Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
D.W. Griffith's previous great 'Birth of a Nation' had aroused such controversy that he decided to fight back. Intolerance is a superb piece of filmmaking and one that I most strongly recommend to all true lovers of the cinema. The lesson is made in four stories: The first story is of how the Priest of Bel betrays Belshazzar in ancient Babylon, with the final conclusion being the savage destruction of the great city. The battle scenes more than rival those of Ben Hur, Alexander the Great or any other tale of heroism in old times. The second story is that of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and of those who allowed it to happen. This story is not explored upon much and is given less treatment than the other three, although its impact remains potent. The third story takes place in renaissance France, where the Catholics slaughter the Protestants. The massacre is more violent than one would expect from a film of 1916, and despite its rather crude delivery, it still manages to shock and appal. The final story is set in what was then the modern world. A group of women fighting for decency and a proper society reduce life to a boring and monotonous existence. A man is to be hanged for a murder committed by one of the women who does not confess and when she finally does, a gang of men rush to save the boy just in time. All these stories are linked by an image of Lillian Gish rocking a cradle, symbolic of the innocence she protects.
Intolerance is extremely meaningful and poignant with good performances and shocking moments throughout. Its breathtaking sets and scenes are enough to keep anyone entertained, and this film comes to a superb climax four times. However, it also has to set the scene for four different stories which makes the first forty minutes very dull, but stick with it as it improves.
Griffith could hardly hope to match the brilliance of The Birth of A Nation which was released a year before this, but this film alone is enough to make him worthy of remembrance.
Eureka Videos has done a superb job in restoring this great film. Of the three silent films I owned before this (Nosferatu, Phantom of the Opera and Metropolis) all were badly in need of restoration, which reduced the viewing pleasure. The picture quality is very clean and adds to the experience. The film is also tinted for those of you who prefer a more colourful look, I however do not and always turn off the colour on my TV with tinted films, either have it in colour or in black and white is what I say.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Great, great film. Terrible, terrible DVD.
Substandard visuality... No restoration... Painful to watch even if you're not hi-definition blue-ray freak...
VHS with this level of quality would be unacceptable, not to speak of DVD.
Substandard visuality... No restoration... Painful to watch even if you're not hi-definition blue-ray freak...
VHS with this level of quality would be unacceptable, not to speak of DVD.
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
good film, not one of the greats, but merely a history lesson. but avoid nevertheless. the quality is appalling, and it would seem no restoration has occured. scenes and characters are barely recognisable and the picture is grainy and just awful to endure. buy a better edition.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 71 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
More extras, more!
This epic was made in America in 1916, by one of the greatest directors of the silent age, D.W. Griffith. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Mr. P. Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love old films
Unusual film I feel he may have bitten off more than he can chew as it drags in places and trys to be very high brow with its moral issues and jumping about in time very ambitious
Published 2 months ago by pip
1.0 out of 5 stars
Stay away from this dvd as far as possible, it's GARBAGE!
When I bought this dvd a couple of years ago, I was looking for dvd versions of public domain films to watch on the big screen (my television) and this one seemed to be a good... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bart
1.0 out of 5 stars
Intolerance
Ridiculously inappropriate soundtrack of classical music. No attempt seems to have been made to match the music to the action. Very distracting. Avoid, or watch with the sound off.
Published 5 months ago by Les397
1.0 out of 5 stars
Great film but DVD quality is appalling
Having seen this great film with live music during a Thames Silents festival, I was keen to obtain a copy of this film. Read more
Published 15 months ago by marcus0556
3.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Flawed DVD (Unrestored), But Great Film
This is one of the great films of history (and I can say that having seen it in film shown on screen by William K. Everson in New York in the 1960s). Read more
Published 21 months ago by H. C. Merritt
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wow! A classic in every defintion of the word
Well, let me first declare that this is a review of the Elstree Hill edition. As is so often the case with their products the prints are not of the first quality. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2011 by Bc V. Price
4.0 out of 5 stars
Splendid historical film but...
...sadly the transfer to DVD does not do it justice. With today's technology it could have been cleaned up considerably if not restored. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2011 by A. J. Stavsky
5.0 out of 5 stars
D.W.Griffith's Intolerance
The DVD cover says "Colossal Spectacle" and, if anything, it is an understatement. Films if this type simply aren't made any more at 2 and 3/4 hours it examines the deep subject of... Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2009 by Ms. Isobel M. Mackenzie
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Sun-Play of the Ages
For his follow-up to (and, some suggest, apology for) Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith was not content to merely make another epic but rolled four epics into one to create his... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2009 by Trevor Willsmer
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
