"THE BIRTH OF A NATION."

Northern Advocate, 14 October 1916, Page 2

"THE BIRTH OF A NATION."

It can easily l>? -een that great interest is being- Ulien in the forth. coming season at the Theatre Ol that well-known film nifuery'.eee "The iiirtli of a Nation," 1 . Live larrje number oi wliic'i i;:,. 0 al;:.:dy been booked. 'ihu oiieninj narforinance will take place cv Thursday evening ne::t, October 10, and the B«a'son will be for two nights and a matinee on Friday. The New Zealand tour will be under the direction of J. C. Williamson Ltd. It is a picture of educational value that should not be missed by tlie student, the teacher, and the public at large. The film is said to be one of the moat expensive complete motion dramas yet produced. It contains an enormous of detail, r.nd is a really plieno. menal presentation. The story chows the rise o f the united States from the swaddling clothe'; of a scattered series of provinces, all divided with racial and sectarian hatred, into a united, free, and independent country, welded together i:i nationhood. The great civil war, I-resident Lincoln, the black menace, and other subjects inspiring and thrilling are shown. Not only s.; a producer, but as an organiser, was the skill of D. \V. Griffith indicated in, the production of "The Birth of a Nation," for where thousands of people were concerned in the spectacle, the question of organisation ws,; one that had to be effectively handled. For ex. ample: A huge commissariat departgifent had t 0 be administered to provide food and shelter. The magnitude of this may be estimated from ■;he fact that at one time close upon 20,000 people were engaged in the production. The difficulty of the L atk was not lessened by the enormous scale upon which transport facilities had to be provided, for these thousand,-; of people were not stationed in one particular spot, but \ver e moved about frem time to time, the various location,; sometimes being hundreds of mils'* apart. Therefore, D. W. Griffith had to arrange for the feeding and travelling of an army that would tax the re. sources of a military department. Owing to the length of the picture a start will be made punctually at 8 p.m. The box-plans are now open at Chissell's. There fe no extra charge for booking, all seats in the house beinp; 2s.