BSA 106 D. W. Griffith

D. W. Griffith

An influential American Film maker who was inspired by and borrowed techniques from Porter, Guy, Melies and others. From 1908-1913 he made ~450 short films while working for the Biograph Company, in a time period where films were often quite short, not rehearsed beforehand and considered "low" or "cheap" entertainment. During this time, he made films that appealed to a wide audience ("Don't look down upon your audience" -quoted by one of his former actresses) and improved the reputation of the motion picture
When he wanted to branch out into longer, more costly films, he left the Biograph Company and eventually made the feature-length film, The Birth of a Nation (1915).

 For obvious reasons, this film is considered controversial.

 It's two-hour length (unusual for a film at the time), as well as editing techniques and well choreographed acting and action, resulted in Birth of a Nation being considered a masterpiece in which was praised by the US president at the time (a statement that was later rescinded).