The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

Genres: Drama, History, War

What to watch after The Birth of a Nation

• The Childhood of a Leader (2015) — Same feel: dramatic, disturbing
• Cimarron (1931) — Two steps away in the credits
• C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004) — Same subject: american civil war
• Land of the Pharaohs (1955) — Same feel: authoritarian, dramatic
• Orphans of the Storm (1921) — D.W. Griffith directed both
• Way Down East (1920) — D.W. Griffith directed both