Watch The Fugitive

Five years before his controversial epic THE BIRTH OF A NATION, D.W. Griffith directed this relatively muted melodrama of two Johns fighting in the Civil War (one for the Union and the other for the Confederacy). Both men say goodbye to mothers and sweethearts and make haste for overgrown battlefields. A desperate fight between the two Johns results in the Union boy seeking refuge with his Confederate counterpart's mother. The relatively simple story may rely heavily on coincidence but Griffith's early mastery of pacing and parallel editing makes THE FUGITIVE an affecting fable of sacrifice and forgiveness. - Max Goldberg