D.W. Griffith

from LaGrange, Kentucky, USA

Artwork for San FranciscoImage of D.W. Griffith

Biography

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance (1916). Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera and narrative techniques, and its immense popularity set the stage for the dominance of the feature-length film. It also proved extremely controversial at the time and ever since for its negative depiction of Black Americans and their supporters, and its positive portrayal of slavery and the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith responded to his critics with his next film, Intolerance, intended to show the dangers of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not the financial success that its predecessor had been, but was received warmly by critics. Several of his later films were also successful, but high production, promotional, and roadshow costs often made his ventures commercial failures. Even so, he is generally considered one of the most important figures of early cinema.

Timeline

2023Aged 148

  • Poster for Mary Pickford a Blessing and a Curse

    Self

2020Aged 145

  • Poster for Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty

    archive footage

2014Aged 139

  • Poster for Flashback: The First World War

    Self (archive footage)

2008Aged 133

  • Poster for Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies

    Self (archive footage)

2007Aged 132

  • Poster for Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

    Self (archive footage)

2002Aged 127

  • Poster for The Tramp and the Dictator

    Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • Poster for D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913

    Writer

1998Aged 123

  • Poster for Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists

    Self (archive footage)

1995Aged 120

  • Poster for The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

    Self (archive footage)

1993Aged 118

  • Poster for The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'

    Self (Archive footage)

1988Aged 113

  • Poster for Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me

    Self (archive footage)

1975Aged 100

  • Poster for D.W. Griffith: An American Genius

    Self (archive)

1973Aged 98

  • Poster for General Massacre

    Novel

1961Aged 86

  • Poster for The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

    Self (archive footage)

1951Aged 76

  • Poster for Footlight Varieties

    Writer

1936Aged 61

  • Poster for San Francisco

    Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)

1931Aged 56

  • Poster for The Struggle

    Screenplay

1930Aged 55

  • Poster for 1930 Prelude to

    Self

  • Poster for Abraham Lincoln

    Director

1929Aged 54

  • Poster for Lady of the Pavements

    Director

1928Aged 53

  • Poster for Drums of Love

    Director

  • Poster for The Battle of the Sexes

    Producer

1927Aged 52

  • Poster for The King of Kings

    Assistant Director

1926Aged 51

  • Poster for The Sorrows of Satan

    Producer

1925Aged 50

  • Poster for Sally of the Sawdust

    Director

  • Poster for That Royle Girl

    Director

1924Aged 49

  • Poster for America

    Producer

  • Poster for Isn't Life Wonderful

    Writer

1923Aged 48

  • Poster for The White Rose

    Producer

1922Aged 47

  • Poster for One Exciting Night

    Story

1921Aged 46

  • Poster for Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

    Himself

  • Poster for Dream Street

    Producer

  • Poster for Orphans of the Storm

    Producer

1920Aged 45

  • Poster for The Idol Dancer

    Director

  • Poster for Remodeling Her Husband

    Director

  • Poster for The Love Flower

    Producer

  • Poster for Way Down East

    Writer

1919Aged 44

  • Poster for A Romance of Happy Valley

    Producer

  • Poster for The Girl Who Stayed at Home

    Producer

  • Poster for Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl

    Writer

  • Poster for True Heart Susie

    Producer

  • Poster for The Fall of Babylon

    Producer

  • Poster for The Mother and the Law

    Producer

  • Poster for Scarlet Days

    Producer

  • Poster for The Greatest Question

    Producer

1918Aged 43

  • Poster for Hearts of the World

    Producer

  • Poster for The Great Love

    Producer

  • Poster for The Hun Within

    Writer

  • Poster for Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal

    Producer

  • Poster for The Greatest Thing in Life

    Producer

1917Aged 42

  • Poster for A Girl of the Timber Claims

    Supervising Producer

  • Poster for Betsy's Burglar

    Supervising Producer

1916Aged 41

  • Let Katie Do it

    Story

  • Poster for The Missing Links

    Production Supervisor

  • Poster for The Wood Nymph

    Story

  • Poster for Betty of Greystone

    Supervisor of Production Resources

  • Don Quixote

    Supervisor of Production Resources

  • Poster for Daphne and the Pirate

    Writer

  • Poster for Hoodoo Ann

    Writer

  • Poster for Susan Rocks the Boat

    Producer

  • Poster for Macbeth

    Producer

  • Poster for An Innocent Magdalene

    Story

  • Poster for The Half-Breed

    Producer

  • Poster for The Marriage of Molly-O

    Writer

  • Poster for Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

    Presenter

  • Poster for The Social Secretary

    Producer

  • Diane of the Follies

    Writer

  • Poster for Fifty-Fifty

    Producer

  • Poster for The Children of the Feud

    Producer

1915Aged 40

  • Poster for Enoch Arden

    Mr. Ray

  • Poster for The Birth of a Nation

    Director

  • Poster for Ghosts

    Producer

  • Poster for The Lamb

    Story

  • Poster for The Lily and the Rose

    Producer

  • Poster for Old Heidelberg

    Supervising Producer

  • Poster for Martyrs of the Alamo

    Producer

  • Poster for Double Trouble

    Production Supervisor

1914Aged 39

  • Waifs

    Director

  • Poster for Judith of Bethulia

    Director

  • Poster for The Battle of the Sexes

    Director

  • Poster for Brute Force

    Director

  • Poster for The Life of General Villa

    Supervising Producer

  • Poster for Home, Sweet Home

    Writer

  • Poster for The Escape

    Director

  • Poster for The Avenging Conscience

    Producer

  • The Odalisque

    Supervising Producer

1913Aged 38

1912Aged 37

  • Poster for Two Daughters of Eve

    At Stage Door

  • Poster for The Baby and the Stork

    Director

  • Poster for The Eternal Mother

    Director

  • Poster for For His Son

    Director

  • Poster for The Transformation of Mike

    Director

  • Poster for Billy's Stratagem

    Director

  • Poster for The Mender of Nets

    Writer

  • Poster for Under Burning Skies

    Director

  • Poster for The Sands of Dee

    Director

  • Poster for The Sunbeam

    Director

  • Poster for A String of Pearls

    Director

  • Poster for Iola's Promise

    Director

  • Poster for The Root of Evil

    Director

  • Poster for The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch

    Producer

  • Poster for The Girl and Her Trust

    Director

  • Poster for Fate's Interception

    Director

  • A Siren of Impulse

    Director

  • Poster for The Female of the Species

    Director

  • Just Like a Woman

    Director

  • Poster for One Is Business, the Other Crime

    Director

  • Poster for The Lesser Evil

    Director

  • His Lesson

    Director

  • Poster for The Old Actor

    Director

  • Poster for A Lodging for the Night

    Director

  • When Kings Were the Law

    Director

  • Poster for A Beast at Bay

    Director

  • Poster for Home Folks

    Director

  • Poster for A Temporary Truce

    Director

  • Poster for Lena and the Geese

    Producer

  • Poster for The School Teacher and the Waif

    Director

  • Poster for An Indian Summer

    Director

  • Poster for Man's Genesis

    Writer

  • Poster for The Narrow Road

    Director

  • Poster for The Inner Circle

    Director

  • Poster for A Pueblo Legend

    Writer

  • Poster for An Unseen Enemy

    Director

  • Poster for Blind Love

    Director

  • Poster for Friends

    Writer

  • Poster for So Near, Yet So Far

    Director

  • Poster for A Feud in the Kentucky Hills

    Writer

  • Poster for The Chief's Blanket

    Director

  • Poster for In the Aisles of the Wild

    Director

  • The One She Loved

    Director

  • Poster for The Painted Lady

    Writer

  • Poster for The Musketeers of Pig Alley

    Writer

  • Poster for Heredity

    Director

  • Poster for Gold and Glitter

    Director

  • Poster for My Baby

    Director

  • Poster for The Informer

    Director

  • Poster for Brutality

    Writer

  • Poster for The New York Hat

    Director

  • My Hero

    Writer

  • Poster for The Burglar’s Dilemma

    Director

  • Poster for The Massacre

    Writer

  • Poster for A Cry for Help

    Director

  • The God Within

    Director

1911Aged 36

1910Aged 35

1909Aged 34

1908Aged 33

Year unknown

  • Poster for Biograph Shorts Special Edition: 1909-1913

    Director

  • Poster for A Griffith Biograph Collection Featuring Mary Pickford: Volume One

    Director

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