Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

GazerRise Fantastic!

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

hubproject I found this a really good film that entertained me throughout. I won't get all dramatic like some that lie to review however it was good and I don't need to say anymore. I usually love this kind of film so it was a no brainier for me. I have watched it once on my own and once with my family enjoying the experience both times. I would truly recommend this film.

Dan1863Sickles Now that the controversy has died down and Nate Parker the film maker has been denounced and banished by the political elite, it's time to take a closer look at THE BIRTH OF A NATION as film entertainment.The story of slave hero Nat Turner should be feverish, explosive, and suspenseful. Instead it's dull, slow, and predictable. White people make promises, and don't keep them. Young Nat Turner learns to read, and soon discovers he is different from other slaves. The Bible seems to comfort him at first, but then it makes him mad. The slaves join him and fight bravely, but everyone dies at the end. Nothing is a surprise from start to finish, except how much screen time is taken up by panoramic picture postcard views of cotton fields and trees festooned with Spanish Moss.Nate Parker has made a very boring movie about a very complicated and charismatic man. It's sad that the only powerful action sequence in the entire film comes when Nat Turner's father beats down a slave patrol and escapes into the night, never to be seen again. That scene takes about two minutes of screen time, and then it's gone. Nothing Nat Turner himself ever does is half as compelling or convincing.Four stars for the film maker's courage in attempting to tell the story. It was a risky move -- and he sure paid the price.

hughman55 After hearing for most of my multi-decaded life that D. W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) was a pioneering masterpiece in the film world I finally watched it in 2009. Then I gave it a 1 star rating and wrote this in my IMDb review: "I find the intellectual airy fairy commentary in the 10's section of the reviews here to be disturbing. Frankly, I think you people should be ashamed of yourselves for promoting this disgraceful homage to slavery and murder. Slavery is at the very least murder of the soul. But we all know that was the least of it's offenses. "The Birth of a Nation" is a bad film because it promotes a reprehensible ideology. The merits of it's production values are irrelevant. And not that it should make a difference but for the record, I am a southern white male." Readers at IMDb have rewarded me with a 46/92 rating. What a surprise. What we have here 100 years later in the new "The Birth of a Nation" (2016), finally, is the truth about slavery. Even "12 Years a Slave" was too cowardly to go where Nate Turner has gone. THAT film, "12 Years a Slave", would have you believe that some slave owners were benevolent. Really... This film is unflinching in its accurate portrayal of what slavery in America was like. It is stomach turning to watch the horrific beatings, rapes, torture, and just general bondage of people; and what other choice could there possibly be? Not showing it and pretending it didn't happen? Then add that it was conducted as routine commerce. Yes, other humans, slaves, were bought and sold; and there were no legal restrictions on what you could do to that person. These Crimes Against Humanity were done in the name of God, Christianity, and the U.S. Constitution. In the 40's when it was Hitler and the Holocaust we prosecuted and executed those responsible. Here, we just call it a difference of opinion and "states rights". Ask yourself this: is it possible to be a Christian in America during the slave holding years and, own, beat, and rape, other people because they have a different skin color than you; and then when you die be welcomed by God into Heaven? Just wondering. The performances by Nate Turner, Amie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, and others, are sensational for their commitment to authenticity. Actors are notorious for weakening their portrayals by forcing a sympathetic facet into the inventory of an utterly unsympathetic character. Kind of like trying to show the human side of Hitler. Armie Hammer does not fall into that trap. I knew he was in this film but I had trouble finding him only to discover that he was the behind the unrepentant face of a vicious slave owner with zero redeeming qualities. That takes guts and talent. Nate Turner is also good. His only weakness is that he is wearing so many hats in this production: lead actor, director, producer, screenwriter, etc. Being in that position is tough and he does it well. But he does a better job as director for his fellow cast members. His character, Nat Turner, is lynched in the end; and apparently with the many portrayals of lynchings inventoried in American cinema over the last 100 years plus, it has taken an African American producer/director/writer/actor to present that horrifying event from the perspective of the man being lynched/murdered. It is powerful and about damn time. Apart from this film's well crafted and honest depiction of the worst chapter in American history, it has served to magnetically draw out current day racists. This film turns race baiting on its head by telling the whole truth about slavery and drawing out racists who cannot handle it. Need proof? Read some of the reviews here with 6 stars or less. What's most amazing is that these reviewers are not even ashamed of themselves. So, racists? Unload! I'm looking for a worse than 46/92 here. Come on. I know you can do it.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of an American boy of African descent, living in the days when there were still slavery in the United States of America. He becomes a preacher after being taken under the wings of the master's wife. As he goes around and preaches to other slaves, he witnesses indescribable torture and abuse."The Birth of a Nation" is not directly related to the founding of the country, but I see why it's named as such. Without the people who worked super hard under inhuman conditions, the country would not be where it is today. It is a profoundly powerful story. The abuse and tortures of slavery is almost too​ painful to be touched upon, even though hundreds of years have passed. The protagonist finds God, but gradually questions his faith when he witnesses the horrific crimes against humanity. The story touches me. The cinematography and lighting effects are well done as well, making this film an artistically pleasing, but emotionally tough film to watch.