I agree, mostly. Unfortunately, the ones that have been copied again and again (including, of course, Birth of a Nation) are not always the best, they are just the best known, most studied, or most popular.
Consider Disney's Fantasia, which we know today as a masterpiece. When it was first released, the reaction was almost universally negative. It was radically different, a concept that wasn't well accepted. If it had been printed only on that early and ephemeral film media, it might be among those that are lost today. I'm sure there were some masterworks that we have lost, and its obvious that some of the worst have still survived.
Birth of a Nation has to be considered in light of its age, as well. It was released in 1915, more than a decade before the silent film reached its peak quality and art level. ;p (I agree, it's pretty awful. Griffith did do better in his later works.)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-08-19 11:38 am (UTC)Consider Disney's Fantasia, which we know today as a masterpiece. When it was first released, the reaction was almost universally negative. It was radically different, a concept that wasn't well accepted. If it had been printed only on that early and ephemeral film media, it might be among those that are lost today. I'm sure there were some masterworks that we have lost, and its obvious that some of the worst have still survived.
Birth of a Nation has to be considered in light of its age, as well. It was released in 1915, more than a decade before the silent film reached its peak quality and art level. ;p (I agree, it's pretty awful. Griffith did do better in his later works.)