19 FABER SILENTS
Intolerance Starring: Constance Talmadge, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron and Lillian Gish Director: D. W. Griffith Production Company: Wark Producing Corporation USA, 1916
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. W. Griffith’s revolutionary shooting and editing techniques, coupled with its epic plot, have made Intolerance one of the most extraordinary and influential films ever made. Four stories with a shared theme of intolerance are inter-cut: the destruction of Babylon, the massacre of the Huguenots, the crucifixtion of Jesus and a contemporary (1915) story of social injustice involving a daring last-minute rescue attempt. The set of Belshazzar’s Palace was one of the most spectacular ever seen on film.
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avis draws on a large orchestra for the musical delineation of each narrative. The modern story mainly uses a small theatre orchestra, the Renaissance episode adds recorder and guitar, the biblical story has elements of Baroque style, and the music for Babylon is lush and exotic. All the episodes are underpinned by a chorale theme representing intolerance.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION Duration: 167 minutes 61 Players: 3(I+II=picc+recorder [opt].III=picc+afl).3(II=bob. III=ca).3(II=Ebcl.III=bcl).2.cbsn - 4.3(III=flhn).3.l - timp - perc(3) - harp - banjo(=gtr) - pno(=cel) - organ(=pno+cel) - strings (min 88653)
‘With its gut-wrenching score, an epic story set in four epochs, emotions on a vast melodramatic scale and a beautifully tinted print, the evening made me think of how pallid most movie-going is nowadays.’ New Statesman, 1988
st the greate it s p a h r e p n ‘... r made. I movie eve e the source one can se the major f of most o of the screen.’ traditions r, 1980 New Yorke
FILM PRINT INFORMATION 35mm print and DCP available from Cohen Film Collection (N. America); DCP and Digibeta available from Park Circus (Rest of the World)
Available Prints 35mm PAL DVD NTSC DVD DCP Digibeta