The Great Train Robbery
- Kylie Lydon
- Jun 1, 2020
- 1 min read
The Great Train Robbery is a film that I have seen time and time again, it seems that every film class that I have taken has brought up this movie one way or another. This film is entertaining, but also a film that paved the way for many other chase films. For some reason this film reminds me a lot of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this idea of the robbers or bad guys stealing and then on a for the rest of the film we watch as the try to escape. When watching these types of films it is also interesting that some want to route for the "bad guys". I don't want to see them get caught, i want to see them outwit the capturers because the stereotypical "good guy" can't always win. Plus, it adds just a little but extra when it comes to the interesting factor. We don't always want a picture perfect movie with the happy endings. It just isn't real life.
The film is credited as the first western film and came out of a tradition of interest in railways and the west that was at an all time high when the film was made. I dont know if Edwin S. Porter knew the impact of this film when he made it but I think that its interesting that so many westerns follow this basic formula even over a hundred years later.