Griffith, D. W. (1875-1948), was a pioneer American motion-picture director and producer. Between 1908 and 1912, he developed basic strategies that helped turn filmmaking into a popular narrative art. His principal contributions included his skillful methods of editing (linking scenes within a film). His major period as a filmmaker extended from 1913 to 1924.
David Wark Griffith was born on Jan. 22, 1875, near Crestwood, Kentucky. He acted in stage plays and managed stage companies before entering the motion-picture industry in 1908. Griffith’s most famous film was the historical spectacle The Birth of a Nation (1915), which deals with the Civil War and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. His next film, Intolerance (1916), was a lengthy epic covering four historical periods. It offered even more spectacle, but was less successful with audiences than The Birth of a Nation. His other major silent films include Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), and Orphans of the Storm (1921). Griffith directed two sound films, Abraham Lincoln (1930) and The Struggle (1931). In 1919, Griffith cofounded United Artists studio with the actors Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Griffith died on July 23, 1948.
