About the film
The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 American silent Western action film made by Edwin S. Porter for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It follows a gang of outlaws who hold up and rob a steam train at a station in the American West, flee across mountainous terrain, and are finally defeated by a posse of locals. The short film draws on many sources, including a robust existing tradition of Western films, recent European innovations in film technique, the play of the same name by Scott Marble, the popularity of train-themed films, and possibly real-life incidents involving outlaws such as Butch Cassidy.
Adapted from Wikipedia · License CC BY-SA 4.0
Why it still matters
- Best for anyone who wants a milestone of cinema: Edwin S. Porter directs this 1903 Western.
- It used film editing and camera movement techniques that were new at the time.
- Only about 12 minutes long, 240p, with a few shooting scenes.
