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Chapter 03: D. W. Griffith and the Development of Narrative Form
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. D. W. Griffith
a. did more than any other individual to establish the language of cinema.
b. was considered “the man who invented Hollywood.”
c. turned an aesthetically inconsequential medium of entertainment into a fully articulated art form.
d. was films’ first great technical master.
e. All of the above are true.
f. None of the above are true.
2. During D. W. Griffith’s youth
a. his father was a former Civil War hero.
b. he rejected his southern heritage for a more “sophisticated” world view.
c. he went to college in Kentucky where he studied to be a lawyer.
d. he was raised as a wealthy southern aristocrat.
e. Only c and d are true.
f. All of the above are true.
3. Griffith first entered the world of performing arts as a
a. scenarist. d. stunt man.
b. leader of a vaudeville troupe. e. stage hand.
c. traveling actor. f. none of the above
4. Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest
a. was Griffith’s first film as a director. d. was a great hit for Vitagraph.
b. was Griffith’s first film as an actor. e. All of the above are true.
c. was Griffith’s first produced play. f. None of the above are true.
5. The first company for which Griffith worked as a director was
a. Edison. d. Mutograph.
b. Biograph. e. Essanay.
c. Vitagraph. f. none of the above
6. Griffith’s long-term cinematographer who collaborated on all of the director’s important innovations
was
a. W. K. L. Dickson. d. Donald Crisp.
b. Wallace McCutcheon. e. E. B. Koopman.
c. Billy Bitzer. f. none of the above
7. The mutoscope
a. was invented by Edwin S. Porter.
b. was identical to Edison’s kinetoscope in every way.
c. was Edison’s update of the kinetoscope.
d. circumvented the Edison patents with a new design.
e. formed the basis of the Vitagraph company.
f. none of the above
8. The total number of films Griffith directed for Biograph is roughly
a. 50–100. d. 250–350.
b. 100–150. e. 450–500.
c. 150–200. f. over 500.
9. D. W. Griffith’s cinematic innovations
a. were developed theoretically before being put into action on the screen.
b. were often based on dramatic analogies between the stage and screen.
c. were developed with a great sense of self-consciousness and clarity of purpose.
d. rejected the conventions of the Victorian era novel.
e. were really just a synthesis of techniques developed by others before him.
f. all of the above
10. Which of the following was NOT an influence on Griffith’s development of the cinematic language?
a. narrative devices from Victorian novels
b. theoretical analysis of the possibilities of cinematic form
c. conventions of the contemporary theater
d. the work of Italian director, Pastrone
e. the films of Edwin S. Porter
f. All of the above were influences.
11. The use of the “cut-in” in The Greaser’s Gauntlet was for the purpose of
a. changing to a reverse angle.
b. cutting to a new scene.
c. introducing a new character.
d. heightening the emotion of the scene.
e. showing the object the character is thinking about.
f. None of the above; it was completely arbitrary.
12. Griffith’s first major innovation at Biograph was
a. parallel action.
b. alternating shots of different scales within a scene.
c. the flashback.
d. the 180-degree rule.
e. chiaroscuro lighting.
f. none of the above
13. All of the following are Griffith/Bitzer techniques EXCEPT
a. the iris shot.
b. the split screen.
c. the flashback.
d. the soft-focus shot.
e. the close-up.
f. All of the above are Griffith/Bitzer techniques.
14. Griffith’s “object of attention” technique refers to
a. a cut to a close-up.
b. parallel action without the benefit of a chase.
c. a cut from a character looking off-screen to a shot of what that character sees.
d. isolating an object from the background to give it greater importance.
e. using lighting to guide the audience’s eyes through the composition.
f. none of the above
15. The technique Griffith pioneered in After Many Years was
a. the close-up. d. the flashback.
b. the “object of attention.” e. accelerated montage.
c. subjective camera. f. none of the above
16. The first film Griffith directed that he structured according to the principle of triangulated or three-way
parallel action was
a. The Lonely Villa. d. A Corner in Wheat.
b. After Many Years. e. The Last-Minute Rescue.
c. The Birth of a Nation. f. none of the above
17. Accelerated montage as practiced by Griffith was
a. alternating shots of varying scale.
b. lengthening shots as the film builds to a visual climax.
c. intercutting between two parallel scenes.
d. a camera movement technique.
e. alternating shots of shorter and shorter duration.
f. none of the above
18. Of the following, who was LEAST enthusiastic about Griffith’s cinematic innovations?
a. movie audiences
b. other filmmakers
c. the actors he worked with
d. his bosses at Biograph who were making a fortune on his films
e. critics
f. All of the above were equally enthusiastic.
19. In his work with actors, Griffith
a. built a stock company, many of whom went on to become great stars.
b. insisted on rigorous rehearsals just as for a stage performance.
c. paid far more than the industry standard.
d. encouraged a subtlety of expression that distinguished him from other directors.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
20. The most important contributions made by Griffith and Bitzer to intraframe narrative
a. was inventing the panning shot.
b. was accelerated montage.
c. occurred after Griffith moved his company to Southern California.
d. were all developed within the first two years of their collaboration.
e. had relatively little influence on other filmmakers until a decade after their introduction.
f. none of the above
21. Griffith and Bitzer created camera movement
a. by using vehicles such as cars and trains.
b. in order to make the audience a more active participant in the scene.
c. by building a rolling elevator tower for Intolerance.
d. to capture a sense of building tension in The Lonedale Operator.
e. to break down the notion of the frame as fixed, as in a proscenium arch.
f. all of the above
22. Griffith and Bitzer discovered that using camera angle and placement to create depth in a shot
a. could be used to create dramatic emphasis.
b. was not an important factor in terms of characterization.
c. was less dramatically effective than camera movement.
d. could be used to confuse the audience.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
23. The Griffith gangster film shot on location in the streets of New York and considered a forerunner of
neorealism was
a. The New York Hat. d. After Many Years.
b. The Lonedale Operator. e. The Massacre.
c. The Musketeers of Pig Alley. f. none of the above
24. Griffith’s desire for increased film length was driven by
a. a desire to make more money since films were sold by the foot.
b. the studio’s pushing him to make films longer than two reels to compete with the independents.
c. clear audience demand for longer films.
d. a desire to see film develop as a serious art form by taking on bigger subjects.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
25. The Italian superpectacle Quo vadis? influenced Griffith to make
a. The Lonely Villa. d. Judith of Bethulia.
b. The Lonedale Operator. e. The Adventures of Dollie.
c. The New York Hat. f. none of the above
26. Judith of Bethulia
a. was two reels in length.
b. was produced in response to the success of Queen Elizabeth.
c. featured a full-scale reconstruction of the town of Bethulia.
d. was completed on schedule and under budget.
e. was filmed on location in the Middle East.
f. none of the above
27. Judith of Bethulia
a. only featured a handful of the many innovations Griffith pioneered at Biograph.
b. features crowd and battle scenes at the expense of personal drama.
c. is a simple story told on an epic scale.
d. was not particularly accurate in terms of period detail.
e. was an epic, but not artistically distinguished or creatively challenging.
f. none of the above
28. Griffith’s move to Mutual
a. meant the end of his collaboration with Bitzer.
b. meant giving up his stock company of actors.
c. was motivated by a desire to earn more money.
d. was motivated by a desire for more creative freedom.
e. both a and b
f. none of the above
29. The advertisement D. W. Griffith took out for himself contains all of the following EXCEPT
a. he takes credit for inventing the close-up, the long shot, and the fade out.
b. he takes credit for all the great Biograph successes by specific title.
c. he predicts the quick demise of Biograph without him as a director.
d. he takes credit for founding the modern technique of the motion picture art.
e. All of the above are in the ad.
f. Griffith never took out an advertisement like the one described.
30. D. W. Griffith made The Birth of a Nation for
a. Biograph.
b. Producer Adolph Zukor.
c. Mutual/Reliance Majestic.
d. his own independent production company.
e. United Artists.
f. none of the above.
31. The Birth of a Nation was based on
a. an original idea by Griffith.
b. an original screenplay by Frank E. Woods.
c. a true story of the Civil War.
d. a play by Thomas E. Dixon.
e. a novel by Griffith’s wife, Linda Arvidson.
f. none of the above
32. The Birth of a Nation
a. was completed within its original budget of $40,000.
b. was produced from a detailed continuity script.
c. had a rehearsal schedule that was longer than most feature films’ shooting schedules.
d. had only a single investor, Harry Aitken, who became rich from the proceeds.
e. was based on a story given to Griffith by the author in exchange for a percentage of the profits.
f. None of the above is true.
33. In The Birth of a Nation
a. most scenes consist of only a few camera set-ups.
b. Griffith worked from a carefully prepared set of storyboards and shot lists.
c. Griffith was not conscious of the fact that he was making “the greatest picture ever made.”
d. only Griffith knew the entire story during shooting.
e. very little of the action, effects, or camera work was improvised on set.
f. none of the above
34. The Birth of a Nation
a. contained far more shots than a foreign spectacle film of similar length.
b. was the longest and most expensive American film ever made when it was released.
c. was refused distribution by all existing exchanges because of the length.
d. returned more than fifteen million dollars in box-office receipts.
e. had a specially commissioned score by a leading film composer.
f. all of the above
35. The Birth of a Nation
a. was initially condemned by President Woodrow Wilson for its racism.
b. was universally panned by critics who felt its cinematic techniques were outdated.
c. was seen by very few people when it first came out as a result of bans and protests.
d. was applauded by the NAACP.
e. was the first film ever presented in a special White House screening.
f. none of the above
36. Griffith’s response to the attacks on The Birth of a Nation was to
a. write a pamphlet called The Rise and Fall of Free Speech in America.
b. issue a public apology to African Americans for making a film with racist content.
c. directly address the charges of racism that were leveled at the film.
d. begin libel suits against his critics.
e. do nothing since the attacks never bothered him as long as the film was popular.
f. None of the above are true.
37. The racist ideology of The Birth of a Nation
a. was a relatively unique perspective not shared by many of Griffith’s contemporaries.
b. was subtle and easy to miss for many audiences.
c. was ignored by the NAACP and other early civil rights groups.
d. was conveyed through an otherwise accurate recounting of history.
e. was an impediment to the box-office success of the film.
f. none of the above
38. The historical source material for the contention in The Birth of a Nation that during Reconstruction
there was an attempt to crush “the White South under the heel of the Black South” comes from
a. the play, The Clansmen.
b. Frank Wood’s scenario for the film.
c. President Wilson’s book, History of the American People.
d. Griffith’s imagination.
e. historical writings from the Civil War period.
f. none of the above
39. The controversy over The Birth of a Nation
a. surprised Griffith, who never expected a hostile reaction to his film.
b. caused Griffith to go back and cut several of the most blatantly racist scenes.
c. resulted in the film being denied exhibition licenses in several states.
d. was instrumental in the modern rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.
e. was led by historians, academics, and intellectuals.
f. all of the above
40. According to The Birth of a Nation, the seeds of the Civil War were sown by
a. southern slave owners.
b. abolitionists.
c. African slaves.
d. seventeenth-century New England slave traders.
e. Lincoln and the Republican Party.
f. none of the above
41. All of the following are true of the battle sequences in The Birth of a Nation EXCEPT
a. they are based on Matthew Brady’s war photographs.
b. the shots in the sequence vary radically in scale, perspective, and duration.
c. they are neatly contained in the second portion of the film.
d. they serve as both the opening and closing scenes of the film.
e. the lighting often comes from bursting shells and real flames.
f. All of the above are true.
42. Which of the following events is NOT seen in The Birth of a Nation?
a. Lincoln’s assassination d. Sherman’s march to the sea
b. Lincoln’s election e. the Battle of Petersburg
c. the burning of Atlanta f. All of the above are in the film.
43. Which of the following cinematic techniques are used in The Birth of a Nation?
a. composition in depth d. period accurate mise-en-scène
b. diagonal split screen e. the flashback
c. complex parallel editing f. all of the above
44. Which of the following racist episodes is NOT included in the widely released and currently circulated
versions of The Birth of a Nation?
a. a band of African American militia men terrorizing the Cameron family
b. a white woman committing suicide rather than submitting to the advances of Gus, a “renegade
negro”
c. African American politicians shown drinking, carousing, and leering at white women in the state
legislature
d. an epilogue suggesting the solution to the race problem in America is to send all black people to
Africa
e. mobs of freed slaves running amok through the white community committing all manner of crimes
f. all of the above
45. From a narrative perspective, the heroic force in The Birth of a Nation is
a. the Confederate army. d. the Reconstructionists.
b. the American government. e. the Ku Klux Klan.
c. Phil Stoneman. f. none of the above
46. Which of the following is NOT one of the four parallel actions that come together at the climax of The
Birth of a Nation?
a. the Klan riding to the rescue
b. African Americans rioting in the streets
c. Flora being pursued by Gus
d. African American militia men laying siege to the cabin containing Dr. Cameron, Margaret, and
Phil
e. Lynch attempting to rape Elsie Stoneman
f. all of the above, since five lines of action actually converge at the end of the film
47. All of the following are significant contributions made by The Birth of a Nation to the development of
motion picture art EXCEPT
a. a taste for the epic, melodramatic, and sentimental.
b. dynamic continuity cutting and moving camera work.
c. the emotionally evocative “subjective” intercut.
d. multiple story lines converging at narrative climax.
e. wide-screen composition.
f. all of the above
48. The broader cultural and industrial influence of The Birth of a Nation can be seen in
a. the fact that it was the first film to be widely acclaimed as a work of art.
b. establishing Hollywood’s preference for longer, sensational, and epic films.
c. helping to revive and expand the Ku Klux Klan.
d. marking the emergence of film as a potent social and political force.
e. both b and d
f. all of the above
49. In terms of the film’s public and critical reception, The Birth of a Nation
a. was greeted with nearly universal critical condemnation.
b. was not acclaimed as a creative masterpiece until many years after its release.
c. was widely reviled as racist and historically inaccurate.
d. was seen by more people in its first year of release than any other film in history.
e. both c and d
f. all of the above
50. Intolerance
a. was conceived from its very beginning when it was titled The Mother and the Law as an epic
production.
b. ultimately shows Griffith scaling back his cinematic ambitions.
c. was shot entirely on location because it would have been too costly to build the sets.
d. is narratively much simpler that The Birth of a Nation.
e. was conceived as a response to those who criticized The Birth of a Nation.
f. none of the above
51. Which of the following is NOT one of the four major story lines in Intolerance?
a. the French Revolution
b. the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
c. Cyrus in Ancient Babylon
d. the Crucifixion of Christ
e. The Mother and the Law
f. all of the above, as there are actually five story lines in Intolerance
52. In the production of Intolerance,
a. Griffith had to make do with only a few hundred extras, but he photographed them ingeniously to
look like an enormous crowd.
b. Griffith’s production costs were just over one million dollars.
c. Griffith had a difficult time raising the money to cover the initial budget.
d. Griffith built a full-scale replica of ancient Babylon.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
53. Intolerance
a. was a box-office success.
b. had a rough cut that originally ran for only three hours.
c. lost money, but Griffith still profited from the film.
d. had less ambitious production values than The Birth of a Nation.
e. both a and d
f. none of the above
54. In Intolerance
a. only two of the stories converge in the final climax.
b. there is a constant reference to a Robert Frost poem.
c. Griffith cuts between spatial but not temporal planes.
d. there is a recurring transitional image of wind blowing leaves in a tree.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
55. Griffith’s assistant directors on Intolerance included
a. Tod Browning. d. Thomas Ince.
b. Erich von Stroheim. e. both a and b
c. Mack Sennett. f. all of the above
56. Intolerance was released in all of the following versions EXCEPT
a. The Fall of Babylon sequence as a separate film.
b. the original eight-hour version (released in two parts).
c. The Mother and the Law story as a separate film.
d. one that ran for three-and-a-half hours.
e. None of the above were commercially released.
f. All of the above were commercially released.
57. Intolerance has been noted for its
a. revolutionary continuity-editing techniques.
b. wide-screen effect used during the battle sequences.
c. elaborate tracking shots.
d. metaphorical intercutting.
e. only a and c
f. all of the above
58. Intolerance
a. was intended as an apology for The Birth of a Nation.
b. had a powerful influence on the Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s.
c. has an amazing sense of narrative clarity for a film so complex.
d. is an extraordinarily clear and thorough analysis of how the evil of intolerance has caused trouble
throughout history.
e. places a far higher degree of importance on character development than historical spectacle.
f. all of the above
59. The failure of Intolerance
a. caused Griffith to step up the pace of cinematic innovations, leading to the most creative period of
his career.
b. did not cause Griffith to give up his independence as a producer.
c. caused Griffith to attempt to cater more closely to the public’s taste.
d. caused the film to be withdrawn from release and be radically cut into four separate films.
e. caused Griffith to give up filmmaking.
f. None of the above was an effect since Intolerance was a success.
60. The films Griffith directed for Zukor
a. were mainly old-fashioned romances unpopular with the audiences of the time.
b. include several that are considered among his finest works.
c. were produced at the same epic scale as Intolerance.
d. were all produced in England.
e. were two reelers.
f. none of the above
61. Hearts of the World
a. was Griffith’s follow-up film to Intolerance.
b. was made in England.
c. was anti-German war propaganda.
d. was extremely popular in England.
e. was supposed to be government funded but wound up being privately financed.
f. all of the above
62. The films Griffith made for First National
a. helped rebuild his reputation.
b. were largely directed by assistants.
c. were commercially and critically successful.
d. were primarily old-fashioned romances.
e. both b and d
f. all of the above
63. Broken Blossoms
a. was produced for First National.
b. was shot entirely on location.
c. returned to the epic style of Intolerance.
d. featured a Chinese man as the hero.
e. took six months to shoot and a year to edit.
f. all of the above
64. Broken Blossoms
a. had a shooting ratio of over 50 to 1.
b. was attacked for its racist depictions.
c. was a tremendous critical and commercial success.
d. used a cinematographer other than Bitzer who was responsible for the moody, atmospheric
lighting.
e. both c and d
f. none of the above
65. Of the following, who was NOT a part of the original United Artists company?
a. Charlie Chaplin
b. Cecil B. DeMille
c. D. W. Griffith
d. Mary Pickford
e. Douglas Fairbanks
f. All of the above were co-owners of the company.
66. The film that represents Griffith’s comeback from the disappointment of Intolerance was
a. The Love Flower. d. Dream Street.
b. Way Down East. e. The Great Love.
c. Broken Blossoms. f. none of the above
67. Way Down East
a. represents the beginning of Griffith’s creative decline.
b. features some of Griffith’s most skillful editing in the last-minute rescue.
c. was shot in the studio like his several previous films.
d. was a financial failure.
e. got the best critical reviews of Griffith’s career.
f. none of the above
68. The film in which Griffith attempted to capitalize on the popular historical costume-film genre but
which led to his economic downfall was
a. Hearts of the World. d. Broken Blossoms.
b. Isn’t Life Wonderful. e. Orphans of the Storm.
c. Way Down East. f. none of the above
69. D. W. Griffith’s America
a. was a box-office success.
b. was based on one of Griffith’s earliest stage plays.
c. featured spectacular battle scenes similar to his earlier films.
d. was an attempt to imitate the success of Broken Blossoms.
e. only a and d
f. all of the above
70. Isn’t Life Wonderful
a. was Griffith’s last film as an independent producer for United Artists.
b. was shot entirely in Griffith’s Mamaroneck studio.
c. was a comedy about American small-town life.
d. was shot in an early color process.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
71. At Paramount, Griffith
a. could choose his own material.
b. enjoyed great success as the top director at the studio.
c. worked on several projects codirecting with Cecil B. DeMille.
d. directed W. C. Fields’s comedies.
e. regained his excitement for directing films.
f. none of the above
72. Abraham Lincoln
a. was highly regarded by critics of the time.
b. was a talking picture.
c. was a financial failure.
d. had a script by a famous American poet.
e. was made for Joseph Schenk’s Art Cinema Corporation.
f. all of the above
73. D. W. Griffith
a. never made sound films.
b. is equally notable for his philosophical and historical insight as his cinematic innovations.
c. derived his innovations from music, painting, sculpture, and classic literature.
d. discovered, synthesized, and articulated the narrative language of cinema.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
