Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)

Fresh and Exciting

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This was an excellent film, though I think the version I watched was a shortened version (the one that anyone can watch on YouTube, coming in at 2 hours and 45 minutes or around there). It was a very good watch though I thought. Hugely entertaining and a terrific score to boot. It's not just a good silent film, but a great film in general. The only thing I didn't like was the Jesus story, not that I have anything against the person, just it felt like it was somewhat lacking and didn't really serve any purpose to the rest of the film. Also, everyone knows the Jesus story and it doesn't really help the movie to reiterate here what everyone already knows. Outside of that, I really liked everything else in the movie. Truly an epic picture, the battle scenes especially are top notch for its time. It's really too bad that this movie ended up bankrupting one of the greatest directors of all time, but really, what a film, for its time or any other.

This has to be the worst movie ever made for a multitude of reasons and should not be watched by anyone who has any self respect. Nothing can redeem this film, not historical context, not the supposed innovations that came from it, and definitely not the story. Save yourself 3 plus hours of the worst film in history and watch better silent era films.

When I watched Intolerance I couldn't help but just marvel in amazement at the incredible sets. These sets are just enormous and there are an incredible amount of extras. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages is an incredible epic told beautifully by DW Griffith. It has 4 main stories that are all interwoven. A story about a young married couple in 1916 United States who have been affected by crime. The second story is of the siege of Babylon. The next story is of a 16th century battle of France. The last story is about Jesus Christ. Mind you though that the Jesus story is the shortest. The 4 stories cut back from one story to another. It is a beautiful narrative structure and it is all helped by the amazing sets. This has got to be one of the most well made films I've ever seen. This is the first feature film from Griffith that I've seen, so I will be looking forward to watching his other films in the future.

D.W. Griffith has bestowed on 21st century viewers a visually engaging historical artifact. The film is largely incoherent and ultimately lacks cohesion in its attempt to incorporate so many historical parallels. The four-hour extravaganza is a spectacle of excess in its every aspect. Of course it is critical to recognize that this film dates to 1916, predating the "modern era." Like most of the films from the early silent period, it's permeated with Victorian sensibility, and a puritan morality. Almost 100 years on, this makes for story lines reflecting a collective societal naiveté. Watching such a lengthy, moralizing melodrama is a tedious, wearying experience. I give it a "5" as an important example in the trajectory of the development of the movie industry both as popular entertainment and art form.