His years at Biograph began a long association with cameraman Billy Bitzer. Bitzer initially rejected Griffith's radical ideas of how to use the camera, but the partnership soon became a fruitful and creative one. Brownlow quotes Griffith's dismissal of skepticism: "Well, come on, let's do it anyway. I don't give a damn what anybody thinks about it" (25). He continued to have that attitude throughout his career, and Bitzer soon embraced his approach. The rules may have declared to be impossible what Griffith was asking for; Bitzer soon helped him find ways to break the rules.

Griffith's innovations included expanding the length of his films, and one of his last Biograph productions was the first four-reeler to be produced in America, Judith of Bethulia. By the time he left Biograph, he was preparing to produce his first masterpiece, Birth of a Nation, a three-hour saga about the Civil War, released in 1915. His two greatest films, Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, were the most significant examples of his approach to filmmaking, a philosophy that led him to stretch the boundaries and break the rules continually, as part of his lifelong experiment in establishing a working aesthetic language for the new medium.

Birth of a Nation was a critical and commercial success, although its heroic depiction of the Ku Klux Klan remains extremely controversial. The story is based on Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman, and is se

t in the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, and Henry B. Walthall stars as members of two families torn apart by the conflict.

The complexity of its structure made the film unpopular with audiences. Brownlow writes, "This amazing picture was a commercial failure. It lost a great deal of money, but it telescoped what might otherwise have been years of slow, patient technical progress - and it sparked off one of the most exciting and concentrated creative eras in the history of art" (30).

Bergman has inspired filmmakers in a wide range of genres. Robert Emmet Long quotes Woody Allen, who calls Bergman "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera" (192). Allen's movies contain numerous references to Bergman's films; some of his own films have been direct homages to the Swedish master, exploring similar issues in Allen's own unique style. Long contends, "In the seriousness of his commitment - in his fidelity to craftsmanship and in the intensity of his passion that can be electrifying - Bergman is surely one of our few great contemporary filmmakers" (192).

Bergman was attracted to the theater at a very young age and pursued a career with great determination. His first job in films was as a script doctor, and he was soon directing films. He took a number of projects to develop his distinctive voice, a mystical, philosophical approach that often included examinations of the inner psychology of women. By the time he had completed Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) and The Seventh Seal (1956), he had begun to be recognized by the international film community; both movies won prizes at the Cannes International Film Festival and established his reputation.

Modern audiences often find it difficult to watch because it is frequently shown at the wrong speed and because so many of the techn