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{{Infobox person | bgcolour = red | name = D. W. Griffith | image = David Wark Griffith 1919.jpg | caption = D. W. Griffith in 1919 | birth_name = David Llewelyn Wark Griffith | birth_date = (1875-01-22)January 22, 1875 | birth_place = LaGrange, Kentucky,
United States | death_date = July 23, 1948(1948-07-23) (aged 73) | death_place = Hollywood, California,
United States | occupation = film director, film producer | years_active = 1908–1931 | spouse = Linda Arvidson (1906–1936)
Evelyn Baldwin (1936–1947) Griffith had so much ice, he look like the antarctic.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | years_active  = 1908–1931
 | spouse        = Linda Arvidson (1906–1936)<br />Evelyn Baldwin (1936–1947)
+Griffith had so much ice, he look like the antarctic.
-}}
-'''David Llewelyn Wark "D. W." Griffith''' (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director, mostly remembered as the director of the 1915 film ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' and the subsequent film ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'' (1916).<ref name=obit>{{cite news |coauthors= |title=David W. Griffith, Film Pioneer, Dies; Producer Of 'Birth Of Nation,' 'Intolerance' And 'America' Made Nearly 500 Pictures Set, Screen Standards Co-Founder Of United Artists Gave Mary Pickford And Fairbanks Their Starts. |url= |quote= |work=New York Times |date=July 24, 1948, Saturday |accessdate=July 21, 2007 }}</ref> He is closely associated with his frequent leading lady, [[Lillian Gish]].
-Griffith began making short films in 1908, and released his first [[feature-length|feature]], ''[[Judith of Bethulia]]'', in 1913. His film ''The Birth of a Nation'' made pioneering use of advanced camera and narrative techniques, and its immense popularity set the stage for the dominance of the feature-length film in the United States. The film has been extremely controversial for its negative depiction of African-Americans, White Unionists, the [[Reconstruction era (United States)|Reconstruction]], and its positive portrayal of [[slavery]] and the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The film was widely criticized and subject to boycotts by the [[NAACP]]. Griffith responded to his critics with ''Intolerance'', intended to show the history of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not a financial success but was praised by critics.
-Several of Griffith's later films, including ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919), ''[[Way Down East]]'' (1920) and ''[[Orphans of the Storm]]'' (1921) were also successful, but his high production, promotional, and [[Roadshow theatrical release|roadshow]] costs often made his ventures commercial failures. By the time of his final feature, ''[[The Struggle (film)|The Struggle]]'' (1931), he had made roughly 500 films.<ref name=obit/> For his pioneering techniques and early understanding of cinema, Griffith is considered among the most important figures in the history of the medium.
-==Early life and education==
-Griffith was born in [[Crestwood, Kentucky|Crestwood]], Kentucky to Mary Perkins and Jacob "Roaring Jake" Griffith, who were of Anglo-Welsh ancestry. His father served as a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] colonel in the [[American Civil War]] and was elected as a Kentucky state legislator. Griffith was raised as a [[Methodist]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_meth.html |title=Famous Methodists |publisher=Adherents.com |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> D.&nbsp;W.&nbsp; attended a one-room schoolhouse where he was taught by his older sister, Mattie Griffith.  After his father died when the boy was ten, the family struggled with poverty. When Griffith was 14, his mother abandoned the farm and moved the family to [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], where she opened a boarding house.  It failed shortly after. Griffith left high school to help support the family.  He first took a job in a dry goods store, and later in a bookstore.
-Griffith began his creative career as a playwright but met with little success; only one of his plays was accepted for a performance.<ref name="DWPlay">{{cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgriffith.htm |title=D. W. Griffith |publisher=Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> Griffith decided to become an actor, and appeared in many plays as an extra.<ref name="DWG">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pickford/peopleevents/p_griffith.html |title=American Experience &#124; Mary Pickford  |publisher=PBS |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
-==Film career==
-[[File:Walthall with DW Griiffith2.jpg|right|thumb|D. W. Griffith on a movie set with actor [[Henry B. Walthall|Henry Walthall]] and others]]
-In 1907, Griffith, still writing as a playwright, went to New York and attempted to sell a script to [[Edison Studios]] producer [[Edwin Porter]].<ref name="DWPlay" /> Porter rejected Griffith's script, but gave him an acting part in ''[[Rescued from an Eagle's Nest]]''.<ref name="DWPlay" /> Finding this attractive, Griffith explored the motion picture business. In 1908, Griffith accepted an acting job for the [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company]], commonly known as Biograph, in  New York City. At Biograph, Griffith's career in the film industry would change forever.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Griffith,_D.W./Biography/ |title=D.W. Griffith Biography |publisher=Starpulse.com |date=July 23, 1948 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> In 1908, Biograph's main director Wallace McCutcheon grew ill, and his son, Wallace McCutcheon, Jr., took his place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.victorian-cinema.net/mccutcheon.htm |title=Who's Who of Victorian Cinema |publisher=Victorian-cinema.net |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> McCutcheon, Jr., however, was not able to bring the studio success.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> As a result, the Biograph head Henry Marvin decided to give Griffith the position;<ref name="autogenerated1" /> and the young man made his first movie for the company, ''The Adventures of Dollie''.
-Biograph's  ''[[In Old California (1910 film)|In Old California]]'' (1910) was the first film shot in [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], California.  Influenced by the Italian feature film ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914), Griffith was convinced that feature films were commercially viable. He produced and directed the Biograph film ''[[Judith of Bethulia]]'' (1914), one of the earliest feature films to be produced in the United States. At the time, Biograph believed that longer features were not viable. According to actress [[Lillian Gish]], "[Biograph] thought that a movie that long would hurt [the audience's] eyes".{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
-Because of company resistance to his goals, and his cost overruns on the film (it cost US$30,000 dollars to produce), Griffith left Biograph.  He took his stock company of actors with him and joined the Mutual Film Corporation.  He formed a studio with the Majestic Studio manager Harry Aitken;<ref name= Aitken>{{cite web|url=http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/dwgriffith.htm |title=D. W. Griffith: Hollywood Independent |publisher=Cobbles.com |date=June 26, 1917 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> it became known as Reliance-Majestic Studios (and was later renamed Fine Arts Studio).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/finearts.htm |title=Fine Arts Studio |publisher=Employees.oxy.edu |date=June 9, 1917 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> His new production company became an autonomous production unit partner in [[Triangle Film Corporation]] along with [[Thomas H. Ince|Thomas Ince]] and [[Keystone Studios|Keystone Studios']] [[Mack Sennett]]; the Triangle Film Corporation was headed by Griffith's partner Harry Aitken, who was released from the Mutual Film Corporation,<ref name=Aitken/> and his brother Roy.
-[[File:Birth of a Nation (title screen).jpg|thumb|right|Title screen from ''Birth of a Nation''.]]
-Through [[Reliance-Majestic Studios]], Griffith produced ''[[The Birth of a Nation|The Clansman]]'' (1915), which would later be known as ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]''.
-Historically, ''The Birth of a Nation'' was the first ''blockbuster''. It is considered important by film historians as one of the first [[feature length]] American films (most previous films had been less than one hour long), and it changed the industry's standard in a way still influential today.<ref>[http://www.moviejustice.com/vault/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=4&item_id=27 MJ Movie Reviews – Birth of a Nation, The (1915) by Dan DeVore<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It was enormously popular, breaking box office records, but aroused controversy due to its depiction of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]], the [[Ku Klux Klan]], and [[race relations]] in the Civil War and the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction era]]. Like its source material, [[Thomas Dixon, Jr.]]'s 1905 novel ''[[The Clansman]]'', it depicts Southern pre-Civil War slavery as benign, the enfranchisement of [[freedmen]] as a corrupt [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] plot, and the Ku Klux Klan as a band of heroes restoring the rightful order. This view of the era was popular at the time, and was endorsed by historians of the [[Dunning School]] for decades, although it met with strong criticism from the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] and other groups. The NAACP attempted to stop showings of the film; while they were successful in some cities, it was shown widely and became the most successful box office attraction of its time. "They lost track of the money it made", [[Lillian Gish]] once remarked in a [[Kevin Brownlow]] interview.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
-Among the people who profited by the film was [[Louis B. Mayer]], who bought the rights to distribute ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' in [[New England]]. With the money he made, he was able to begin his career as a producer that culminated in the creation of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] studios.
-[[File:D W Griffith.jpeg|thumb|left|Griffith at a rolltop desk, c.&nbsp;1925]]
-After seeing the film, which was filled with action and violence, audiences in some major northern cities rioted over the film's racial content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_birth.html |title=The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . The Birth of a Nation |publisher=PBS |date=March 21, 1915 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
-In his next film, ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'', Griffith believed he was responding to critics.  He portrayed the effects of intolerance in four different historical periods: the [[Battle of Opis|Fall of Babylon]]; the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]]; the events surrounding the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] (during religious persecution of French [[Huguenot]]s); and a modern story. During its release ''Intolerance'' was not a financial success; although it had good box office turn-outs, the film did not bring in enough profits to cover the lavish road show that accompanied it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/7_dwg_2.htm |title="Griffith's 20 Year Record", '&#39;Variety'&#39; (September 25, 1928), as edited by David Pierce for '&#39;The Silent Film Bookshelf,'&#39; on line |publisher=Cinemaweb.com |date=September 5, 1928 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> Griffith put a huge budget into the film's production, which could not be recovered in its box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/new/film.nsf/reviews/intolerance |title= Intolerance Movie Review |publisher=Contactmusic.com |date=May 29, 2011 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref>[[File:Billy Bitzer D W Griffith 1920.jpg|thumb|right|Cameraman G. W. "Billy" Bitzer and director D. W. Griffith on location in the snow filming "Way Down East" (Griffith, 1920). Bitzer stands behind a Pathé camera.]]
-When his production partnership was dissolved in 1917, Griffith went to [[Artcraft]] (part of [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]), then to [[First National]] (1919–1920). At the same time he founded [[United Artists]], together with [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Mary Pickford]], and [[Douglas Fairbanks]]. At United Artists, Griffith continued to make films, but never could achieve box office grosses as high as either ''The Birth of a Nation'' or ''Intolerance.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/griffith_d.html |title=American Masters . D.W. Griffith |publisher=PBS |date=December 29, 1998 |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
-Griffith was also a producer on the 1915 movie ''[[Martyrs of the Alamo]].''
-==Later film career==
-[[File:Gish and Barthelmess Broken Blossoms.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Broken Blossoms]]'']]
-Though [[United Artists]] survived as a company, Griffith's association with it was short-lived.  While some of his later films did well at the box office, commercial success often eluded him. Griffith features from this period include ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919), ''[[Way Down East]]'' (1920), ''[[Orphans of the Storm]]'' (1921), ''[[Dream Street (film)|Dream Street]]'' (1921), ''[[One Exciting Night]]'' (1922) and ''[[America (1924 film)|America]]'' (1924). Of these, the first three were successes at the box office.<ref>{{cite news|title=Last Dissolve|date=August 2, 1948|work=Time Magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888442,00.html|accessdate=August 14, 2008}}</ref> Griffith was forced to leave United Artists after ''[[Isn't Life Wonderful]]'' (1924) failed at the box office.
-On 29 March 1929, at the bungalow of [[Mary Pickford]] at [[United Artists]] brought together Pickford, [[Douglas Fairbanks]], [[Charles Chaplin]], [[Norma Talmadge]], [[Gloria Swanson]], [[John Barrymore]], [[Dolores del Río]] and Griffith to speak on the radio show ''The Dodge Brothers Hour'' to prove he could meet the challenge of talking movies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ramon|first=David|title=Dolores del Río|publisher=Clío|year=1997|pages= |isbn= 968-6932-35-6}}</ref>
-He returned to his job as a director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gildasattic.com/dwgriffith.html |title=D. W. Griffith (1875–1948) |publisher=Gildasattic.com |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> Griffith made a part-talkie ''[[Lady of the Pavements]]'' (1929) and only two full-sound films, ''[[Abraham Lincoln (film)|Abraham Lincoln]]'' (1930) and ''[[The Struggle (film)|The Struggle]]'' (1931). Neither was successful, and he never made another film.
-In 1936, director [[Woody Van Dyke]], who had worked as Griffith's apprentice on ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]],'' asked Griffith to help him shoot the famous earthquake sequence for ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]'', but did not give him any film credit.  Starring  [[Clark Gable]], [[Jeanette MacDonald]], and [[Spencer Tracy]], it was the top-grossing film of the year.<ref>[[1936 in film]]</ref>
-[[File:DW Griffith star HWF.JPG|thumb|right|Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6535 Hollywood Blvd.]]
-In 1939, the producer [[Hal Roach]] hired Griffith to produce ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]'' (1939) and ''[[One Million B.C.]]'' (1940).  He wrote to Griffith, "I need help from the production side to select the proper writers, cast, etc. and to help me generally in the supervision of these pictures."<ref>Richard Lewis Ward, ''A History of the Hal Roach Studios'', p. 109-110. Southern Illinois University, 2005. ISBN 0-8093-2637-X. In his [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company|Biograph]] days, Griffith had directed two films with prehistoric settings: ''Man's Genesis'' (1912), and ''Brute Force'' (1913).</ref> Although Griffith eventually disagreed with Roach over the production and parted, Roach later insisted that some of the scenes in the completed film were directed by Griffith. This would make the film the final production in which Griffith was actively involved. But, cast members' accounts recall Griffith directing only the [[screen test]]s and costume tests. When Roach advertised the film in late 1939 with Griffith listed as producer, Griffith asked that his name be removed.<ref>Ward, p. 110.</ref>
-Mostly forgotten by movie goers of the time, Griffith was held in awe by many in the film industry.  In the mid-1930s, he was given a special Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  In 1946, he visited the film location of [[David O. Selznick]]'s epic western, ''Duel in the Sun,'' where some of his veteran actors, Lillian Gish, Lionel Barrymore, and Harry Carey, were cast members.  The actors found their old mentor's presence so disconcerting that he was asked to cut short his visit in order that filming could resume.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
-==Death==
-Griffith was discovered unconscious in the lobby at the [[Knickerbocker Hotel (Los Angeles)|Knickerbocker Hotel]] in Los Angeles, where he had been living alone.  He died of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] on July 23, 1948, at 3:42 PM on the way to a Hollywood hospital.<ref name=obit/> A large public service was held in his honor at the Hollywood Masonic Temple, but few stars came to pay their last respects. He is buried at Mount Tabor Methodist Church Graveyard in [[Centerfield, Kentucky|Centerfield]], Kentucky.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1744 |title=D.W. Griffith (1875–1948) – Find A Grave Memorial |publisher=Findagrave.com |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref> In 1950, The [[Directors Guild of America]] provided a stone and bronze monument for his gravesite.
-==Legacy==
-[[File:Stamp US 1975 10c Griffith.jpg|thumb|right|Stamp issued by the [[United States Postal Service]] commemorating D.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;Griffith]]
-Motion picture legend [[Charlie Chaplin]] called Griffith "The Teacher of us All". This sentiment was widely shared. Filmmakers as diverse as [[John Ford]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alfredhitchcock.wordpress.com/lesson-2/|title=Pure Cinema|publisher=http://.wordpress.com/|accessdate=October 18, 2012}}</ref>  [[Orson Welles]], [[Lev Kuleshov]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flickeralley.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=43|title=LANDMARKS OF EARLY SOVIET FILM|accessdate=October 18, 2012}}</ref> [[Jean Renoir]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biography.yourdictionary.com/jean-renoir|title=Jean Renoir Biography |publisher=http://biography.yourdictionary.com|accessdate=October 18, 2012}}</ref> [[Cecil B. DeMille]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-06/entertainment/ca-39_1_intolerance|title=MOVIE REVIEW : Restored 'Intolerance' Launches Festival of Preservation |publisher=http://articles.latimes.com|accessdate=October 18, 2012}}</ref> [[King Vidor]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/198681%7C94180/King-Vidor/|title=Overview for King Vidor |publisher=http://www.tcm.com|accessdate=October 18, 2012}}</ref> [[Victor Fleming]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cineaste.com/articles/emvictor-fleming-an-american-movie-masterem|title=Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master|accessdate= April 24, 2013}}</ref> [[Raoul Walsh]],<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Rj2uMkfjDAgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=raoul+walsh+the+true+adventures+of+hollywood's+legendary+director&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Yyd3UYmXIejY7Aaz_oCoBw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=raoul%20walsh%20the%20true%20adventures%20of%20hollywood's%20legendary%20director&f=false|title=Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director|accessdate= April 24, 2013}}</ref>  [[Carl Theodor Dreyer]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://matineeclassics.com/celebrities/directors/carl_dreyer/details|title=Matinee Classics - Carl Dreyer Biography & Filmography|publisher=matineeclassics.com|accessdate=October 9, 2012}}</ref> [[Sergei Eisenstein]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leninimports.com/sergei_eisenstein.html|title=Sergei Eisenstein - Biography|publisher=leninimports.com|accessdate=October 9, 2012}}</ref> and [[Stanley Kubrick]] have spoken of their respect for the director of ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]].'' Orson Welles said "I have never really hated Hollywood except for its treatment of D. W. Griffith. No town, no industry, no profession, no art form owes so much to a single man."<ref>[http://matineeclassics.com/celebrities/directors/dw_griffith/details/ D.W. Griffith]</ref>
-Griffith seems to have been the first to understand how certain film techniques could be used to create an expressive language; it gained popular recognition with the release of his ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' (1915). His early shorts, such as Biograph's ''[[The Musketeers of Pig Alley]]'' (1912), the first "gangster film," show that Griffith's attention to camera placement and lighting heightened mood and tension. In making ''Intolerance,'' the director opened up new possibilities for the medium, creating a form that seems to owe more to music than to traditional narrative.
-[[File:DWGriffith HistMarker.JPG|thumb|left|California Historical Marker marking the site of D. W. Griffith's movie ranch in [[Sylmar, Los Angeles]]]]
-*In the 1951 episode "The Birth of the Movies" of the TV series ''[[Philco Television Playhouse]]'' events from his film career were depicted. Griffith was played by [[John Newland]].
-*In 1953, the [[Directors Guild of America]] instituted the D.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;Griffith Award, its highest honor.
-*1975, Griffith was honored on a ten-cent postage stamp by the United States.
-*On December&nbsp;15, 1999, DGA President [[Jack Shea (director)|Jack Shea]] and the DGA National Board announced that the award would be renamed as the "DGA Lifetime Achievement Award."  Although Griffith was extremely talented, they felt his film ''The Birth of a Nation'' had "helped foster intolerable racial stereotypes," and that it was better not to have the top award in his name.
-*In 2008 the [[Hollywood Heritage Museum]] hosted a screening of Griffith's earliest films, to commemorate the centennial since his start in film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hollywoodheritage.org/events.html |title=Hollywood Heritage |publisher=Hollywood Heritage |accessdate=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
-*On January&nbsp;22, 2009 the Oldham History Center in [[La Grange, Kentucky|La Grange]], Kentucky opened a 15&nbsp;seat theatre in Griffith's honor. The theatre features a library of available Griffith films.
-==Film preservation==
-D.W. Griffith has five films preserved in the United States [[National Film Registry]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." These are ''[[Lady Helen's Escapade]]'' (1909), ''[[A Corner in Wheat]]'' (1909), ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' (1915), ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages]]'' (1916), and ''[[Broken Blossoms]]'' (1919).
-==Filmography==
-{{Main|D. W. Griffith filmography}}
-==See also==
-{{Portal|Biography}}
-*[[D. W. Griffith House]]
-*[[List of Freemasons|List of Notable Freemasons]]
-==References==
-{{Reflist}}
-==Further reading==
-*David W. Menefee, ''Sweet Memories'' (Dallas, Texas: Menefee Publishing Inc., 2012)
-*Lillian Gish, ''The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me'' (Englewood, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1969)
-*Karl Brown, ''Adventures with D. W. Griffith'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973)
-*Richard Schickel, ''D. W. Griffith: An American Life'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984)
-*Robert M. Henderson, ''D. W. Griffith: His Life and Work'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972)
-*William M. Drew, ''D. W. Griffith's "Intolerance:" Its Genesis and Its Vision'' (Jefferson, New Jersey: McFarland & Company, 1986)
-*Kevin Brownlow, ''The Parade's Gone By'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968)
-*Seymour Stern, ''An Index to the Creative Work of D. W. Griffith'', (London: The British Film Institute, 1944–47)
-*David Robinson, ''Hollywood in the Twenties'' (New York: [[A. S. Barnes]] & Co, Inc., 1968)
-*Edward Wagenknecht and Anthony Slide, ''The Films of D. W. Griffith'' (New York: Crown, 1975)
-*William K. Everson, ''American Silent Film'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978)
-*Matthew Smith, "American Valkyries: [[Richard Wagner]], D. W. Griffith, and the Birth of Classical Cinema", in ''[[Modernism/modernity]]'' 15:2 ([http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/modernism-modernity/toc/mod15.2.html] April 2008), 221–42.
-*Iris Barry and Eileen Bowser, ''D. W. Griffith: American Film Master'' (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1965)
-*{{cite web
-  | last = Drew
-  | first = William M.
-  | title = D.W. Griffith (1875–1948)
-  | url=http://www.gildasattic.com/dwgriffith.html
-  | accessdate =July 31, 2007 }}
-==External links==
-{{commons category|David Wark Griffith}}
-* {{IMDb name|428}}
-*[http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/GriffithBib.html Bibliography of books and articles about Griffith] via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
-* [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=d.w.%20griffith%20AND%20mediatype%3Amovies Watch Griffith Public Domain Films at the Internet Archive]
-* [http://www.early-american-cinema.com/articles/griffith_tv.html "The Box in the Screen"] D.W. Griffith and television
-{{D. W. Griffith}}
-{{Persondata<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
-|NAME=Griffith, D.W.
-|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Griffith, David Llewelyn Wark (full name)
-|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American film director
-|DATE OF BIRTH=January 22, 1875
-|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[La Grange, Kentucky|La Grange]], Kentucky, United States
-|DATE OF DEATH=July 23, 1948
-|PLACE OF DEATH=Hollywood, California, United States
-}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, D. W.}}
-[[Category:American film producers]]
-[[Category:1875 births]]
-[[Category:1948 deaths]]
-[[Category:American Methodists]]
-[[Category:People from Oldham County, Kentucky]]
-[[Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky]]
-[[Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients]]
-[[Category:American film directors]]
-[[Category:American people of English descent]]
-[[Category:American people of Welsh descent]]
-[[Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California]]
-[[Category:Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage]]
-[[Category:Silent film directors]]
-[[Category:Western (genre) film directors]]
-[[Category:Burials in Kentucky]]
-[[Category:Short film directors]]
-[[Category:Neurological disease deaths in the United States]]