I've seen some of it and it certainly seems well-made for its time. It also obviously is incredibly capable from a propaganda standpoint in terms of the narrative of black rapists and the "heroic" Klan.
But liberal rags to this very day call it "one of the greatest films ever made". I find it highly suspect on the basis of the fact that the social context (pandering to racial prejudice, etc.) was such a major driver of its popularity. I feel like it's very possible it just gained this overblown reputation from racist critics and writers that wasn't adequately challenged over the following many years -- however much the ideology might be audited.
That said, I haven't seen the whole thing and I'm not a film critic, even less so of silent film. Anyone here have a strong opinion on the subject?
someone would have done it eventually, but as the 1910s equivalent of a blockbuster hit it was certainly the film that popularized the techniques. and archives of films of that era are so spotty we have no way of knowing if anyone else had done it first, but to my knowledge none are known