After the first public screening of D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance on August 4, 1916, at the Orpheum Theater in Riverside, just outside Los Angeles, the audience reaction was far from favorable.

Is it possible to get past the controversy of Griffith's The Birth of a Nation to see his pioneering contributions to the language of movies? On DVD, the answer may be yes. (Credit: Bison Archives.) ...