Why The Great Train Robbery is considered a classic

 

The Great Train Robbery was a film that was ahead of its time. This silent movie, created in 1903, showed a bunch of robbers going on board a train and stealing the money aboard it. This movie was immediately and incredibly well received. In fact, in this film description from the Edison Film Catalogue issue 200 (January 1904), it says as follows:

"This sensational and highly tragic subject will certainly make a decided `hit' whenever shown. In every respect we consider it absolutely the superior of any moving picture ever made… will increase the popular interest in this great Headline Attraction.”

The Great Train Robbery also introduced some new filming techniques. While the robbers are attempting to get on the train, you’ll notice that there is a background of trees superimposed on a window, giving you the feeling of the movement of the train. While the robbers and the good guys are shooting each other, the train feels like it is in constant motion, just as a train should be.

Notice the moving trees in the window on the right.
 

An interesting bit of The Great Train Robbery was the ending. Instead of the usual ending where the robbers are killed by the posse, an extra scene is added. Barnes, the leader of the robbers, takes a gun a shoots it towards the audience. Imagine seeing that for the first time, keeping in mind that movie making was still very much in its infancy. This could easily be the first time in history that a movie “broke the fourth wall” and could have actually startled the audience.

 

The famous final scene- Barnes breaks the fourth wall.