Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Birth of a Nation Blu-ray Movie Review

31 years a slave.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 17, 2017

It should be obvious to just about everyone that Nate Parker isn’t an idiot, and his choice to name his film about famous slave revolt leader Nat Turner The Birth of a Nation was no doubt intentionally provocative, bringing to mind D.W. Griffith's film of the same name, still one of the most controversial cinematic depictions of race (and many argue, racism) ever created. The fact that Parker is obviously highly intelligent may beg the question as to why he didn’t foresee the gigantic broadside coming at him after the film's release, criticism which was due to some questionable behavior in his past which won’t be relitigated here, but which is easily accessible by simply typing Parker’s name into any given search engine, where it is sure to be among the top results. Parker’s troubled past ultimately tended to overshadow a lot of the hoopla that attended the film at its Sundance premiere in January 2016, when both the film and Parker himself were met with pretty near unanimous rapturous acclaim. A mere few months later, things had changed fairly precariously for Parker, who saw himself having to defend (or at least explain) past behaviors instead of spending valuable marketing time promoting his creation. It will be interesting to see if time offers a reassessment of this Birth of a Nation which can be divorced from Parker’s personal controversies, much as there was ultimately a reassessment (though in an opposite way) of Griffith's epic.

While his name might be most familiar to film fans for having written the source novel that ultimately became Sophie's Choice, but William Styron actually brought home his Pulitzer Prize for The Confessions of Nat Turner, a book which purported to recount Turner’s tale in the first person (based on a 19th century tome bearing the same title written by an attorney named Gray who represented several slaves involved in the Turner uprising). Styron was taken to task for his characterization of Turner as a less than effective leader, as well as other elements which some saw as romanticizing plantation owners and even other elements which were intentionally salacious and which some insisted were outright fictionalizations. Interestingly, at least some of these same accusations would be lobbed at Parker decades later for his treatment of this iconic character.

It’s perhaps instructive to note that Styron’s novel, a major bestseller and critical darling (despite the outrage it engendered in certain quarters), was never filmed, something that seems odd given the fact that book appeared in the late sixties just as the Black Power movement was gaining ground and many major studios were intentionally crafting films to appeal to African American audiences. My hunch (though I haven’t found any authoritative data to back it up) is it may have been the very aforementioned controversies which very well could have scuttled any potential cinematic adaptation, since the fear of offending large swaths of the population guided studio bean counters back in the day much more than they seem to today (when some projects seem to be greenlit expressly in order to offend large swaths of the populace). Parker evidently became fascinated by Turner when he learned about him in college, but Parker, like Styron before him, evidently felt that “the truth and nothing but” wasn’t enough to craft a compelling “entertainment” (if that’s the right word, given the context of slavery).

Nat (played as a child by Tony Espinosa and by Nate Parker as an adult) is shown to be an uncommonly gifted boy and, later, man, one whose unexplained but quickly fostered ability to read leads to a lifelong love affair with the Bible. It's interesting to contrast this particular plot point with one of the criticisms that was lobbed at Styron, namely that he provided too positive a portrayal of some of the white plantation owners. While certainly not about to be accused of "cultural appropriation" the same way Styron was, Parker doesn't shy away from similarly positive treatments of Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller), the wife of the plantation owner at the vast cotton farm where Nat grows up, and in fact it's Elizabeth's lessons in reading which spark Nat's love of the Holy Book.

As an adult, Nat's seemingly inherent ability to preach is used to quell simmering tensions with slaves around Virginia, where he's allowed to preach on carefully selected passages that argue toward subservience and obedience. Nat isn’t overly concerned about these issues, or perhaps even that aware, at least to begin with, and instead seems almost grateful that he’s been afforded certain privileges, including a remarkably open relationship with Elizabeth's son Samuel (Armie Hammer), with whom he grows up and maintains a strong relationship until things begin to go south later in the film. Ultimately, though, his “ministerial” travels expose him to the horrifying conditions many slaves were forced to endure, and, later, in what is evidently a completely fabricated sequence involving his wife, Cherry (Aja Naomi King), some more stereotypically villainous white behavior comes into play. What’s kind of fascinating about the portrayal of Turner in the film, and one which is evidently tethered at least a bit more to the actual facts than some of the rest of the film, is how Turner saw himself as something of a modern prophet, prone to visions and therefore filled with a religious zeal that later informed the uprising he inspired.

The actual uprising comes surprisingly late in the film, and like the insurrection itself, doesn’t actually last very long. There are still some frighteningly gruesome death scenes involved (one of the most shocking scenes involves Nat himself with a hatchet). The film has an undeniable dramatic gravitas, and it features uniformly excellent work on the part of the cast. Turner keeps the film well paced, and captures some of the sylvan beauty and undeniable horror of this time period. The “real” Turner story has been the subject of some dispute since Gray’s original broadsheet was published, something that probably only was further muddied by Styron’s account. Historians may quibble with some of the ins and outs of Parker’s treatment, but few will be able to deny the emotional impact the film attains.

The Birth of a Nation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Birth of a Nation is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Both the film's closing credits and the IMDb list the Arri Alexa and Red Dragon cameras as having been utilized for the shoot, with the IMDb reporting a 2K DI. This presentation offers consistently high levels of impeccable fine detail in everything from the gritty spackle Nat applies to the Turner plantation main house to fabrics like the nap filled cotton that the slaves pick and, not so coincidentally, wear. Close-ups offer sometimes gruesome glimpses of some pretty horrifying wounds (some fatal) that various slaves suffer. Some of the more naturalistic sequences look just slightly desaturated at times, while several others are graded toward a kind of slate gray, but detail levels generally remain high despite these approaches. There are a few "arty" shots or dimly lot moments where elements like shadow detail can decline at least a little bit, but overall this is a great looking transfer with no compression issues and no problems with image instability.

The Birth of a Nation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Even before there's any imagery, The Birth of a Nation's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is creating a suitably dreamlike ambience of natural sounds as the opening sequence detailing a shaman of sorts anointing the little Nat as a prophet gets underway. A number of musical elements (including a kind of anachronistic if contextually appropriate use of Nina Simone's version of "Strange Fruit") also fill the surround channels quite winningly. The calamitous battle which climaxes the film also provides opportunities for some fulsome LFE. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized on this problem free track.

The Birth of a Nation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rise Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner (1080i; 47:13) is a very interesting and well done background piece that provides some of the real history along with historical commentary.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 3:26) offer optional commentary by Nate Parker.


• The Birth of a Nation: The Making of a Movement (1080p; 41:46) is another interesting longer piece that documents the making of the film, including interviews with Parker.


• AmeriCAN (Short Film) (1080p; 18:33) begins with an introduction by Parker, and also features an optional commentary by Nate Parker.


• "Free God" Spoken Word (1080p; 6:28) offers some great looking black and white photography.


• Celebration of Independent Voices - Nate Parker (1080p; 4:38) is a brief profile of Parker.


• Shooting Script (1080p) is a gallery of images of the script.


• Gallery (1080p; 2:48) offers both Auto Advance and Manual Advance options. The timing is for the Auto Advance option.


• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 4:55)


• Feature Commentary by Nate Parker

The Birth of a Nation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Parker is to be commended for having pulled an "Orson Welles" with this film debut, writing, starring and directing in an audacious history lesson. The film perhaps unavoidably traffics in much the same emotional territory as 12 Years a Slave, though isn't able to muster even the bittersweet semi-happy ending of that film. There are a few narrative hurdles the film encounters, including depictions of both blacks and whites which may rankle some (for different reasons), but the film's emotional impact is undeniable. The sidebar drama that unfolded after the film's release may continue to color some people's perceptions of the films (rightly or wrongly), but as a pure cinematic achievement the film is quite remarkable. Technical merits are strong, the supplemental package very good, and The Birth of a Nation comes Highly recommended.