Intolerance is a 1916 epic silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film consists of four distinct but parallel stories demonstrating mankind's intolerance during four different ages in world history. The timeline covered approximately 2,500 years of our intolerances and ages. The four stories are connected by one mother figure which spanned 22 centuries. The first story was about the conflicts between the Babylonians and Persians, the second was a biblical story, the third was about the Huguenots and Catholics in Renaissance France, and the last was in modern America about the conflicts of employers and employees in a mining town.
It was met with an enthusiastic reception from film critics upon its premiere. Although it was a commercial failure upon its initial release, it has since received positive reviews and gained popularity. In 1989, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", the first year of voting. In 2007, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) ranked Intolerance as the 49th best American film of all time.
Intolerance and its unorthodox editing were enormously influential among European and Soviet filmmakers. Many of the numerous assistant directors Griffith employed in making the film—Erich von Stroheim, Tod Browning, Woody Van Dyke—went on to become important and noted filmmakers themselves.
The Cohen Film Collection's Blu-ray of Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages is a beautiful encoding of this impressive show. The 2K digital restoration eliminates many of the common flaws dogging older film prints. The shots are steady, sharp, and detailed. Scenes end smoothly and the color tinting is even and consistent.
The movie was considered a pioneering classic and one of the most influential films ever made, with some critics even considering it the greatest film ever made.
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Cast
- Ancient Babylon:
- Lillian Gish as The Mother / The Woman From The Hills
- Elmer Clifton as The Rhapsode
- Alfred Paget as Belshazzar
- Seena Owen as Princess Mother
- Tully Marshall as High Priest of Bel
- ** Judea:**
- Howard Gaye as Christ
- Lillian Langdon as Mary
- Olga Grey as Mary Magdalene
- Erich von Stroheim as Pharisee
- Gunther von Ritzau as Pharisee
- France:
- Constance Talmadge as Catherine de Medici
- Elmo Lincoln as King Charles IX
- Walter Long as The Huguenot Leader
- Ralph Lewis as Coligny
- Modern America:
- Mae Marsh as The Girl
- Robert Harron as The Boy
- Miriam Cooper as The Friendless One
- Tod Browning as The Crook
- Tom Wilson as The Kindly Policeman
Director: D.W. Griffith
Writer: D.W. Griffith, Tod Browning, Anita Loos
Box Office Gross: $1.75 million
Distributor: Triangle Film Corporation
Genre: Drama
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 5, 1916
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016