Happy birthday, film director D.W. Griffith

It is the birthday of famed film director D.W. Griffith (1875), who is considered one of the most important figures in cinema. He is credited with pioneering film techniques such as extreme camera angles, lighting and crosscut editing, He was among the first to recognize film as a medium for story telling. Among his best known films are The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916). Broken Blossoms (1919), and Way Down East (1920). The last two starred actress Lillian Gish. Griffith joined Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and Mary Pickford to create a film company, United Artists.