treachery. The film consists of four tales: A modern story (a poor but loving family are persecuted by a group of judgemental women who seek to take the couple’s small child, fearing its neglect); A Judean story (relates the last days of Jesus Christ); A French story (set in 15th century, detailing the persecution of the Huguenots by Catherine de Medici); A Babylonian story (traces the defeat of King Belshazzar by the hordes of Cyrus the Persian). The four stories are interwoven, which makes for challenging viewing, and Griffith used a variety of tinted film stock for dramatic effect on a scale seldom equalled in silent cinema. One of the most influential films in the history of cinema, the four stories culminate in a climax of cross cutting. Each drama illustrates the operation and catastrophic consequences of intolerance.