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The Great Train Robbery


#573 - The Great Train Robbery
Edwin S. Porter, 1903



A gang of outlaws perform a robbery on a train.

A simple summary, but it's to be expected for The Great Train Robbery, which only runs for about ten to fifteen minutes and, being released in 1903, is probably the oldest film I've watched as of writing. The extreme age does mean that a lot of the storytelling methods common to peak silent films are conspicuously absent - there are no title cards to fill in the blanks caused by the lack of audible dialogue, so of course you have to pay extra attention to every minute mannerism of the characters in order to piece together every single little thing that happens. Of course, thanks to the overall simplicity of the narrative it's easy enough to follow along for the most part and even if you do happen to lose the thread of the plot then you can pick it back up quickly enough. On a technical level, you can definitely respect the effort involved and it's still interesting to see how the conflict resolves itself (even if it does involve the odd chuckle at some characters' overwrought death throes). The photography doesn't try anything too fanciful for the most part, with the decision to colorise several characters' costumes providing an interesting (if rough-looking) aesthetic choice.

When it comes to films that are this old, I'm not sure exactly how much they can be sincerely enjoyed; as a result, I can at least recognise The Great Train Robbery as an important film that should be seen by anyone with an interest in film. Due to the limitations of the era, there's not exactly a lot of depth to the film but there doesn't really need to be when it's so brief. Unfortunately, that does seem to preclude any serious replay value, unless you were to try to figure out the minor yet ultimately inessential details of the plot. Still, it's short enough that you might as well give it a shot. At the very least, it's worth it to see that iconic final image.