Editing D. W. Griffith (section)

{{short description|American filmmaker (1875–1948)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = D. W. Griffith
| image         = David Wark Griffith portrait.jpg
| caption       = Griffith in 1922
| birth_name    = David Wark Griffith
| birth_date    = {{birth date|mf=yes|1875|01|22}}
| birth_place   = [[Oldham County, Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1948|07|23|1875|01|22}}
| death_place   = [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Mount Tabor Methodist Church Graveyard,<br />[[Centerfield, Kentucky]], U.S.
| occupation    = {{hlist|Film director|screenwriter|producer}}
| years_active  = 1895–1931
| spouse        = {{plainlist|* {{marriage|[[Linda Arvidson]]|1906|1936|end=divorced}}<ref name="UPI" >UPI (July 23, 1948) [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1948/07/23/DW-Griffith-73-film-pioneer-dies/1121532273956/ "D.W. Griffith, 73, film pioneer, dies".] United Press. Retrieved January 11, 2021.</ref>
* {{marriage|Evelyn Baldwin|1936|1947|end=divorced}}<ref name="UPI" />}}
| signature     = Autograph D. W. Griffith.svg
}}

'''David Wark Griffith''' (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture,<ref>{{cite book |title=D.W. Griffith |url=https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/D/D.-W.-Griffith}}</ref> he pioneered many aspects of [[film editing]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Changes in Film Style in the 1910s {{!}} wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu |url=https://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/exhibits/harry-roy-aitken-papers/changes-film-style-1910s |access-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121191219/https://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/exhibits/harry-roy-aitken-papers/changes-film-style-1910s |url-status=dead }}</ref> and expanded the art of the [[narrative film]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Beginnings of Film Narrative |url=https://content.ucpress.edu/chapters/10054001.ch01.pdf |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[University of California Press]]}}</ref>

To modern audiences, Griffith is known primarily for directing the 1915 film ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]''. One of the most financially successful films of all time and considered a landmark by film historians, it has attracted much controversy for its degrading portrayals of African Americans, its glorification of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], and support for the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. The film led to riots in several major cities all over the United States and the [[NAACP]] attempted to have it banned. Griffith made his next film ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'' (1916) as an answer to critics, who he felt unfairly maligned his work.

Together with [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Mary Pickford]], and [[Douglas Fairbanks]], Griffith founded the studio [[United Artists]] in 1919 with the goal of enabling actors and directors to make films on their own terms, as opposed to the terms of commercial studios. Several of Griffith's later films were successful, including ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919), ''[[Way Down East]]'' (1920), and ''[[Orphans of the Storm]]'' (1921), but the high costs he incurred for production and promotion often led to commercial failure. He had made roughly 500 films by the time of ''[[The Struggle (1931 film)|The Struggle]]'' (1931), his final feature, and all but three were completely silent.