Birth Of A Nation (1915).

Okay kids, this one is a challenge. Three hours long. Silent film. Paced for a generation that actually had an attention span. Melodramatic acting. But this is the very first major feature film, and introduces most of the elements of modern cinema. Epic, outdoor battle scenes with pyrotechnics and stunts. Large set interior scenes. Close-ups. Fade-in/outs. Complex story line. (Perhaps excessively so.) Tracking shots. Color tinting. It gets pretty gripping as it builds to a climax. Then gets a bit weird with Impressionism at the very end.

This is a very good print of the 104 year-old landmark film. It was usually shown in two parts, with the Intermission break at 1:31.

The first part deals with two acquainted families, one Northern, the other in Dixie, before and during the War Between The States. The second part covers how, in the aftermath of the War and Lincoln's assassination, a vengeful Yankee Congress enabled Carpetbaggers to weaponize the negro freedmen against the South. With Law and Government corrupted from top to bottom, decent White Men had no choice but to go outlaw, forming the KKK to preserve civilization.

I'm not crazy about the over-sympathetic depiction of Ol' Apeface Lincoln. Other than that, the movie is a bit to historically true for the comfort of most modern audiences.