Great Train Robbery, The

Great Train Robbery, The, was a 1903 landmark in the history of motion pictures. It was the first important motion picture to use modern film techniques to tell a story. Edwin S. Porter, a pioneering American film director, directed the movie. The 11-minute film tells the story of a train robbery and the pursuit and capture of the bandits. It was the most famous and profitable motion picture in American film history until the release of The Birth of a Nation in 1915.

The Great Train Robbery skillfully used many of the techniques that became standard in movies. Typical films of the time tried to tell a story in one long scene. But Porter edited many different scenes into a logical, step-by-step story. The film was one of the first to use close-ups and shots with panoramic (sweeping) views. Its cast of 40 was large for the time. Its length and large cast made it the first epic in movie history. The story line set the standard for films about the American West for decades, even though Porter shot the film in New Jersey. One of the actors, Bronco Billy Anderson, became the first cowboy star of Western movies.

See also Motion picture (Early motion pictures) .