| LC control no. | n 80024150 |
|---|---|
| Descriptive conventions | rda |
| Uniform title heading | Birth of a nation (Motion picture : 1915) |
| Variant(s) | Clansman (Motion picture : 1915) Birth of the nation, or, The clansman (Motion picture : 1915) |
| Other standard no. | Q220394 10.5240/3D9C-C1EE-09B9-5C43-315D-U |
| Biography/History note | No "original" version of The birth of a nation exists. In addition to Griffith's own continual editing and improving, the film also suffered from censorship demands, careless preservation of the negative, primitive methods of assembling release prints, and poor on-the-spot repairs to breakage. Many versions of the film have been released, including a 1921 reissue, a 1930 sound version, a 1992 laserdisc, a 2002 DVD, and a 2015 restoration on Blu-ray, which includes material from multiple sources, including the Museum of Modern Art, The National Film and Television Archive, and the Library of Congress. |
| Form of work | Motion pictures |
| Beginning date | 1915-02-08 |
| Found in | Huff, T. A shot analysis of D. W. Griffith's The birth of a nation, 1961. Wikipedia, 09-16-2016: (The Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman) is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed and co-produced by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish; the screenplay is adapted from the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith co-wrote the screenplay (with Frank E. Woods), and co-produced the film (with Harry Aitken); released on February 8, 1915) Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1912-1939, 1951: p. 69 (The Birth of a Nation, director, David W. Griffith, copyright: 8Feb15; LP6677; The Birth of the Nation, or, The clansman, producer, D.W. Griffith, copyright, 13Feb1915; LU4453) Stokes, M. D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, 2007: p. 16-17 (It's probably impossible to recreate exactly the film that was shown in Los Angeles on February 8, 1915; D.W. Griffith himself edited the film from the time the last scene was shot in October, 1914 until the Los Angeles screening in February, 1915, and continued to edit after later screenings) Barry, I. D.W. Griffith, American film master, 1965: p. 47-48 (The first masterwork: The Birth of a Nation, by Eileen Bowser: The problem that confronts archivists and scholars who hope to find complete original versions of films is insurmountable where Griffith's major work is concerned. This is true even though The Museum of Modern Art in 1939 acquired the surviving negative that Griffith himself owned; when The Birth of a Nation opened, he spent all his time...editing and improving according to audience reaction; since this was his practice, Griffith's films were not likely to be the same at the end of a run as they had been on opening night) The Griffith project, v. 8, 2004: program sequence no. 513, p. 107 (there is no definitive version of The Birth of a Nation. The film that Griffith previewed as The Clansman at the beginning of 1915 was substantially cut and revised within a few months in response to the demands of pressure groups, so that the version that played in one city might differ materially from that in another) |
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