Intolerance (film)

Storylines

The film presents four distinct but parallel stories intercut with increasing frequency as the film builds to a climax, demonstrating mankind's persistent intolerance throughout the ages. The ancient Babylonian story (539 BC) depicts the conflict between Prince Belshazzar of Babylon and Cyrus the Great of Persia, with the fall of Babylon resulting from intolerance arising from a conflict between devotees of two rival Babylonian gods, Bel-Marduk and Ishtar.

Production

Intolerance was a massive production with enormous sets, expensive period costumes, and over 3,000 extras. On Sunset Boulevard, the studio lot held a Babylon set featuring walls 300 feet tall, along with streets representing Judea and medieval France. The daily payroll for extras reportedly reached $12,000. Griffith initially began filming the Modern Story, originally called The Mother and the Law, which had been planned before The Birth of a Nation became a huge success.

He later expanded the project to include three other parallel stories connected by the theme of intolerance. A total of 300,000 feet of film was shot.

The production cost was reported to be nearly $2 million, with $250,000 spent on the Belshazzar feast scene alone, though actual accounts show the exact cost was $385,906.77. One-third of the budget went toward the Babylonian segments. The extensive sets were torn down two years after construction, and the space was later used for another film.

Reception

Intolerance was met with an enthusiastic reception from film critics upon its premiere. Scholar Frank Beaver argues that Griffith's intended message was not lost on reviewers, noting that a contemporary critic in The San Francisco Bulletin declared, 'Griffith's film comes powerfully to strengthen the hand of the believers in love.' Although considered a commercial failure upon its initial release, it has since received very positive reviews and later gained popularity.

It has been called 'the only film fugue'. Theodore Huff believed it was the only motion picture worthy of taking its place alongside Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings as a separate and central artistic contribution. Intolerance was shown out of competition at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. In 2007, AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies ranked it as the 49th best American film of all time.

Pauline Kael considered Intolerance the greatest film ever made. David Thomson argued that the film's impact is weakened by its 'self-destructive frenzy', adding that the cross-cutting format is wearisome. The film has been widely reported to have been a box office bomb, but this is a myth attributed to its misreported budget; it earned approximately $1.75 million for its backers, enough to recoup its budget. The film was included by the Vatican in a list of important films compiled in 1995 under the category of 'Values'.

Versions

Intolerance is now in the public domain. There are currently four major versions of the film in circulation on home video. The Killiam Shows version, taken from a third-generation 16 millimeter print, contains an organ score by Gaylord Carter and runs approximately 176 minutes; it is the most complete version currently available on home video. The official Thames Silents restoration, prepared in 1989 by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill from original 35 millimeter material, runs 177 minutes with restored tones and tints and a digitally recorded orchestral score by Carl Davis; it was given a further digital restoration by Cohen Media Group and reissued in 2013.

The Kino version, pieced together in 2002 from 35 millimeter material, is transferred at a slower frame rate resulting in a longer running time of 197 minutes, but is less complete than the other prints. The restored digital cinema version, conducted by ZZ Productions in collaboration with the Danish Film Institute and Arte France, is based on the version shown at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on April 7, 1917; it runs approximately 177 minutes and premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2007.

Did You Know?

• Many assistant directors on Intolerance, including Erich von Stroheim, Tod Browning, and Woody Van Dyke, later became important Hollywood directors.
• The film was parodied by Buster Keaton in Three Ages (1923).
• The 1987 Taviani brothers film Good Morning, Babylon takes place on the set of Intolerance.