son that it now seems dated to modern audiences.
Griffith's next film, Intolerance, was a partial response to the negative reaction generated by the racial depictions of Birth of a Nation. Released in 1916, Intolerance cost $2.5 million to produce, an unheard of sum at the time. The script interweaves four different stories. One story was set in ancient Judea, one in Babylon, one during the French Revolution, and one during present day, and Griffith intercut between each, using elements from each to underline the universality of intolerance and the power of love. The film stars Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh, from Birth of a Nation, as well as Robert Harron, Constance Talmadge, and Bessie Love.
The complexity of its structure made the film unpopular with audiences. Brownlow writes, "This amazing picture was a commercial failure. It lost a great deal of money, but it telescoped what might otherwise have been years of slow, patient technical progress - and it sparked off one of the most exciting and concentrated creative eras in the history of art" (30)
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