This is an excerpt from the book Cinema, the Magic Vehicle – A Comprehensive Guide
Journey One: 1913–1950

In this episode, we explore Intolerance (1916), David W. Griffith’s monumental follow-up to The Birth of a Nation. A four-part epic spanning Babylon, Judea, 16th-century France, and modern America, Intolerance is a breathtaking protest against injustice and human cruelty — and one of the most ambitious films ever made.

Filmed on a colossal scale, with 60,000 extras, vast Babylonian sets, and pioneering editing techniques, Intolerancerepresents the high point of early cinematic innovation. Griffith’s dynamic cross-cutting and parallel storytelling turned the film into a visual symphony — blending history, religion, politics, and emotion into a single cinematic fugue.

While the film’s pacifist message and allegorical scope proved too complex for audiences of 1916, its influence on global cinema is immeasurable. From its revolutionary editing to its unforgettable imagery — such as the mother rocking the cradle — Intolerance remains a towering masterpiece that defined the artistic potential of film.

Based on Cinema, the Magic Vehicle by Jacek Klinowski and Adam Garbicz, this episode continues our journey through the early masterpieces that built the language of cinema.

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