International photographer (Jan-Dec 1935)

April, 1935 The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER "THE BIRTH OF A NATION" IN RETROSPECT (Continued from Page 5) I wenty-th . The photography of The Birth of a N at ion, once so highly praised, has in recent years come to be depreciated for its "primitism." And contrasted with the translucent sheen or brilliant surface-finish of Hollywood photography, the unpolished texture of Griffith's shots might superficially strike one as a sign of crudity. This, however, is the shallowest of criticisms. The most sophisticated finish that modern laboratories are capable of providing would be entirely out of key with the emotional temper of this picture. It would have been a disastrous travesty upon the fine, plain and definitely heroic temper of the period to have rendered it in visual terms strongly suggestive of the highly polished surfaces of modern machinery. Within the conditions of its framework, G. W. Bitzer's photography is excellent. What it lacks in unnecessary technical finish, it vastly makes up for by its richness of imaginative overtone and a certain quality of almost documentary authenticity. The battle scenes, in particular, are, like Matthew Brady's famous photographs of the American Civil War, splendid monuments to the period. The photographic style which Griffith and Bitzer evolved in The Birth of a Nation is marked by an emphatic individuality. There is a great predominance of extreme long shots, even in the interior scenes. The effect is at once to place the action in a dimension apart and to brighten the sense of illusion. This curious feature, which might be interpreted as a subtle use of the "magic of distance," is one of the main secrets of the great spellbinding power of Griffith's films. There is also an abundance of very sensitive vignette-shots and cameo-like profile shots, and here again it should be noted that the photography is beautifully wedded to the subject-matter, which is at once Victorian and Old South. In the Civil War scenes his use of various devices is versatile and extremely elastic — he frequently uses a telescope effect to focus the attention at a great distance upon some object. A good example occurs after the title: "The masked batteries." Griffith irises-in, and holds the iris to the general shape and size of a telescope-lens, upon a line of smoke-clouds rolling from a distant mountainside. In the battle scenes and also in most of those showing the ride of the clansmen, his use of long perspective-shots is a conscious and purposeful method calculated to add to the sense of magnitude, which is part of the epic quality of the film. The vast sweep of these canvasses is truly daring, and altogether in keeping with the scope of the theme. All in all, a thoughtful consideration of these and many similar technical devices leads inescapably to the conclusion that no other photographic style could be better adapted to this material. The question of the montage, or rhythmic construction, of The Birth of a Nation has often been debated. Certainly in the light of the complicated and frequently abstract operations of Soviet technique, the picture cannot be said to possess a highly developed montage. However, montage in the grand elemental sense it distinctly possesses and, in fact, this aspect constitutes a most fruitful source of study for the film student. The rhythmic structure of the film is its most basic and signal feature. In this connection certain noteworthy observations may be made: The rhythmic pattern generally, but not always, obeys the internal drive and economy inherent in the action. The threads of the storv are interwoven with a The Mechanical Needs of the Industry Manufacturing Motion Picture Equipment Developing Machines Laboratory Equipment General Machine and Engineering Work Under Water Camera Equipment Special Projection Equipment Synchronizing Devices Optical Printers Camera Booms Miniatures "Props" H. W. HOUSTON CO. 1041 NO. SYCAMORE AVE., HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. HEmpstead 6732 Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.