This is a LaserDisc Edition of the epic teens silent film drama, INTOLERANCE, released in 1916 by Triangle Distributing Corp. and directed by D.W. Griffith. Widely considered the greatest American silent film of all time, this 4-part epic tells the story of a poor young woman (Mae Marsh), separated by prejudice from her husband (Robert Harron) and baby, is interwoven with three other tales of intolerance from throughout history. The cast includes Lillian Gish, F.A. Turner, Sam De Grasse, Mary Alden, Miriam Cooper, Walter Long, Alfred Page, Elmer Clifton, Constance Talmadge, Seena Owen, Ralph Lewis, and Tom Wilson.

Released in 1991 by Image Entertainment, this LaserDisc edition features a restored and reconstructed fine grain color-tinted archival master prints from the famous Blackhawks Films Collection. On two double-sided LaserDiscs, it has a run-time of 178 minutes. Both sides of both discs, as well as the outer cardboard sleeve (which opens to reveal information, etc.) are in "Like New" condition. The sleeve has been protected inside of a clear mylar jacket.

This "Collector's Edition" includes the following exclusive features:

  • Color-tinted to the original 1916 specifications;
  • Digital stereo organ score by Gaylord Carter;
  • Visual Essay by film historian and D.W. Griffith expert Russell Merritt, including:
    • Extra footage cut from the original release;
    • Copyright registration frames;
    • Publicity materials; and
    • Background and production photographs

Intolerance is a 1916 epic silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. Subtitles include Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages and A Sun-Play of the Ages. Regarded as one of the most influential films of the silent era (though it received mixed reviews at the time), the three-and-a-half-hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines, each separated by several centuries: (1) a contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption, (2) a Judean story: Christ's mission and death, (3) a French story: the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, and (4) a Babylonian story: the fall of the Babylonian Empire to Persia in 539 BC. Each story had its own distinctive color tint in the original print and the scenes are linked by shots of a figure representing Eternal Motherhood (as portrayed by Lillian Gish), rocking a cradle.

 

Griffith chose to explore the theme of intolerance partly in response to his previous film, The Birth of a Nation (1915), being criticized by the NAACP and other groups for perpetuating racial stereotypes and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan. Intolerance was not, however, an apology, as Griffith felt he had nothing to apologize for; in numerous interviews, Griffith made clear that the film was a rebuttal to his critics and he felt that they were, in fact, the intolerant ones. In the years following its release, Intolerance would strongly influence European film movements. In 1989, it was one of the first films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.