Intolerance, subtitled "Love's Struggle Through the Ages" is director D.W. Griffith's 1916 silent epic, and often considered the greatest masterpiece of film's Silent Era. Intolerance was the most massive film project committed in the era, over three and one-half hours in length, featuring monumental sets, lavish period costuming and over 3000 extras. Told through four parallel stories spanning the scope of human history intersecting from the fall of the Babylonian Empire through the condemnation of Christ and the St. Bartholomew's massacre to a contemporary crime story. In the intersection between centuries there appears the symbolic image of the 'Eternal Mother' (Lillian Gish) rocking a cradle, illustrating rebirth and the passing of generations. Many of the characters within the stories are nameless, serving as archetypes of all humanity and expounding upon universal themes. Through four events separated by the gulf of centuries, Griffith illustrates how intolerance is a force of destruction upon all mankind and the main opposition to love and charity.moreless