The Great Train Robbery (1903)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: What's so notable about Edwin S. Porter's 'The Great Train Robbery,' isn't the story itself or whether it's the first western or not, it's really the way in which the overall narrative is built. Yes the use of cross-cuts showing different scenes happening at the same time makes for a very sophisticated and very engaging form of storytelling that brilliantly builds tension and engagement, and these techniques not only make this significant in the history of American cinema, it also means it works brilliantly as a film in its own right.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The way that Porter directs his actors does mean that some of the scenes don't have the clarity they deserve.
  VERDICT: A landmark piece of American cinema, 'The Great Train Robbery,' is significant and engaging because of the way in which it builds narrative so brilliantly.

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