"It was one of Griffith’s innovations to go in close, to highlight faces filling the screen, something that cannot be done on the stage. Griffith understood that cinema could play with time, condense it or stretch it out, depending on what tale he was telling. He could cut the film in such a way that tension would intensify, he could create a collage effect by cutting away from the main action to a smaller detail. All of these innovations are, of course, how we understand cinema now." – Sheila O'Malley
Inspired by the epic vision of Cabiria, Griffith decided to take things a step further with Intolerance, knitting together four different mega-narratives from across time, all grouped under the theme, "Love's struggle through the ages." The four different story threads are: 1. Bel vs Ishtar (fall of Babylon, 6th century BC), 2. Christ vs the Pharisees (AD 27), 3. Catholics vs Protestants (16th century France), 4. Common people vs bourgeoisie (early 20th century America).
“Events are not set forth in their historical sequence or according to the accepted forms of dramatic construction,” Griffith wrote at the time, “but as they might flash across a mind seeking to parallel the life of the different ages.” The multiple narratives of Intolerance reflect what “the mind might do while contemplating such a theme.”
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Intolerance is Griffiths' indignant response to the criticism he received for his racist depiction of African-Americans in his infamous previous film (The Birth of a Nation), and it is a challenge for critics and viewers to overlook that controversial legacy and instead focus on the technical and narrative innovations of Intolerance. The film's length (nearly three hours in the version provided above) is also challenging to modern viewers and I had to watch it in two sittings. Impressive though it is, it's heavy going.
My notes and highlights from viewing the movie:
8 minutes in, we cut from 20th century America to turn of the millennium Jerusalem, "the golden city..." that "... sent us the Man of Men, the greatest enemy of intolerance"
11mins: We transition to Paris in 1572, the time of Catherine de Medici, a Catholic whose intolerance is for the Huguenot Protestants
18mins: We move to Babylon, the high walls of the city presented in glorious fashion. Griffiths gives us lots of dreamy close-ups, especially of the female characters. Babylon is the most visually stunning set in the movie, reminiscent of Cabiria, notably the city's impressive gates and well-dressed citizens
34mins: Griffiths links Babylonian justice (where law courts were first established) with the struggle for fair pay among striking workers in America. He also uses Herodotus as his source to show how women in Babylon were wards of state, to be bought and sold at auction
Key theme: The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
1hr13mins: Cyrus and the Persians make an appearance, in league with their patron god Bel (Marduk). The battle scenes here are impressive, including a decapitation and a flaming juggernaut
1hr43mins: One of the movie's iconic and most impressive scenes, the feast of Belshazzar
1hr56mins: The "chalk of doom" on the doorways of Huguenots to be massacred is a chilling detail
2hr14mins: Griffiths shows his concern with mass incarceration, still a live issue in America
2hr42mins: Iconic shot of Christ crucified on the mount. This is paralleled with a redemptive moment at the end of the film when a boy is saved from a hanging
2hr45mins: Appearance of angels in the sky and the line, "Perfect love shall bring peace"
You can see the context of the First World War impinging on the consciousness of Griffiths. Sometimes I found the film overly sentimental, and the message of intolerance is laid on thick without much subtlety, but Intolerance also has the power to move. The cross-fade at the end of the film, "Instead of prison walls – bloom flowery fields", is a powerful moment.
All in all, the film's influence is vast. After its release, Carl Theodor Dreyer made his own multi-epoch story (Leaves From Satan’s Book), while Sergei Eisenstein – despite his reservations about Griffiths' use of montage – was inspired by Intolerance's technical accomplishment and Buster Keaton’s created a parody of the film as a homage (Three Ages).
See also by Griffiths: Broken Blossoms (a better film but not nearly as influential)
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