Brendan Carr’s review published on Letterboxd:
I saw this film last year, but it had been one I was dreading to see for my entire life. For what we have here is the most racist film ever created, with the most aberrant lack of morals ever witnessed, and yet it remains a shameful cornerstone of film history (even though its a lie to say it was the first feature-length film, as, for example, the Italian film Cabiria predated it.)
This is a film that glorifies the KKK and depicts its black characters (actually played by white actors in blackface) as being inhuman. And what is even worse is that it was highly lauded by powerful people in its day, which led to a revival of the hate group and the untold killings of more people. (The KKK was best known for their murderous behavior toward black people, but they also went after Catholics and Jewish individuals as well).
The horrible irony is that this film was based on a book that, according to a book I own about the history of silent film, was even worse, with material so loathsome, I dare not even repeat it. But suffice it to say, it was horrifying to read about.
Half a star is as far down as one can go in rating a film on here, and i think in this case, it is appropriate. Technically, the film is meticulously made, but meticulously made for the worst possible reason: to promote grave evil. For all the controversy that swirls around so many other films, they all pale to this. Nothing else can be worse.