Intolerance

80%

A highly schematic narrative leaves the characters in these four interwoven tales somewhat overwhelmed by the topflight production values and some virtuosic technical feats. The sole exception being the rather moving story set in modern (1916) times of a man wrongfully convicted of murder and about to hang.

This movie comes across as something of an apology for director David GRIFFITH's previous racist work Birth of a Nation. But, the contrition rings hollow since GRIFFITH is only really concerned with the mechanics of storytelling than with actual thematic content, the latter of which he seems to believe will work out all by itself.

Even so, the spectacle is colossal as it switches – somewhat arbitrarily - between time periods. The most visually impressive is the tale set in Babylon – a film in its own right – which is a stunning mixture of massive sets, picturesque eroticism and gory battle scenes; prefiguring what would become the norm in Hollywood nearly a century later.

Where this film really scores is in the fact that GRIFFITH makes females the core of his storytelling. The tomboy warrior Constance TALMADGE and the sad eyed Mae MARSH, in particular, excel in their main roles of Mountain Girl and The Dear One, respectively.


Article copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved. Frank TALKER is also the author of Sweaty Socks: A Treatise on the Inevitability of Toe Jam in Hot Weather (East Cheam Press: Groper Books, 1997) and is University of Bullshit Professor Emeritus of Madeupology.