Train robbery

Western’s a genre with a purpose For almost as long as the medium of filmmaking has existed so too has the Western first showcased in Edwin S. Porter film The Great Train Robbery. Though overall a simple film in retrospect the way in which it pushed the medium forward was revolutionary in containing a narrative. Cowboys are the initial American heroes of filmmaking which all others pull from; Westerns as a male focused genre the central genre trope of masculinity have been constructed on a cinematic level. Action heroes and noir films can be traced back to Europe either through the Sherlock Holmes books or mythic tales of heroism. The Western would also goon to instruct other genre’s such as Kurosawa’s samurai films. Through the years the…

In The Great Train Robbery, the social classes in London are very defined, and despite the fact that trains and railroads brought them together, their lives are still very different. Pierce has to come in contact with people from wealth and poverty, so, because of that, the distinctness between both lifestyles is shown. When Pierce needs to gain access to Mr. Trent’s key, he has to stalk him in order to find out his habits. By doing that it is revealed the lavish lifestyle that the Trents live.…

In Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery, Edward Pierce manages to accomplish a robbery many believed to be impossible. Although Peirce was adamant on completing the robbery, the reader is never informed as to why. I believe Edward Pierce was able to commit the “robbery of the century” due to his sociopathic tendencies and his desperate need to get a thrill from life. Throughout The Great Train Robbery, Pierce displays a few traits of a textbook sociopath. Some of the signs of a sociopath…

Why would a “charming, highborn gentleman” like Edward Pierce want to commit a crime so “startling and titillating” as the Great Train Robbery? (Crichton 7). When Pierce was asked at his trial about his motive for “planning and executing this dastardly and shocking crime,” he simply answered that he “wanted the money” (Crichton 357). Pierce’s true motivation was caused by a simple desire; instead, it was caused by his character flaws of greed and egotism. Michael Crichton captured Edward…

The appeal for a longer film with a more in-depth story was coming around. With the assistance of James H. White, Thomas Edison created a 500-foot-long length of film for a movie called, The Life of an American Fireman. This longer film was an immediate success and would lead the industry into an era of longer films. A motion picture, named The Train Robbery, was one of the most influential films for the motion picture industry. It was over 650 feet and had a story made up of 14 scenes.…

interpret the message. Though they have contrasting elements, The Great Train Robbery and The Godfather Part I share similarities that contribute to the visual effects. While watching The Great Train Robbery we view the whole cinema in black and white. Some of the film can be seen as grey due to the different shades of black that occur throughout the movie. The Great Train Robbery took place during the 1900s where technology was not as developed as it is today, because of this black and white…

He Thinks He Can There once was a little train engine that could. There also once was a man named Edward Pierce that could do more, by robbing the train. He did it because he simply believed he was able to achieve his goal. Edward Pierce was an opportunist and deemed himself capable of pulling off the “largest crime of the century” because he had all the necessary assets including money, intelligence, and connections in the underground world. Edward Pierce’s method of acquiring money is…

family during the war propelled him into the spotlight as “the nation’s most revered outlaw” (O’Reilly, 2015, p. 192). While still recovering from injuries, Jesse helped plan the first daytime bank robbery committed during peacetime. The robbery netted over $58,000. One bystander was killed, and Jesse sent a letter of apology to his family (O’Reilly, 2015, p.198). Thus began a fifteen-year-long crime spree that ended only when Jesse James was killed. Jesse and his gang went on to commit…

of power, and gunslingers road around ensuing that a shootout or robbery was going to occur at any time. People did not feel secure with their justice system. They became forced to carry a gun with them at all times just to ensure their safety and the safety of their business. The Daltons gangs first train robbery in February 6, 1891 marked the beginning of the Dalton legacy. Frank Dalton the Deputy Marshall in a small town in Kansas was shot by some drunks drinking whiskey. This lead to his…

Train robberies, the Civil War and a damsel in distress. These are the major plots of Buster Keaton’s The General. The General premiered in 1926 and was written and directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman. The film stars Keaton as train-loving, everyman, Johnny Gray and Marion Mack as Gray’s sweetheart, Annabelle Lee. The General monopolizes on the success of chase films such as The Great Train Robbery to create a film that seamlessly combines drama, action and comedy. In fact, these three…