DW Griffith Interview on 'The Birth Of A Nation'

The full short film/interview made for the re-release of 'The Birth of a Nation' in 1930. Walter Huston discusses the controversial film with the director, DW Griffith.

[@francisgriffith462]

if you listen carefully, both of these men were born in the 1800s and their accent (sounds kind of british) was very different from the kids in the beginning (modern American).

[@GeminiNightOwl]

Walter Huston was Canadian - I understand his manner of speaking. Griffith was using the fake Trans-Atlantic accent that was popular for the times and so many did in those days to make themselves sound more worldly and sophisticated. I thought it made them and sound ridiculously silly - especially those born in the US.

[@MR-in8bl]

​@@GeminiNightOwl I never knew there was a name for that accent although it was obvious it was put on. Thanks for the info. I'm assuming Griffith had somewhat of a southern accent which I presume he hated bc it made him sound like a "redneck."

[@tracywilliams7929]

It is called the mid-Atlantic accent and it was legitimate then and all but extinct now. The Studio System taught its actors the Mid-Atlantic accent as part of their training along with dance, voice, swordsmanship, etc. The actors when discovered were diamonds in the rough and needed a bit of polish before the studios could invest money in them. During the silent era regional accents and lack of education mattered less so no vocal coaches then. Matter of fact my father spoke with a Mid-Atlantic accent but it was natural as his parents were British subjects who emigrated to the States and were well off and socially acceptable. Unbeknownst to me I was more influenced by this then I thought; I have heard to my surprise people comment I sound British at times. Usually they are British themselves and say I am easier to understand than most Americans. Additionally as I write this post I find myself revising the syntax to be more clearly understood by a predominantly American readership.

[@BarryMoreno-zx4dc]

Remember, though, both Griffith and Huston were both actors, who developed their voices.

[@ShaneAcree]

Griffith was born and raised here in Lagrange and Louisville Kentucky.

[@TheFilipinaWifeLife]

Never knew there was an interview of DW Griffith.

[@TheStockwell]

"What, me racist?" Griffith was stunned to be labeled a racist. As far as he was concerned, all the viewpoints and opinions he grew up with were historical truth and perfectly valid. I guess when you're raised in Kentucky in the late 1800s - and the son of a Confederate colonel and politician - you're not inclined to notice your outlooks and attitudes as being seriously repulsive.

[@malvolio01]

I don't think they were back then. Why do idiots constantly try to apply the standards of today to 100 plus yrs ago?

[@TheStockwell]

@@xokksDOTcom "As far as he was concerned" - get it? 'Scuse my cutting and pasting, but here's an excerpt from a 2017 essay: "Throughout The Birth of a Nation, African Americans are portrayed as being savages, violent thugs, sexual predators, ill mannered brutes, and ballot stuffers. For this reason, despite the film's positive reception among the American public and news outlets at the time of its release; The Birth of a Nation received a negative response from African Americans and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, both of which protested against the film's premiere across American cities." You're welcome. 🙄

[@TheStockwell]

@@malvolio01 Griffith was labeled a racist as soon as the film was released. This isn't a recent assessment or case of modern morality being slapped onto a century-old mentality.

[@chinakat7914]

@@malvolio01 Birth of a Nation was immensely controversial, even at the time. Many states and cities banned screenings of the film, particularly in the North.

[@maryanchabursky9148]

@@malvolio01 btw the movie was considered racist at the time

[@omarharo3132]

The manner in which these men talk is alone fascinating.

[@malgremor85]

There is an old superstition that one does not give the gift of a blade without recieving something in reciprocation...lest it "cut" the friendship.

[@francisalbertsinatra9120]

I wonder what must have been going through Walter Huston’s mind through all this. His silence after Griffith’s idealistic remarks make one think that he is holding himself from starting an argument with him.

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

Walter reads out that offensive chapter at the 6 minute mark but offers no retort so I’m not sure he was as against Griffith’s ideas as you wish him to be.

[@HENRYTHEHORSESKI]

Birth of a nation, first time i think i ever watched a three plus hour silent film. Horrific yet absolutely engaging...it is undoubtedly a racist screed. A cinematic love letter to redemption of the white south. An unapologetic blistering attack on reconstruction, blatant racial pornography in the newborn era of cinema. disgraceful in every aspect, cheers to griffith for making his point.

[@judah-nathanlewis3961]

It is truly fascinating to see how the idea that what he made was horrific and essentially a three hour long hate crime genuinely doesn't seem to occur to him at all. It seems that to him, he's genuinely exposing the truth. There's a lesson in that somewhere.

[@rickenman9844]

From a young age he must've been sat down by his parents, two loving and trustworthy authority figures, and told that not only was he a morally and intellectually superior human being based solely off of the color of his skin, but that the very presence of people in America who do not share his skin color is evidence of some kind of nefarious conspiracy against the country, when in fact our multiracial society is essential to who we are as a nation, and repugnant individuals such as Griffith, at least according to modern sensibilities, have absolutely no place in contemporary America.

[@nikiblagojevich5081]

Hate crime? It is rare historically accurate depiction of that period, everything else that doesn't go along with the propaganda has been memory holed since.

[@markw4206]

@@nikiblagojevich5081 The film was controversial even then. Stop whitewashing history.

[@tjr930]

He knows that what he showed wasn't "fact". The truth was in the sentiment, and the revival of the KKK is proof of that.

[@raptorfromthe6ix833]

@@markw4206but he also made intolerance which made fun of racism he wasn’t racist just thoroughly ignorant

[@shevandy55]

What a rich voice 😌 Mellow and full of base Another nice voice was Mary Pickford’s

[@newking70]

Bass

[@akshatmisra767]

I have a better voice than these losers

[@death4metal201]

We found the ceo of racism

[@scotnick59]

Pickford said he was a ham actor, but his voice is great

[@christophermoon64]

I can't help I dig certain ppl like Walter Huston. I see him in Treasure of the Sierra Madre years later. His son was a dynamic director. Anyhow, I've yet to see all of Birth/Nation. I've seen Broken Blossoms & Edgar Allan Poe

[@GeminiNightOwl]

Top notch, powerhouse actor. If you ever listen to his cover of "September Song" from the 1938 play "Knickerbocker Holiday", I'm sure you'll love that too. Also check out Walter in "Gabriel Over the White House", "Dodsworth" 1936 for which he won an Academy Award and his early 1930's films like "Beast of the City", "Ruling Voice", "The Devil and Daniel Webster". You won't be disappointed...

[@Sploooks]

Cinema's original sin.

[@xshura08]

Cinema's Original Birth you meant. This man invented the goddamn language of the seventh art, so shut the hell up and go watch a Spike Lee boring piece of caca.

[@malvolio01]

How so? It was a great film.

[@feliciahall8020]

There wasn’t a dam thing GREAT about this film!! I can’t imagine how many deaths it caused.

[@Cam-wk6ty]

@@malvolio01 it literally revived the KKK

[@visualsbysenpai]

@@akirasuzami9847 and, what's that supposed to mean?? 🤔

[@Real_slix7]

The man who created edits

[@VicAlexanderAramaicBible]

First five-reeler feature film, and D. W. Griffith is the biggest director of modern American Cinema. He is the first director to use parallel editing -- Victor Isaac Alexander

[@andrew_owens7680]

Sort of like Wagner, Roman Polanski or Frank L. Baum, memorable artists with rotten personal prejudices.

[@blazingamr]

@@andrew_owens7680 What was wrong with Wagner? I would really like to know.

[@andrew_owens7680]

@@blazingamr He was a well-documented anti-Semite who became a favorite of Hitler partially for that reason.

[@namelessgames1608]

@@blazingamr He wrote a book called jewishness in music or something; he was an antisemite

[@blazingamr]

@@namelessgames1608 Thank you 🙏

[@tracywilliams7929]

2:03 I had no idea Griffifth was so tall! He is very nearly as tall as Huston and the Hustons - male or female - tend to be very tall. There is a picture on KZbin of John towering over 5 ft 7 inche Bogart who barely comes up to his shoulder. I will say D. W. was every bit the Southern gentleman in appearance. He has a soft accented almost sussuruss of a voice.

[@mikekemp9877]

walter huston wasnt very tall about 5ft 9ins.his son was 6ft 3ins.when walter played lincoln early 30s watch the picture he wears outrageous stacked boots almost like a deep sea diversor frankensteins monster.they added 7inches to his height but are very distracting if you see it now!

[@scotnick59]

That we can view this at ALL is a minor miracle

[@TrilithiumBanditKelsey]

Thank you for showing this.

[@paulray494]

whipping out Woodrow Wilson as an unbiased historical record keeper on matters of White Supremacy ? priceless. FBA1

[@trikitrikitriki]

He might have done it because Woodrow Wilson showed his movie at the White House.

[@paulray494]

@@trikitrikitriki point missed. Woodrow Wilson was a full born believer in White Male Supremacy with a view of “white” that meant Anglo Saxon. he was an open and avowed opponent to Foundational Black American rights and reintroduced segregation to my hometown, Washington DC as he sat his wrinkled old ass in that White House. in short, he’s the opposite of an unbiased historical record keeper on matters of White Supremacy.

[@hiddensword9387]

@@trikitrikitriki Yes, Wilson was rumoured to be a former member of the KKK.

[@paulray494]

@jaredjams4267 Foundational Black American, direct lineage to ancestors listed as "Negro" by US Census 1900 or prior and have held an identity of "Black"

[@WrenchWhacker]

Womp womp cry harder

[@stephenmani8495]

The men had a certain style and class while talking back then. Although of course, there is no question their ideologies were terrible and a blot on humanity. Just goes to show that you can never judge a book by its cover - or a case of style over substance you might say. Sadly, that is true even today.

[@martin123abcd]

What is this tradition of having to pay for a gift

[@mohsenmofidi]

it's believed that if you give a knife as a present the relationship will be severed. to avoid bad luck, you give a coin (in fact buying the gift) to avoid the bad luck. it's tradition to present the knife with a coin and then ask for the coin.

[@MR-in8bl]

​@@mohsenmofidi damn, thanks for that info. How did you ever hear of this? I always feel "uneducated" when I hear something like this and had no clue it ever existed. Have u been gifted a sword? I'm genuinely curious how u ever came to a spot in ur life where u learn/needed this info?

[@altanaeliza]

He has aura of superiority

[@scotnick59]

ABSOUTELY SO.

[@BarryMoreno-zx4dc]

Dignified is a better description.

[@rosariosalemi7153]

Intriguing interview, though all too brief. A rare chance for a starting point for an education about the viewpoint of a primary-source Southerner and first-generation post Civil War offspring of a Confederate soldier. There is a radio interview preserved of another Southerner, this one from N.C., about a generation later, that of a Southern liberal, Jonathan Worth Daniels (1902-1981) (a man 27 years Griffith's junior) and a political associate of F.D.R. that is equally fascinating and reveals, like Griffith's talk, the humanity, love of family, home, and the complexity of each man yet with clearly different perspectives.

[@Jesuslovesfilm2121]

GREAT MOTION PICTURE ICON!

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Great discussion.

[@maxjnb4816]

It's interesting how this movie classic is embraced and celebrated, but the teaching of CRT in classrooms are shunned. Please make it make sense.

[@MothGirl007]

It's neither embraced nor celebrated.

[@maxjnb4816]

​@MothGirl007 I actually learned about this classic film while in film school. It's considered an American classic/treasure.

[@BananaPhoPhilly]

@@maxjnb4816 From what I've learned in school it's considered a _technical_ masterpiece. The way it was filmed was groundbreaking. It was considered incredibly racist even at release

[@maxjnb4816]

​@BananaPhoPhilly Correct. It was acknowledged mainly for its technical applications. However, it became popular among white audiences nationwide upon its release. While it was considered one of the most racist and controversial films made in history, those who appreciated the perspectives of this film argued that it was a depiction of their history.

[@redman958]

Because CRT is a theory and narrative driven, not actual history.

[@stpat7614]

3:36 The original KKK never wore robes. Was Griffith lying, or was his memory warped by Dixon's novel? 3:41 Hooded vigilantism has never served any purpose.

[@BarryMoreno-zx4dc]

He ought to have know better than anyone today!

[@anthonyhodnett9085]

In some of tere comments, they were boasting about how historicly accurate he was.

[@JulieRainyPDX]

The KKK were thugs who were allowed to violate people's rights. They entered people's homes without consent and ransacked and stole their personal property. They were just stupid thieves and killers who sold their souls to hate.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

@@anthonyhodnett9085their

[@WrenchWhacker]

They wore hoods which i’m sure is what Griffith was referring to. But who knows, maybe he’s right and most “historians” got it wrong, wouldn’t shock me. Also Vigilantism HAS served a very important purpose. Get off the moral high horse

[@12lb.toothbrush11]

Griffiths was born after the Civil war and spent most of his youth in poverty. A man of his time even and with the views of his time that we should not view with todays mindset.

[@exzardoz3532]

Pepe forget about the White coal miners

[@SeasideDetective2]

"Interview," my foot! This was obviously as scripted and rehearsed as anything on "The Daily Show." Huston is even using his "movie voice," although I admit Griffith himself sounds more natural. The "framing device" of the eavesdropping youngsters clinches it.

[@JonnyBobby]

He comes off like a Bond villain

[@rogerwhite95]

Undoubtedly, if you were alive then, and a southerner, and had experienced the horrific things they did, you would feel the same way.

[@thirdhandlv4231]

Who is ‘they’?

[@jogaleone7224]

o shut up

[@pseudoname3159]

Absolutely not. I'm certain that southerners of African ancestry did not share his sentiments, but had indeed experienced their own horrific events in their day-to-day life of being deemed less than human.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

It wasn't the greatest film ever made. It is a seminal film, but it's incredibly and its ideology is incredibly dated.

[@BLAQUE909]

Racism was well dressed... Still is.

[@BackupChannel-nq6fg]

I wonder what became of those kids

[@barbara8321]

That cigar he's smoking! Black people were murdered, whipped, raped, tortured & lynched for him to sit back and enjoy that! And to know descendants of these barbaric humans still roam the Hall's of Govt, police stations & judicial system etc...

[@metelicgunz146]

Lmao

[@playstationaccount4473]

What was his fault in what happened to them? such were the times unfortunately. Go at Henry Ford also while you're at it, and Edison and Einstein too.

[@swab2931]

@@playstationaccount4473 Griffith made the birth of a nation, a film that actively incited more racial violence wherever it was shown and helped bring back an almost dead ku klux klan. Also, even back then lots of people thought the movie was pretty racist, especially civil rights groups who protested at showings of the movie. Griffith was far worse than the other people of the times were.

[@gunnermccormick3957]

Lmao this is way after slavery was over, black people weren’t whipped for his cigar. You are a century too late. The tobacco was picked and rolled by paid workers. slavery was over in 1865 and this was in the early 20th century. Dumbass

[@raiden6156]

Seethe

[@kolorPicasso]

Must be nice to go down in history as a disgrace.🤦🏽‍♂️ My how times have changed.

[@lolitajones859]

Huh-huh... sickening isn't it.

[@davidcockrill7115]

And a hundred years after American cities are still being burned to the ground and it is not safe to go for a run in a park. Google search and read the results. The truth is the truth. Black or White, doesn't mater to the thugs.

[@michaelmurphy7670]

Actually hes one of the greatest directors and artists in American history. Many appreciate his contribution.

[@livingproof9622]

This interview was 41 years before I was born.

[@anthonycrnkovich5241]

I respect Griffith for the pioneer filmmaker he undoubtedly was and dismiss all the hate he generates now as nothing more than tiresome twaddle.

[@BarryMoreno-zx4dc]

I quite agree!

[@mohelemadembe2630]

You are just as bigot as him

[@adrians380]

Screw that man

[@johndavis7094]

Truth is a strange thing....

[@CommieGobeldygook]

This is fucking preposterous. Every moment from begining to end is just ridiculous in todays world. "He made birth of a nation, hes all right"

[@buckskin64]

Look how peaceful our inner cities are, there’s no looting or violence 🤔🤔

[@captainnoone6021]

If I had the power I'd name a holiday after griffith. nothing but love and respect for him.

[@edenahbez2656]

as a muslim i believe the first man on the eath (adam) was black.

[@Demille40]

The real tragedy of the Civil War was that it was brother against brother.

[@TheSpiritOfTheTimes]

No it wasn't lol.

[@CommieGobeldygook]

And the slavery thing. That was kinda bad too.

[@jeromechibamba514]

there must be a special place in hell for those guys.

[@TheStockwell]

Having your reputation destroyed is a good start. This spake Wikipedia: "In 1953 the Directors Guild of America (DGA) instituted the D. W. Griffith Award, its highest honor. However, on December 15, 1999, then DGA President Jack Shea and the DGA National Board announced that the award would be renamed as the "DGA Lifetime Achievement Award". They stated that, although Griffith was extremely talented, they felt his film The Birth of a Nation had "helped foster intolerable racial stereotypes", and that it was thus better not to have the top award in his name." On a happier note, by the time this uncomfortable "interview" took place, his career was on the skids. This interview was to promote Griffith's upcoming flop epic, "Abraham Lincoln." He made only one more film after this - a really bad one. Another quote: "For the next 15 years he tried unsuccessfully to bring his ideas to screen. Alcoholic, poverty-stricken, lonely, Griffith died in a cheap Hollywood hotel in 1948." That's what character flaws can do. One day, you're two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Next thing you know, it's 2017, your role in a Ridley Scott film is edited out - and reshot with Christopher Plummer in your place. 😬.

[@rrrrr0_]

@@TheStockwell who shat in your cereals? D. W. Griffith was a great filmmaker to say the least. it's sad that for you the only thing that defined him was the racism in The Birth of a Nation. you sure must be a big fan of film and art in general...

[@raiden6156]

Seethe

[@chris-ejimoformiracle8578]

@@rrrrr0_ because that was what he left behind, lies upon lies in everything he ever imagined. He is not better off than Hitler himself.

[@chinakat7914]

@@rrrrr0_ Given the fact that the film was almost single-handedly responsible for the resurgence of the KKK in the 20th century, and all the deaths that accompanied it, its not unfair that the film remains his most prominent legacy.

[@TrulyAGhost]

Be funny if Nicki Minaj great great gmom came out of nowhere and start giving old head a lap dance. Lol

[@akirasuzami9847]

“I’m rich. I’ve only got a dime.” I like him. From what I hear from everyone around him, he seems very nice. This movie seems to be a fluke in terms of his personality.

[@markw4206]

I'm sure he was a wonderful chap -- if you were white. Do you not know about the movie they're talking about?

[@borhaptrash5454]

@@markw4206 mean there was a movie released a couple years prior where he there’s an evil KKK member. It’s actually pretty much anti KKK. I did some research and to me it seems like he would turn anything into a movie as long as it’s gonna be a good movie and has a great story line. And, you have to admit, the movie itself is pretty amazing and impressive. If it wasn’t racist it would be an excellent movie. But like that I really hard to praise it

[@raptorfromthe6ix833]

@@markw4206so? Mickey Rooney Shirley temple band Judy garland did forms of blackface are they somehow racist

[@mrcrackdonald_1]

@@raptorfromthe6ix833Yes

[@mrcrackdonald_1]

@@raptorfromthe6ix833But Judy Garland was like 11

[@saccasantony4040]

What a disgraceful film making the ku klux klan heroes but he wanted to make controversy and sadly he got it made a lot of many but stoking up racial tensions

[@timmcdonald9851]

Nope I don't buy it. And what goes around comes around.

[@BigSmith5572]

Interesting how's there two sides of that wasn't told. Thank GOD for the 2016 Birth of A Nation

[@jrodtmtilwedie8102]

Dw is way more dem than a southerner

[@dontaylor7315]

Dixiecrat was the term at that time.

[@bgochicoa]

I used to have some semblance of respect for Walter Huston... .

[@aidanoneill3730]

Why? I don’t think he stated in this video that he agreed with the film’s racist depictions. One of the commenters even said it looked like Huston was holding back from starting an argument with him

[@bgochicoa]

@@aidanoneill3730 I could have no more had a civil conversation with an advocate of the Ku Klux Klan like Griffith than I could have had with Adolph Hitler or... Ted Bundy. Scum is scum.

[@dikemavis666]

@@bgochicoa If you're a chaplin fan I'll burst your bubble and tell you griffith was partners and good friends with chaplin.

[@dantevincentpaul1609]

I just love Griffith- the father of film 😊

[@johndavis7094]

In this case ...the past WILL repeat itself...look carefully , the writing is on the wall. .

[@_sinxseer]

Alls y’all mad but what u goin to do about it?

[@tonyscott1658]

Note that Walter Huston, the actor, is father of John Huston, a famous Hollywood film maker. Also note that Griffith's concept of the South and his "Birth of a Nation" narrative of its post-war fortunes are really those of Woodrow Wilson, a 2 term Democratic USA president!

[@larrywprice2]

Wilson was a racist.