"Intolerance" is a 1916 American silent film directed by DW Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. "Intolerance" (Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages) was made partly in response to criticism of Griffith's previous film, The Birth of a Nation (1915), which was attacked by the NAACP and other groups as perpetuating racial stereotypes and glorifying the Ku Klux Klan. This complex film consists of four distinct, but parallel, stories—intercut with increasing frequency as the film builds to a climax—that demonstrate mankind's persistent intolerance throughout the ages. The film sets up moral and psychological connections among the different stories. The timeline covers approximately 2500 years: 1.The ancient "Babylonian" story (539 BC) depicts the conflict between Prince Belshazzar of Babylon and Cyrus the Great of Persia. The fall of Babylon is a result of intolerance arising from a conflict between devotees of two rival Babylonian gods—Bel-Marduk and Ishtar 2.The Biblical "Judean" story (c. 27 AD) recounts how—after the Wedding at Cana and the Woman Taken in Adultery—intolerance led to the Crucifixion of Jesus. This sequence is the shortest of the four. 3.The Renaissance "French" story (1572) tells of the religious intolerance that led to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots by Roman Catholic royals. 4.The American "Modern" story (c. 1914) demonstrates how crime, moral puritanism, and conflicts between ruthless capitalists and ...