Why is Birth of a Nation seen as a landmark film?
Birth of a Nation was a mammoth film of thirteen reels in length which took nine weeks to shoot, three months to edit and, with a budget of $110, 000, was the costliest US film ever at the time. It premiered on Feb. 8, 1915 in Los Angeles and had its first public screening at NY on March 3. It was the first film to play at the White House, where then president Southerner Woodrow Wilson said (which he would later renounce): It is like writing history with lightning. By 1916 there were over 6000 performances in greater NY only. The list of accomplishments bestowed upon Birth of a Nation and reasons for its landmark status in film history is lengthy.
