Only CITIZEN KANE and 2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY come close to the kind of originality in Griffith's silent masterpiece. All three were financial failures, unpopular when first released - even though they've acquired legendary status as the decades passed. They are the cinematic equivalents of novels like ULYSSES and MOBY-DICK, whose complexity and strangeness make them almost unreachable to the average reader. This is what happens when artists break into uncharted territory: they risk everything with such achievements - even their reputations.
So, what we have here is a movie that for about 2 and a half hours juggles 4 different story lines that illustrate intolerance throughout history: religious warfare in Ancient Babylon; the story of Jesus from scripture; the persecution of the French Huguenots; and injustice in Twentieth Century America. Throughout this wild ride of a movie we sense we are in the hands of a brilliant film-maker using every bit of his resources to entertain and enthrall us. It is too, probably, simply showing off. There will always be those who cannot tolerate the shock of experiencing something new - poor things. One hundred years later Intolerance is as unique and new as it was the day it was made.
Review of Intolerance
