The Great Train Robbery by Thomas A. Edison

   The Great Train Robbery is a silent film created by Thomas A. Edison, presented in 1903. Thomas Edison is known for developing many devices that changed the world, like the electric light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture camera. This is one of his most influencing motion pictures. Being almost 12 minutes long, this silent film was actually considered pretty long at that time. 

   The story started when two bandits entered the interior of a railroad telegraph office and forced the operator to stop the coming train. The bandits also made him give a paper to the driver of the train, ordering him to insert water on the train's engine. The driver leaved, and the operator was then hit in the head and tied up by the bandits. They leaved the unconscious operator at the railroad telegraph office.

   

   At the railroad water tank, the hidden bandits waited for the train to stop. After the driver filled the train water tank, the bandits got inside before the train started moving again. A sort of a messenger is then shown managing some papers, when he suddenly hard noises coming from the door next to him. He decided to lock a case filled with money and threw the key out the train door opening. After a quick battle of gunshots, the bandits managed to kill the messenger. When they were not able to open the case nor find the key, the bandits used a dynamite to open the money-filled case. After taking the money, they went to the roof of the train. 

   

   Two bandits headed towards the locomotive. However, one of the drivers attempted to hit one of them, but did not succeed. Instead, the bandit punched him unconscious and threw the man from the roof of the train. The other bandit ordered the other driver to stop the locomotive and disconnect it from the rest of the train. Then the bandits forced the numerous passengers to exit the train with their hands in the air and in a line. While one of the bandits pointed his gun at the crowd, the other bandits stole money from the passengers' pockets. One of the people tried to escape, but got shot down. 

   

   The bandits then ran to the locomotive and escaped. Where it seemed to be far away, the bandits leaved the locomotive and ran towards the woods, where their horses where tied up. Riding their horses, they escaped further into the woods. 

   

   While all of that happened, the operator at the railroad telegraph office managed to contact help, finding a group of people and convincing them to capture the bandits. While the bandits where pursued by the group of men, one of the outlaws was shot and killed. Believing they they have tricked the pursuers, the bandits got off their horses and started counting the money. Unfortunately for them, the quiet and stealthy pursuers ambushed them. After an exchange of gunshots, the bandits are all killed.

    

   In the end, a man appears looking at the audience. After a quick research, I found out that the man was Justus D. Barnes, the leader of the outlaws. He shoots at the audience about six times, and the film ends.

***

   In this silent film, there was a very interesting and important use of the camera. First of all, the camera changed location throughout the story. From the railroad telegraph office to the woods; there was a constant change of location One of the most surprising locations was the top of the train. If I am not mistaken, this is one of the first times that a scene is filmed at the top of a moving train. Not only does it give the audience a feeling of actually being there, on top of a moving train, but the shooting also enabled the audience to see most of the interior of the locomotive. A very significant change indeed. Also, instead of filming on artificially designed sets, the film was actually shot in real-life places and sites, for example the beautiful woods, the top of a real train and many more. 

   In the making of the film, there were also many new techniques (at the time) used throughout the film. One that can be easily identified is the use of camera movement. Before this film was created, most of the other motion picture movies used a still camera. In The Great Train Robbery, in a couple of scenes the camera follows the bandits and the pursuers. This also gave diversity to the film and connected the audience with the film. Another technique used in this short film was cross cutting, which is actually cutting one action and starting another. The purpose of this technique is to portray action occurring at two different places at the same time. This cut gives the feeling that while there is a scene taking place, different one is also taking place. This happened in The Great Train Robbery when the scene of bandits escaping on their horses is cut, and the scene of the tied up operator looking for help is shown, which is a completely different scene. It was made that way to tell the audience that while the outlaws where escaping, the operator was looking for assistance. This is a very important technique used, since it shaped and transformed motion picture history. Another technique used was the switching of a character for a mannequin by stopping the film and making the switch. On the scene where one of the bandits beats up one of the drivers, the unconscious man is switched for a dummy, enabling the bandit to easily throw him off the train without any concern. Plus, it made the scene more believable and easy to handle. This technique was already used, but it is still crucial in this short film.

   I saw another video of The Great Train Robbery where the explosion caused by the dynamite is hand colored orange. For some reason, the video that I added in this post did not have that technique. Nevertheless, this technique actually intensifies the small explosions, making it more powerful than it truly was.

  Thomas Edison truly made history by being one of the creators of motion picture films and camera. We can appreciate the techniques and ideas used by such an amazing man by watching The Great Train Robbery. After this film, the concept of motion picture films changed immensely and has lead to the creation of many more. This was one of the foundations of the motion picture films that we are able to see today.

Have a good day and weekend!

Sincerely,

Michelle