Movies

Acclaimed as the first true film, the Great Train Robbery 1902 is a tale of a train robbery  a clerk is and left tied up by hour men. They threaten the operator, take the money, and shoot a passenger. A girl witnesses the incident and informs the Sheriff of the whereabouts of the bandits.

Unlike the Melies films which at that time were still a set of theatrical tableaus created as modifying tricks, the film may be considered as the first dramatic work conceived for film. Edwin Porter derived the theme from the offshoot of Western novels  train robbery, gunfight, and seesaw chase. After the gunfight with the guards, the robbers blow the safe apart and steal the money. Now, a girl finds the hostaged fireman and frees him. The fireman then chases the robbers and evidenly kills them. This thematic sensation will become the basis of modern Western films in the next 70 years.

The technique was new to the audiences of Porters time. Porter uses mostly close-up and medium shots to move the audience, making them feel part of the action. Although the edits are choppy, the acting is quite theatrical and conducive with traditional performance. Indeed, the movie has four themes, divided into 12 scenic units.

Almost all scenes in the movie are photographed in full to give the audience unbroken story points. Shooting on location poses a difficulty for Porter. Apparently, the scenes are more inspired by established photography techniques than formal stage scenes. Editing improves since the American Fireman. Porter is able to create a more cinematic, lively, and parallel story. Succeeding films follow this format.

The traditional, aristocratic audience accept the film without a sense of doubt. Indeed, the film was a sensation that all over the nation even empty stores became theaters to show it. The film is the new fulfillment of an art form. The movie industry, is at last moving in a fast pace. The motion picture is, indeed, the new spirit of the age.

Suppose that the movie is recreated thirty years after its conception in 1902, the audience can expect three things. First, the thematic arrangement of the movie will be similar from the 1903 release. Second, editing will improve dramatically. Choppy scenes will give way to clear, impartial scenic imaging (like in the film Gone With the Wind). And lastly, imaging and sound techniques are expected to improve. This will add sensation to the cinematic power of persuasion or in this case of dramatism. The case is the same if the movie is recreated today, although its overarching theme would be outdated.

Combining photographic scenes is undoubtedly a very difficult task in those days. This task must be done in lieu of the thematic message of the film, as well as the arrangements of scenes. Indeed, viewing the film from a historical perspectivem, the film is the first of its kind  an edited, imaged arranged, and thematically organized film. Porter is the first filmmaker to realize the dual aspect of imaging-theme arrangement into a clear juxtaposition of cinematic ordering.