The Great Train Robbery (1903)
After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.
- Edwin S. Porter
- Gilbert M. Anderson
- Edwin S. Porter
- Scott Marble
Rating: 7.013/10 by 616 users
Alternative Title:
Der grosse Eisenbahnrab - DE
Assalto al treno (1903) - IT
Asalto y robo de un tren - ES
O Grande Roubo do Trem - BR
El gran robo al tren - CO
Velká zeleznicní loupez - CZ
Det store togrøveri - DK
Suuri junaryöstö - FI
Le vol du grand rapide - FR
A nagy vonatrablás - HU
Serghate Bozorge Ghatar - IR
Dai Ressha Gôtô - JP
Det store togrøveriet - NO
Napad na ekspres - PL
Большое ограбление поезда - RU
Asalto y robo al tren - ES
Den stora tågplundringen - SE
Велике пограбування потягу - UA
Country:
United States of America
Language:
No Language
Runtime: 00 hour 12 minutes
Budget: $150
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: robbery, robber, dynamite, hold-up robbery, outlaw, railroad, bandit, silent film, train robbery, posse, short film
Firstly, I feel honoured to be the first to write a review for this prestigious short; secondly, I found it to be… good. I can’t claim any more than that, though it is heavily influential. The narrative is unlike many other short, silent films as it actually sucks you in until that fantastic final shot. But was it perfection? No. Is it worth watching? Of course, I’m sure any of my fellow cinephiles can waste ten minutes for this cinematic curio.
This opens with quite a menacing scene from Justus D. Barnes who points his pistol right between our eyes.... Then you have to feel a bit sorry for "Broncho Billy" Anderson who proceeds to get himself tied up, shot and generally manhandled as a ruthless gang raid his railway office then hold up the train robbing both the strong box and the passengers. Luckily he is eventually able to raise the alarm and a posse is soon on the trail of the thieves - but will they escape? It's barely eleven minutes long, this, but packs loads of action into that time and the photography uses indoor and outdoor space to good effect, offering us a degree of continuity of story and imagery that builds nicely to quite an exciting shoot-out in conclusion. It's not so hard to tell the real from the fake, but that doesn't really matter - the whole thing is groundbreaking and well worth a gander.
