The Birth of a Nation basically started the ball rolling in terms of feature length films, i.e. those running over sixty minutes. In an age where movies were usually composed of around 100 shots, D. W. Griffith took three months to construct one of over 1500.

Griffith was quite simply the godfather of the film industry – a pioneer amongst amateurs; a giant amongst directors. He made hundreds of short films (most of which are now lost) before branching out into features, and among the techniques he distinctively utilised were the flash-back (or ‘cut-back’), the close-up, cross-cutting, backlighting effects, and the use of panoramic shots during battle scenes.

In the Filmgoer’s Companion, LH said Griffith was…

‘…the industry’s first major producer-director; he improved the cinema’s prestige, developed many aspects of technique, created a score of stars, and was only flawed by his sentimental Victorian outlook, which in the materialistic 20s put him prematurely out of vogue and in the 30s out of business.’

The Birth of a Nation was the first major work of the motion picture industry, and as such was without question the most influential film ever, being responsible for literally everything that followed. However, its politics make it a difficult film to admire, and I doubt if it would feature in many people’s top ten lists.