Post by StevePulaski on Mar 31, 2014 8:25:19 GMT -5
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Directed by: Edwin S. Porter
Directed by: Edwin S. Porter
The infamous shot of Justus D. Barnes turning his gun on the audience in Edwin S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery."
Rating: ★★★½
Whenever I'm feeling ambitious - or find time in my often hectic schedule - I try to take it slow and discover old relics from the early days of cinema, finding shorts via Youtube, Vimeo, or Europa Treasures from as early as the 1890's. Many people don't know this, but cinema has been around since the late 1800's, beginning as a medium for illusionists to toy with the idea of reality before evolving into a method of brilliant storytelling and craft. When it began, all its pioneers, with the inimitable Georges Méliès, Robert W. Paul, or, in this case, Edwin S. Porter, nearly every technique was a subversive one and each director played with an uncertain time frame anywhere between under a minute to maybe fifteen minutes to see what they could conjure up.
One of these relics is the original "Great Train Robbery," filmed in 1903 and still bearing prints online that look as good as new. The film opens with two bandits (Broncho Billy Anderson and Justus D. Barnes) who break into a railroad office, stopping the train boss/operator by holding him up, and giving the train conductor orders to fill the train up at the water tank. When the train stops, the two men get on, and proceed to hold up the train in what becomes a surprisingly entertaining and joyous ride through early cinema.
The bulk of these shorts are hit and miss, and I find myself relishing the thought of these films continuing to live on in present day 2014 rather than appreciating their stories or their acting. "The Great Train Robbery," however, is one of the first films I can remember having a coherent storyline, as well as boasting brilliantly original and pioneering styles such as actor Justus D. Barnes looking directly at the camera while firing his weapon, as well as boasting several different scenes and shots edited together into one project, as opposed to just one static shot. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter, who made several other cute, off-the-wall shorts between the late 1800's and 1915. Porter famously never toyed with a style after he had utilized it to what he deemed a satisfactory level. Like a unique and audacious songwriter, he believed using and perfecting something once was key and allowed the style to be used by whoever felt inclined after he had done so. "The Great Train Robbery" showed the earliest uses of cross-cutting as well as first accounts of things like tricky camera movement and on-location shooting (thanks to the legendary Edison Manufacturing Company). Records and historical accounts also state that he was an extremely modest and quiet figure, more concerned with machines and film equipment than he ever was people.
With this and more, "The Great Train Robbery" bears a history all its own that would later become shared by many that should be celebrated and be mandatory viewing if you, you know, watch movies nowadays and all.
Starring: Broncho Billy Anderson, Justus D. Barnes, Alfred C. Abadie, and Walter Cameron. Directed by: Edwin S. Porter.