DW Griffith was an American film director known for his innovative techniques in the early 1900s. He directed over 400 short films before moving on to feature films, including The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. Born in Kentucky, he pursued a stage career and later became a playwright. He eventually directed films for Biograph Company and later Mutual Films. Despite controversy surrounding some of his work, he found success and recognition, but his own studio failed in the 1920s. He died in 1948 in Los Angeles.
David Llewelyn Wark “DW” Griffith was an American film director whose film work spanned primarily the first half of the 1900s. He now often receives credit for developing innovative techniques that changed the way film had been made up until that point. moment. As a director, his body of work is extensive, with most of his early work in short films. In fact, he had directed over 400 short films before moving on to directing feature films. His most notable works include the controversial film The Birth of a Nation (1915), as well as Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919) and Orphans of the Storm (1921).
Born January 22, 1875 in La Grange, Kentucky in the United States, DW Griffith lived on a farm with his family until the death of his father, who had been a Confederate colonel during the Civil War. Later, his family moved to Louisville where they struggled to get by. For his part, DW Griffith, who was still a boy, could not continue his education; he did enjoy reading though, and he continued to do so, eventually aspiring to be a playwright. Around the time he was working as a bookstore clerk, he was exposed to others who loved literature and to actors at the Temple Theater in Louisville. As a young man he left home to pursue a stage career.
DW Griffith traveled the country for many years, performing in touring companies. It was during his travels that he met and later married Linda Arvidson, an actress. In his quest to become a playwright, DW Griffith wrote and sold a play called A Fool and a Girl, which was not well received. He continued to write and to make money in the meantime he started selling scripts to film companies. This eventually led to an opening at the Biograph Company, where he was hired to direct films.
After directing over 400 short films for the Biograph Company, DW Griffith brought his innovative filmmaking techniques to Mutual Films and directed The Birth of a Nation. The film was profitable, but controversial, as many people viewed it as racist. With riots breaking out in cinemas, some cities had to censor the film. The following year, as a partial response to the critics of The Birth of a Nation, DW Griffith directed Intolerance.
DW Griffith has found attention, recognition and success with some of his work, though not all. He built his own studio and directed multiple films, some of them successful, but the studio did not make it past the 1920s as it suffered from other films that were failures. With the studio gone, he found work with other studios, but after directing The Struggle in 1931, he was unable to find regular employment in the film industry again. His marriage to Linda ended and he married Evelyn Baldwin, only to divorce again. He died on July 23, 1948 in Los Angeles, California.
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