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Date of Birth
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22-January-1875
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Place of Birth
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La Grange
(Oldham County, Kentucky, United States of America)
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Nationality
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United States of America
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Also know as
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D.W. Griffith, David Llewelyn Wark Griffith, David Llewelyn Wark, David W. Griffith, Victor Marier, Roy Sinclair, Captain Victor Marier, Gaston de Tolignac, M. Gaston de Tolignac, Granville Hicks, Capt. Victor Marier, Granville Warwick, David Wark Griffith, Lawrence Griffith, Irene Sinclair, "D. W." Griffith, David Llewelyn Wark "D. W." Griffith, the father of film technique, the man who invented Hollywood, the Shakespeare of the screen, the teacher of us all, the father of film, Mr. Griffith
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Profession
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Film director, Film Producer, Actor, Screenwriter, Playwright, Film Score Composer, Film Editor
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David Llewelyn Wark "D. W." Griffith was an American film director, mostly remembered as the director of the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance. He is closely associated with his frequent leading lady, Lillian Gish.
Griffith began making short films in 1908, and released his first feature, Judith of Bethulia, in 1913. His 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 in the United States. The film has been extremely controversial for its negative depiction of African-Americans, White Unionists, the Reconstruction, and its positive portrayal of slavery and the Ku Klux Klan. The film was widely criticized and subject to boycotts by the NAACP. Griffith responded to his critics with Intolerance, intended to show the history of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not a financial success but was praised by critics.
Several of Griffith's later films, including Broken Blossoms, Way Down East and Orphans of the Storm were also successful, but his high production, promotional, and roadshow costs often made his ventures commercial failures. By the time of his final feature, The Struggle, he had made roughly 500 films. For his pioneering techniques and early understanding of cinema, Griffith is considered among the most important figures in the history of the medium.
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