Intolerance

“The Ulysses of the Cinema.”—Dave Kehr

Setting the mold for all future screen epics, D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance represented an almost unimaginable degree of visual spectacle upon its release. Interweaving stories set during ancient Babylon, the time of Christ, 16th century France, and the then-present, Griffith’s tale of humanity’s centuries-old legacy of “intolerance” toward one another was made, in part, as a response to criticism he received over The Birth of a Nation. As the New York Times writes, “the poignant, the brutal, the hair-raising, and the sentimental churn together in meticulously composed spectacles” that are given new life by this “crisp” restoration. Starring Lillian Gish with a score by Carl Davis. (167 mins. plus intermission, DCP)