The Great Train Robbery poster & wallpaper

John Manus Dougherty Sr.

The clerk at the train station is assaulted and left tied by four men, then they rob the train threatening the operator. (They) take all the money and shoot a passenger when trying to run away. A litt...( read more  read more... )le girl discovers the clerk tied and gives notice to the sheriff, who at once goes along with his men hunting the bandits.

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68% liked it

1,324 ratings

Unrated, 12 min.

Directed by: No information available.

Release Date: December 1, 1903

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Stats: 137 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (137)

  • mistershinobi
    August 6, 2008
    mistershinobi
    The first Western ever created: a truly exciting film.
    Extraordinary and technically innovative.
  • QueenCityFilms
    March 5, 2008
    QueenCityFilms
    America's first western...sweet I saw that shit....I saw that shit and now in a conversation I can use this for a bit of trivia and be all cool and shit and drop that in a conversation like, "yo can you name America's first western?" and you'll be all like "No actually I have no...( read more) idea what that might be, good sir." And I'll totally be like, "GOTCHA BITCH! It's the GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY!"
  • kenstachnik
    October 19, 2007
    kenstachnik
    Love that opening shot
  • merlynsprankling
    August 20, 2009
    merlynsprankling
    Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery was what would now be defined as an 'epic' as it ran all of twelve minutes and boasted a cast of forty, the proverbial 'thousands' of its day. ( pending review/ to be continued, not enough time)
  • HenrikSchunk
    June 1, 2009
    HenrikSchunk
    This movie has been called the first western by many and it is somehow. Although the plot does not really resemble many western movies but rather the extinct genre that is the "Heist" movie genre, but the whole setting and atmosphere is Wild West. Wild West travelling shows were ...( read more)very popular in the United States for a long time (Buffalo Bill etc.) and still are to this day in some more rural parts of the United States. Therefore, making a movie out of an already popular genre was a good move, especially when you could take the props, costumes and actors and put them into your movie. Again, considering the early days of cinema, a director / produces decides to go with a (at least partially in this case) fictional world. Now, one can argue whether the Wild West is a fictional entitiy but Id say the truth lies somewhere in between. The movie has some good special effects, not only the spectacular ending which had the audiences literally jumping in their seats (watch the movie, and you know what I am talking about). Oddly enough, Porter did not go and made more movies which became as famous as this one, although he kept making a few movies a year up to 1915.

    As a film, I must admit that I found this one lacking a bit of visionary brilliance as many others movies had which were made in the same period of cinema history (Meliers' or Griffith's movies) and you could even go as far and compare this movie with contemporary Hollywood action cinema. Lots of action, a simple yet effective plot, no twists and surprises but just the thrill of the train robbery and the shootouts. I am not putting this film down, but out of all the early cinema movies, this one is my least favourite.

    Henrik
  • jonrmcmahon
    October 25, 2009
    jonrmcmahon
    I can respect the (arguably) first film to tell a story (someone had to do it), but I don't have to think it's a good story, or that it's well told. The complete primitive product is mighty labored, taking 12 minutes to tell a three minute story without bothering to add anything ...( read more)juicy. I can't relate to the excitement of audiences who saw this picture back in 1903, when it was fresh, so it's unfair for me to judge its merits based on anything but how it compares to the decades of cinema that followed. I thank my lucky stars it got better than this.
  • ifitz
    September 24, 2009
    ifitz
    I liked 'Fireman' and 'The Lonedale Operator' better!
  • ElCochran90
    September 20, 2009
    ElCochran90
    This is one of the first American movies ever made, and definitely the must-see enterntaining Western classic that everybody should see. Although the plot is simple, it is one of the finest Westerns out there still nowadays. Fun at its best.

    92/100
  • jturner083
    June 10, 2009
    jturner083
    The Great Train Robbery is a fast paced, violent thriller of yesteryear. There is little character development, no backstory, and little camera movement. It does feature the earliest fight scene aboard a moving train that I am aware of, some simple stunts, and outdoor filming....( read more)

    While the presence of a sequential storyline rather than a fully developed plot leaves the film feeling one dimensional, it does dehumanize the robbers and makes their actions seem all the more scary and dreadful. The film appears to have been made to cash in on the public fascination with the old west, and is considered to be the first "western."

    This is despite the fact that it is really a crime movie with characters dressed in western outfits. It does not immerse the audience in the culture of the old west. It did, however, scare the hell out of patrons with the scene of the gunslinger shooting directly into the camera.

    This scene was designed to be shown either at the very beginning or at the end of the film depending upon the projectionist's preference. This may seem laughable today, but it must be remembered that the first 3-D films with depictions of locomotives zooming directly toward the audience achieved the same effect years later. Furthermore, audiences were new to film and it has been documented that less sophisticated audience members would attend a film more than once to see if things turned out differently in subsequent viewings.

    The film has been noted for contributing to the controversy of the impact of media on culture, due to what was considered appalling and gratuitous
    violence by the standards of the day. The Great Train Robbery and movies like it provided part of Jane Addams' impetus for founding Hull House in Chicago. The violence in media debate continues today.

    I found the film to be an enjoyable entry in my cinematic education following the evolution of film. While primitive, it gets to the point quickly. Some modern film makers would do well to emulate this production concept rather than taking thirty minutes to lay exposition as a means of reaching the first significant event in the plot.
  • WitchfulThinking
    June 10, 2009
    WitchfulThinking
    This second entry in Schnieder's 1001 Films list demonstrates some conceptual and technical advancements in filmmaking technique from the first entry. While the fixed camera is still used extensively, this film also features location photography, cross cut editing, and early us...( read more)e of cinematic technique to achieve special effects, i.e. double exposure as opposed to physical stage effects.

    Contrasted with A Voyage To The Moon, the story is almost documentary as opposed to fantasy. and is presented in a much more concise fashion. We see some exaggeration in the actors' body language, either to emphasize drama, perhaps symbolically, or to "project" due to the lack of an embedded soundtrack.

    The film consists of a series of chronological scenes documenting the actions of the most vile sort of train robbers pulling a heist. Each scene is composed of one shot. The movie tells a more direct, narrative story than Voyage To The Moon, and is easier to follow.

    The plot was inspired by a train robbery committed by Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang, It was intended to recreate the frequent crimes of this type which characterized the lawless old west. In this sense, The Great Train Robbery fills an entertainment niche similar to the old "Wild West shows," and Ned Buntline style pulp novels. It capitalized on the sensationalism and public perception of the untamed, anything-goes frontier.

    Edison Studios promoted this film to distributors as being a sensational audience shocker. The story dramatizes the ruthlessness of the desperadoes who meet their just end. The portrayal is straightforward and gruesome, but unsympathetic.

    However, when released, there was public clamor over its potentially negative cultural effects because a portion of the audience apparently found the robbers to be inspiring, exciting, romantic characters. Thus began the controversy as to whether cinema and mass produced culture in general are a reflection of, or a blueprint for society. Either way, The Great Train Robbery was designed to sell well to a relatively unsophisticated audience, a goal which history records that it successfully
    met.

    In all, I saw nothing that glorified the robbers. The movie is a cold hearted, no nonense exhibit of criminal violence. It remains crude by modern standards, but it is fast paced, exciting and shocking. The violence is not exceedingly realistic, but it effectively communicates the lack of mercy exhibited by wanton, uncivilized criminals.

    There persists today a technical obstacle to properly interpreting silent films. It is ironic that with the plethora of sophisticated modern film and video technology, 16 fps films are not pitched to their proper speed.

    This could easily be accomplished when the films are transferred to digital media. Regrettably it would seem that a misperception remains that these early films are insubstantial due to their being dated. This may prevent the expenditure of a little extra effort and expense to present the works as intended. Increasing the rate to the contemporary 24 fps standard is a disservice to these early cinematic entries. The fact that they represented ambitious, substantial technical endeavors for the time is belittled when the action is rendered into a jerky, cartoonish presentation. I think that at 16 fps, The Great Train Robbery would more effectively communicate the drama and excitement that is intended.

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The Great Train Robbery Trivia

  • Which movie is considered the first narrative film?  Answer »
  • He's the author whose books have been adapted into films such as "Jurassic Park", "Sphere", "Congo" and "Rising Sun". He also cowrote the screenplay for "Twister" and directed Sean Connery in "The Great Train Robbery".  Answer »
  • Who composed the music for the film The (First) Great Train Robbery?  Answer »
  • (1979) Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley Anne Down band together to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train. Their elaborate plan involves keys that must be copied, a coffin, a dead cat and a brothel.   Answer »
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