1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Great Train Robbery

#2- The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Starring: Alfred C. Abadie, Broncho Billy Anderson, Justus D. Barnes
Directed by: Edwin S. Porter


Plot Summary: A group of bandits break into a railroad telegraph office, ordering the operator to stop the train. As the train stops to fill up, the bandits board the train, force the passengers off, and disconnect the locomotive. Having claimed their loot, the bandits get off the train and attempt to escape on horseback.


Growing up, I was never a big fan of Westerns. They just were never my preference for a film genre. I knew of the film legends like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, but I figured if I was going to watch their films, I'd be able to appreciate them when I'm older. I guess now's as good a time as ever to start looking at them (and it will be a review series I'm planning in a few months if people are interested). I also thought that I should find one that crosses into my retrospect of silent films, in an attempt to peak my interest with the genre while I'm also looking at another unfamiliar genre (and no, I don't enjoy torturing myself mentally, that's just how it works out when I plan things), hence my first time viewing of The Great Train Robbery.

Compared to something like A Trip to the Moon, I couldn't help but notice the difference in sets used for The Great Train Robbery. While A Trip to the Moon is set in an environment that needed elaborate sets to be created, The Great Train Robbery is able to utilize the real world as a setting for a reenactment of the ol' west. Using horses and a real train for transportation also gives the film an extra depth of dimension to it. It's interesting to note the two kinds of films I chose to start out this retrospective, one being a gateway to fantasy and the future, and the other a stylized, but realistic representation of a previous generation in American history. It serves as evidence of how many different types of styles and genres the silent era helped create.

This film also really helped create a synonymous image of the Western. Not necessarily John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, but it still demonstrates a narrative of cowboys and bandits, robbing trains, shooting guns, and riding on horseback. The story and presentation itself could take viewers back to a time when they were young and were playing "Cowboys and Indians," or something like that. The aged camera style also allows the film to have a documentary-like look to it, as well as displaying a classic story depicting an iconic era in the shaping of America.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Great Train Robbery offers one of the earliest forms of the western, as well as delivers on a unique setting through its use of the real world. For any fans of silent films or Westerns, I recommend seeing this classic at least once in your lifetime.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review 

The Great Train Robbery and movie images are copyrighted by Edison Manufacturing Company