David Wark Griffith

See also: Griffith

David Wark Griffith is a American Réalisateur born the January 22nd 1875 with LaGrange (Kentucky), dead the July 23rd 1948 of a brain hemorrhage with Hollywood (California).

Prolific realizer, it turned approximately approximately 400 short films in 5 years, of 1908 with 1913 and carried out first made film with Hollywood, In Old California . He also largely made evolved/moved the cinematographic assembly. He is also founder with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford of United Artists, first movie studio independent (1919).

The contribution of Griffith to the assembly

According to Jean Mitry, “if the cinema must in Louis Lumière, primarily, its existence as a means of analysis and reproduction of the movement (and, so as a spectacle and a show business), it is in Griffith primarily that it owes his existence as an art, as a significance and means of expression. Others thereafter, went much further. ”.

One of the first innovations of Griffith is to have designed the assembly like a succession of Plans of the same action under consideration under different Angles and point of view of in order to create an emotion. Thus, instead of filming a complete action by leaving the camera to only one place, Griffith decides to approach the camera or to move away it. Another great innovation at Griffith is to have planned the length of the plans in a way completely independent the path of contact in order to create suspense. It also improves the alternate Montage. The height of this art is found in Intolérance where it carries out face four stories, which constitutes according to Jean Mitry a film headlight.

Polemic around Birth of a nation

Following the enormous success of " Birth of a nation " , film which gives an opinion in favors of the Sudiste S, Griffith is nowadays often taxed with racist.

Anecdotes

  • Griffith, to obtain new actors and to form a troop, decided to make a casting; the Gish sisters were committed there, like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, and Raoul Walsh, who made a convincing demonstration of lasso, which allured Griffith.

Selective catalog of films

silent films

talking films

See too

  • Filmographie supplements

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