One hundred years ago today the classic movie, “The Birth of a Nation” opened at the Lyceum Theater in Rochester for a two week run. This movie ran for over three hours at a time when most movies were about 20 minutes. It is known for being the first blockbuster film. It cost $110,000 to make and it estimated that it took in between 3 and 10 million dollars. In those days no one kept track of how much money a film made. There are sweeping battle scenes and melodramatic scenes within the homes of the families involved in the Civil War. At the premier the film in 1915 the full Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra played the musical score written specifically for the film.

The first half of the movie deals with the whole of the Civil War from its beginning to the assassination of President Lincoln. Most of that part is historically based and tries to recreate some scenes from actual accounts of the war.

The second half of the film deals with the aftermath of the war and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. That caused objection even at that time and the film was banned in many cities because of the racist tones. The film portrays all black people as deviants and criminals that needed to be suppressed. In fact, many of the black actors in the film are white actors wearing grease paint. The film was based on a book titled “The Clansman,” a novel about the beginnings of the KKK and that was going to be the title of the movie.

An article about the film in the Brockport Republic of that time was probably written as a promotional article not as a review. It states, in part:

In every respect the production to be seen at the Lyceum will be the same as the one that ran 10 months in New York City, including a symphony orchestra of thirty pieces.

The historical drama has proved the greatest theatrical success of the present century. Over five million people have already seen it…

There are over 5,000 scenes and 200,000 historical details… The magnitude of this spectacle has made it one of the most talked about offerings in the history of the theater.

A dual love interest runs throughout the story. The score… is so synchronized to the action of the drama that it perfectly interprets the various emotions, interests and conflicts of the multitude of scenes.

In spite of terrible racism in the film, it is worth watching for the great film style and pioneering techniques like panning action shots and close-ups. There is also a love story throughout the film with Lillian Gish in the starring role. The film is available for free on Archive.org. The best version is this one that retains the color tinting of the original. I had some trouble with that one as it stopped and started over my slower internet connection. This version of the film is only in black and white and is 12 minutes shorter. When the film was re-released in later years, many of the most objectionable scene were cut out.

Below is a page from the program at Rochester’s Lyceum Theater for the movie. That theater was on Clinton Avenue and existed from 1888 to 1934. It seated 2,000 people for each show and I’ll bet it was full for every performance of “The Birth of a Nation.”