Nickelodeon: a movie theatre with an admission fee of one nickel.
Cross-cut editing: an instance of alternating between two or more sequences when editing
Edwin S. Porter was a pioneer in early cinema. He made early comedies and trick films for Thomas Edison’s company, Edison Manufacturing Company. Porter made a name for himself with his innovative editing techniques in Jack and the Beanstalk (1902) and Life of an American Fireman (1903). But the pinnacle of his career was his western, The Great Train Robbery.
The Great Train Robbery is a milestone in film history. The 11 minute long film depicts a gang of outlaws robbing a train and the passengers then fleeting. It was a groundbreaking film with the director’s use of cross-cutting editing technique to show action happening in different places simultaneously. It was also the formation of cinematic narration in the United States. No film before this had such a variety in scenes or as swift from scene to scene. Porter invented dissolves from one scene to another in this film for the first time. Edwin Porter made an entirely new experience for the audience using creative camera movement and on location shooting. There are also scenes throughout that have color; several explosions, pretty girls in bright yellow dresses, epic gunfights with colored gun smoke. The end of the film is the leader of the gang of outlaws raising his revolver and pointing it directly at the camera and emptying the barrel.
No film had been made like The Great Train Robbery before. It was very popular and caused sensationalism among viewers, establishing the motion picture as commercial entertainment in the U.S Two years later it was used as the premier film in the very first nickelodeon. Today’s cinema wouldn’t be the same today without this historical, sensational little gem. It’s a PRETTY DAMN GOOD film.
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