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Birth of a Nation (1915)

Directed by D.W. Griffith · Cinematography by Joseph Carl Breil, Billy Bitzer

TV-PG195 min35 frames

DramaHistoryWar

The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!

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Stills, screencaps & shots from Birth of a Nation

16 of 35 frames — the full set is searchable by lighting, lens, shot size, color and mood with a free account.

Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: wide — A formal meeting hall features a group of seated attendees in 19th-century attire. A man stands at the…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: fullbody — A dark outdoor space with dense trees and a prone body lying on the ground. A man stands with his…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A refined parlor features paneled walls and a classical statue on a pedestal. A woman in an elegant…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A dimly lit storage space contains wooden barrels and rough timber partitions. A man with a shaven…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: establishing — An expansive valley is filled with numerous soldiers moving through the darkness at night. The…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: wide — A tall, jagged rock formation rises amidst a sparse pine forest. Two tiny figures stand atop the…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A man and woman sit together on a high cliff edge overlooking the ocean. The couple is positioned in…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A woman sits perched atop a massive, weathered log in a dense wooded area. She rests her hand against…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A group of people huddle together within a dense thicket of pine branches. They are resting on the…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: closeup — A dark parlor setting with figures barely visible in the surrounding deep shadow. A woman with short…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: closeup — A wooden door features a circular hole used for looking into another space. A human eye stares…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: fullbody — A stairwell landing features a tall wooden door and a decorative banister. The man rests against…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: fullbody — A group of men in 19th-century attire stand in a narrow hallway. Two men in uniform guard the…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: establishing — A rural landscape shows rows of crops extending toward a distant farmhouse and trees. Riders on…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: medium — A man in period clothing is isolated against a solid black background. He poses with one hand tucked…Birth of a Nation (1915) movie still: wide — An ornate 19th-century theater features tiered seating, private boxes, and a large central stage. A…
Birth of a Nation (1915) — © Epoch Film Co.

Birth of a Nation — official trailer

What is Birth of a Nation about?

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith co-wrote the screenplay with Frank E. Woods and produced the film with Harry Aitken.

Second paragraph from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where can you watch Birth of a Nation?

US availability for Birth of a Nation (1915). Data by JustWatch, listings on TMDB. Availability changes — check the provider for current listings.

Who stars in Birth of a Nation?

Who made Birth of a Nation?

What does the cinematography of Birth of a Nation look like?

Across 35 sampled frames, Birth of a Nation builds its coverage from medium shots, with wide compositions carrying much of the rest. Cinematographer Joseph Carl Breil keeps much of it in soft, naturalistic light. Vintage glass shapes the frame. Deep focus keeps foreground and background readable at once in most of the frames.

What is the color palette of Birth of a Nation?

The dominant colors across the sampled frames of Birth of a Nation (1915) are #32322d, #070909, #57514b, #76716c, #24221e, #8eb69a — measured from the per-frame color data FrameThrower extracts for every film.

  • #32322d
  • #070909
  • #57514b
  • #76716c
  • #24221e
  • #8eb69a

See the full Birth of a Nation colour palette — every hex with its share, plus warmth, saturation and luminance.

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Techniques in this film

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