D.W. Griffith

Known for Directing

Details

Birthday: January 22, 1875

Deathday: July 23, 1948

Place of birth: LaGrange, Kentucky, USA

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.

Actor

2023

Mary Pickford a Blessing and a Curse

2020

Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty

2014

Flashback: The First World War

2008

Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies

2007

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

2002

The Tramp and the Dictator

1998

Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists

1993

The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'

1961

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

1936

San Francisco

1930

1930 Prelude to "The Birth of a Nation"

1921

Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

1915

Enoch Arden

1912

Two Daughters of Eve

1911

The Adventures of Billy

1909

At the Altar

1909

1776, or The Hessian Renegades

1909

The Politician's Love Story

1909

The Girls and Daddy

1908

At the Crossroads of Life

1908

At the French Ball

1908

The Black Viper

1908

The Fatal Hour

1908

The Sculptor's Nightmare

1908

Balked at the Altar

1908

The King of the Cannibal Islands

1908

Her First Adventure

1908

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

1908

Cupid’s Pranks

1908

Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker

1908

The King's Messenger

1908

The Invisible Fluid

1908

The Man in the Box

1908

The Kentuckian

1908

The Stage Rustler

1908

Deceived Slumming Party

1908

The Red Girl

1908

The Heart of O Yama

1908

The Music Master

1908

Classmates

1908

Caught by Wireless

1908

Yellow Peril

1908

Hulda's Lovers

1908

Falsely Accused!

1908

A Calamitous Elopement

1908

When Knights Were Bold

1908

The Princess in the Vase

1908

Professional Jealousy

1908

A Famous Escape

1908

'Ostler Joe

Director

1970

Biograph Shorts Special Edition: 1909-1913

1970

A Griffith Biograph Collection Featuring Mary Pickford: Volume One

1951

Footlight Varieties

1931

The Struggle

1930

Abraham Lincoln

1930

1930 Prelude to "The Birth of a Nation"

1929

Lady of the Pavements

1928

The Battle of the Sexes

1928

Drums of Love

1926

The Sorrows of Satan

1925

Sally of the Sawdust

1925

That Royle Girl

1924

America

1924

Isn't Life Wonderful

1923

The White Rose

1922

One Exciting Night

1921

Orphans of the Storm

1921

Dream Street

1920

Way Down East

1920

The Love Flower

1920

Remodeling Her Husband

1920

The Idol Dancer

1919

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl

1919

True Heart Susie

1919

The Greatest Question

1919

Scarlet Days

1919

A Romance of Happy Valley

1919

The Fall of Babylon

1919

The Mother and the Law

1919

The Girl Who Stayed at Home

1918

Hearts of the World

1918

The Great Love

1918

The Greatest Thing in Life

1918

Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal

1916

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1915

The Birth of a Nation

1914

Waifs

1914

The Avenging Conscience

1914

The Escape

1914

Judith of Bethulia

1914

Brute Force

1914

Home, Sweet Home

1914

The Battle of the Sexes

1913

An Adventure in the Autumn Woods

1913

A Misappropriated Turkey

1913

Brothers

1913

A Chance Deception

1913

Love in an Apartment Hotel

1913

The Hero of Little Italy

1913

If We Only Knew

1913

Near To Earth

1913

The Stolen Loaf

1913

The Ranchero's Revenge

1913

The Sorrowful Shore

1913

The Enemy's Baby

1913

His Mother's Son

1913

The Tender Hearted Boy

1913

The Perfidy of Mary

1913

The Mothering Heart

1913

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

1913

Death's Marathon

1913

The Yaqui Cur

1913

The Wanderer

1913

The Telephone Girl and the Lady

1913

The House of Darkness

1913

Her Mother's Oath

1913

His Mother's Son

1913

The Adopted Brother

1913

Three Friends

1913

The Sheriff's Baby

1913

Broken Ways

1913

Fate

1913

The Unwelcome Guest

1913

The Coming of Angelo

1913

The Little Tease

1913

Two Men of the Desert

1913

The Reformers

1913

Oil and Water

1913

A Timely Interception

1913

The Lady and the Mouse

1913

A Misunderstood Boy

1913

The Left-Handed Man

1913

Just Gold

1913

Madonna of the Storm

1913

The Conscience of Hassan Bey

1912

Heredity

1912

My Hero

1912

The Musketeers of Pig Alley

1912

The Chief's Blanket

1912

An Unseen Enemy

1912

The Old Actor

1912

The New York Hat

1912

The Female of the Species

1912

The Girl and Her Trust

1912

So Near, Yet So Far

1912

Blind Love

1912

The Transformation of Mike

1912

The Mender of Nets

1912

The Painted Lady

1912

The Eternal Mother

1912

The School Teacher and the Waif

1912

A Beast at Bay

1912

Friends

1912

Under Burning Skies

1912

The Lesser Evil

1912

One Is Business, the Other Crime

1912

The Narrow Road

1912

The Sunbeam

1912

The Sands of Dee

1912

For His Son

1912

The Burglar’s Dilemma

1912

The Massacre

1912

The Baby and the Stork

1912

Brutality

1912

Man's Genesis

1912

A Pueblo Legend

1912

Billy's Stratagem

1912

The Informer

1912

My Baby

1912

The One She Loved

1912

A Feud in the Kentucky Hills

1912

A Lodging for the Night

1912

The Inner Circle

1912

An Indian Summer

1912

Lena and the Geese

1912

Home Folks

1912

Just Like a Woman

1912

Iola's Promise

1912

Fate's Interception

1912

A Temporary Truce

1912

His Lesson

1912

The God Within

1912

Two Daughters of Eve

1912

In the Aisles of the Wild

1912

Gold and Glitter

1912

A Cry for Help

1912

A Siren of Impulse

1912

The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch

1912

When Kings Were the Law

1912

The Root of Evil

1912

A String of Pearls

1911

The Lonedale Operator

1911

His Trust

1911

Enoch Arden: Part I

1911

Enoch Arden: Part II

1911

The Miser's Heart

1911

What Shall We Do with Our Old?

1911

The Battle

1911

A Country Cupid

1911

The Revenue Man and His Girl

1911

Fate's Turning

1911

His Trust Fulfilled

1911

Saved from Himself

1911

Through Darkening Vales

1911

The Squaw's Love

1911

The Indian Brothers

1911

Swords and Hearts

1911

The Adventures of Billy

1911

The Last Drop of Water

1911

Fighting Blood

1911

A Terrible Discovery

1911

The Primal Call

1911

The Italian Barber

1911

The Rose of Kentucky

1911

Heart Beats of Long Ago

1911

His Daughter

1911

Teaching Dad to Like Her

1911

The Making of a Man

1911

Enoch Arden

1911

When a Man Loves

1911

Three Sisters

1911

Madame Rex

1911

A Decree of Destiny

1911

The Long Road

1911

Fisher Folks

1911

The Lily of the Tenements

1911

The Diamond Star

1911

The Two Paths

1911

A Wreath of Orange Blossoms

1911

Bobby the Coward

1911

Love in the Hills

1911

The Failure

1911

A Woman Scorned

1911

Conscience

1911

Her Awakening

1911

Italian Blood

1911

The Unveiling

1911

The Voice of the Child

1911

The Trail of Books

1911

The Spanish Gypsy

1911

The Broken Cross

1911

A Knight of the Road

1911

How She Triumphed

1911

The New Dress

1911

Her Sacrifice

1911

The Thief and the Girl

1911

The Sorrowful Example

1911

The Blind Princess and the Poet

1910

Bill Sharkey's Last Game

1910

The House with Closed Shutters

1910

The Fugitive

1910

The Unchanging Sea

1910

In the Border States

1910

Ramona

1910

An Arcadian Maid

1910

As It Is in Life

1910

Winning Back His Love

1910

The Usurer

1910

Wilful Peggy

1910

The Oath and the Man

1910

Faithful

1910

Rose o' Salem Town

1910

A Child of the Ghetto

1910

What the Daisy Said

1910

A Flash of Light

1910

Her Terrible Ordeal

1910

The Lesson

1910

Over Silent Paths

1910

The Message of the Violin

1910

The Modern Prodigal

1910

Love Among the Roses

1910

The Golden Supper

1910

The Two Brothers

1910

The Rocky Road

1910

The Honor of His Family

1910

In Old California

1910

The Thread of Destiny

1910

A Romance of the Western Hills

1910

In Life's Cycle

1910

A Plain Song

1910

The Woman from Mellon's

1910

The Englishman and the Girl

1910

The Newlyweds

1910

The Twisted Trail

1910

A Rich Revenge

1910

In the Season of Buds

1910

A Victim of Jealousy

1910

Muggsy's First Sweetheart

1910

A Child's Impulse

1910

The Call to Arms

1910

The Sorrows of the Unfaithful

1910

Waiter No. 5

1910

Simple Charity

1910

The Song of the Wildwood Flute

1910

Sunshine Sue

1910

Unexpected Help

1910

His Last Burglary

1910

The Final Settlement

1910

Taming a Husband

1910

The Man

1910

The Converts

1910

Gold Is Not All

1910

Thou Shalt Not

1910

The Way of the World

1910

The Gold Seekers

1910

The Impalement

1910

The Face at the Window

1910

The Marked Time-Table

1910

The Purgation

1910

A Midnight Cupid

1910

A Child's Faith

1910

Serious Sixteen

1910

As the Bells Rang Out!

1910

His Sister-In-Law

1910

A Child's Stratagem

1910

The Banker's Daughters

1910

Two Little Waifs

1910

Her Father's Pride

1910

A Salutary Lesson

1910

A Summer Idyll

1910

Little Angels of Luck

1910

A Mohawk's Way

1910

The Iconoclast

1910

Examination Day at School

1910

That Chink at Golden Gulch

1910

The Broken Doll

1910

The Last Deal

1910

His Last Dollar

1910

The Call

1910

The Cloister’s Touch

1910

The Duke’s Plan

1910

On the Reef

1909

The Sealed Room

1909

Mrs. Jones Entertains

1909

A Corner in Wheat

1909

I Did It

1909

The Curtain Pole

1909

The Lonely Villa

1909

Those Awful Hats

1909

The Mended Lute

1909

A Trap for Santa Claus

1909

The Golden Louis

1909

The Little Darling

1909

Lady Helen's Escapade

1909

The Redman's View

1909

The Gibson Goddess

1909

Lucky Jim

1909

The Politician's Love Story

1909

The Renunciation

1909

1776, or The Hessian Renegades

1909

Nursing a Viper

1909

Edgar Allan Poe

1909

The Voice of the Violin

1909

What Drink Did

1909

The Mountaineer's Honor

1909

The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals

1909

The Violin Maker of Cremona

1909

The Country Doctor

1909

The Cricket on the Hearth

1909

A Drunkard's Reformation

1909

Resurrection

1909

Confidence

1909

Her First Biscuits

1909

At the Altar

1909

The Cord of Life

1909

Getting Even

1909

Pippa Passes

1909

The Lure of the Gown

1909

Twin Brothers

1909

The Son's Return

1909

The Light That Came

1909

In Old Kentucky

1909

A Strange Meeting

1909

The Suicide Club

1909

The Broken Locket

1909

The Indian Runner's Romance

1909

The Way of Man

1909

The Awakening

1909

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

1909

One Touch of Nature

1909

The Maniac Cook

1909

The Honor of Thieves

1909

Love Finds a Way

1909

A Rural Elopement

1909

The Sacrifice

1909

The Criminal Hypnotist

1909

Mr. Jones Has a Card Party

1909

The Fascinating Mrs. Francis

1909

The Welcome Burglar

1909

The Salvation Army Lass

1909

Fools of Fate

1909

The Cardinal's Conspiracy

1909

Two Memories

1909

Sweet and Twenty

1909

Trying to Get Arrested

1909

The Little Teacher

1909

The Day After

1909

His Wife's Visitor

1909

His Duty

1909

The Faded Lilies

1909

The Peachbasket Hat

1909

The Mexican Sweethearts

1909

The Necklace

1909

Tender Hearts

1909

The Slave

1909

They Would Elope

1909

Oh, Uncle!

1909

The Seventh Day

1909

His Lost Love

1909

In the Watches of the Night

1909

What's Your Hurry?

1909

The Restoration

1909

A Midnight Adventure

1909

The Trick that Failed

1909

Through the Breakers

1909

The Test

1909

To Save Her Soul

1909

The Heart of an Outlaw

1909

The Girls and Daddy

1909

Comata, the Sioux

1909

The Children's Friend

1909

Wanted, a Child

1909

A Sweet Revenge

1909

Pranks

1909

The Jilt

1909

Jones and His New Neighbors

1909

Jones and the Lady Book Agent

1909

Mr. Jones’ Burglar

1909

The Medicine Bottle

1909

Mrs. Jones' Lover or, I Want My Hat

1909

The Note in the Shoe

1909

The Prussian Spy

1909

The Road to the Heart

1909

The Roue’s Heart

1909

Schneider’s Anti-Noise Crusade

1909

Those Boys!

1909

Tis an Ill Wind That Blows No Good

1909

A Troublesome Satchel

1909

The Winning Coat

1909

The Wooden Leg

1909

A Wreath in Time

1909

A Baby's Shoe

1909

The Brahma Diamond

1909

The Deception

1909

Drive for a Life

1909

Eloping with Auntie

1909

Eradicating Aunty

1909

His Ward's Love

1909

His Wife's Mother

1909

Jealousy and the Man

1909

The Mills of the Gods

1909

A New Trick

1909

A Rude Hostess

1909

Tragic Love

1909

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

1909

A Burglar’s Mistake

1909

The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period

1909

The Eavesdropper

1909

The Expiation

1909

A Fool's Revenge

1909

The Hindoo Dagger

1909

In Little Italy

1909

In the Window Recess

1909

Leather Stocking

1909

The French Duel

1909

A Change of Heart

1908

The Fight for Freedom

1908

For Love of Gold

1908

For a Wife's Honor

1908

The Man and the Woman

1908

The Adventures of Dollie

1908

The Black Viper

1908

A Calamitous Elopement

1908

Romance of a Jewess

1908

Father Gets in the Game

1908

Money Mad

1908

The Fatal Hour

1908

Balked at the Altar

1908

Betrayed by a Handprint

1908

The Song of the Shirt

1908

After Many Years

1908

The Taming of the Shrew

1908

The Redman and the Child

1908

An Awful Moment

1908

Deceived Slumming Party

1908

Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court

1908

The Girl and the Outlaw

1908

Behind the Scenes: Where All Is Not Gold That Glitters

1908

The Red Girl

1908

The Heart of O Yama

1908

Where the Breakers Roar

1908

A Smoked Husband

1908

The Devil

1908

Ingomar, the Barbarian

1908

The Vaquero's Vow

1908

The Call of the Wild

1908

Concealing a Burglar

1908

The Pirate's Gold

1908

The Guerrilla

1908

The Clubman and the Tramp

1908

The Valet's Wife

1908

The Feud and the Turkey

1908

The Reckoning

1908

The Test of Friendship

1908

The Christmas Burglars

1908

Mr. Jones at the Ball

1908

The Helping Hand

1908

The Zulu's Heart

1908

The Greaser's Gauntlet

1908

The Bandit's Waterloo: The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora

1908

The Ingrate

1908

The Planter's Wife

1908

The Stolen Jewels

1908

A Woman's Way

1908

The Tavern Keeper’s Daughter

Writer

2002

D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913

1951

Footlight Varieties

1924

Isn't Life Wonderful

1923

The White Rose

1921

Dream Street

1920

The Love Flower

1920

Way Down East

1919

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl

1919

The Fall of Babylon

1919

The Girl Who Stayed at Home

1918

The Hun Within

1918

Hearts of the World

1918

The Great Love

1918

The Greatest Thing in Life

1918

Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal

1916

The Marriage of Molly-O

1916

Daphne and the Pirate

1916

Diane of the Follies

1916

The Missing Links

1916

Hoodoo Ann

1915

The Birth of a Nation

1915

The Lily and the Rose

1915

Enoch Arden

1914

The Avenging Conscience

1914

Home, Sweet Home

1913

Just Gold

1913

Her Mother's Oath

1913

The Lady and the Mouse

1913

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

1913

The Little Tease

1913

The Wanderer

1912

Brutality

1912

My Hero

1912

The Musketeers of Pig Alley

1912

The Massacre

1912

Friends

1912

The Painted Lady

1912

A Feud in the Kentucky Hills

1912

A Pueblo Legend

1912

Man's Genesis

1912

The Mender of Nets

1910

The Message of the Violin

1910

Ramona

1910

The Last Deal

1910

The Call

1910

The Duke’s Plan

1910

On the Reef

1910

The Rocky Road

1910

Her Terrible Ordeal

1910

The Newlyweds

1909

Confidence

1909

The Politician's Love Story

1909

The Lure of the Gown

1909

A Drunkard's Reformation

1909

What Drink Did

1909

A Sweet Revenge

1909

The Curtain Pole

1909

Those Awful Hats

1909

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

1909

The Broken Locket

1909

The Little Darling

1909

At the Altar

1909

Nursing a Viper

1909

The Maniac Cook

1909

The Honor of Thieves

1909

Love Finds a Way

1909

A Rural Elopement

1909

The Sacrifice

1909

The Criminal Hypnotist

1909

Mr. Jones Has a Card Party

1909

The Fascinating Mrs. Francis

1909

The Welcome Burglar

1909

The Cord of Life

1909

The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals

1909

Two Memories

1909

The Golden Louis

1909

1776, or The Hessian Renegades

1909

The Way of Man

1909

The Country Doctor

1909

Getting Even

1909

The Mountaineer's Honor

1909

The Jilt

1909

Jones and His New Neighbors

1909

Jones and the Lady Book Agent

1909

Mr. Jones’ Burglar

1909

The Medicine Bottle

1909

Mrs. Jones' Lover or, I Want My Hat

1909

The Note in the Shoe

1909

The Prussian Spy

1909

The Road to the Heart

1909

The Roue’s Heart

1909

Schneider’s Anti-Noise Crusade

1909

Those Boys!

1909

Tis an Ill Wind That Blows No Good

1909

The Winning Coat

1909

The Wooden Leg

1909

A Wreath in Time

1909

A Baby's Shoe

1909

The Brahma Diamond

1909

Drive for a Life

1909

Eloping with Auntie

1909

Eradicating Aunty

1909

His Ward's Love

1909

His Wife's Mother

1909

Jealousy and the Man

1909

To Save Her Soul

1909

The Mills of the Gods

1909

A New Trick

1909

A Rude Hostess

1909

Tragic Love

1909

The Voice of the Violin

1909

A Corner in Wheat

1909

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

1909

A Burglar’s Mistake

1909

The Eavesdropper

1909

The Expiation

1909

A Fool's Revenge

1909

The Girls and Daddy

1909

His Lost Love

1909

The Hindoo Dagger

1909

Edgar Allan Poe

1909

Pippa Passes

1909

The Gibson Goddess

1909

The Light That Came

1909

The Renunciation

1909

What's Your Hurry?

1909

A Strange Meeting

1909

The Salvation Army Lass

1909

The Peachbasket Hat

1909

The Restoration

1909

Oh, Uncle!

1909

The Faded Lilies

1909

The Slave

1909

Tender Hearts

1908

An Awful Moment

1908

Balked at the Altar

1908

The Redman and the Child

1908

Over the Hills to the Poor House

1908

The Christmas Burglars

1908

Mr. Jones at the Ball

1908

The Helping Hand

1908

The Music Master

1908

Money Mad

1908

The Zulu's Heart

1908

The Taming of the Shrew

1908

The Call of the Wild

1908

Mixed Babies

1908

The Greaser's Gauntlet

1908

The Bandit's Waterloo: The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora

1908

The Ingrate

1908

The Planter's Wife

1908

The Stolen Jewels

1908

A Woman's Way

1908

When Knights Were Bold

1908

Betrayed by a Handprint

1908

A Calamitous Elopement

1908

The Song of the Shirt

1908

Romance of a Jewess

1908

Where the Breakers Roar

1908

At the Crossroads of Life

1908

The Feud and the Turkey

1908

Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker