Way Down East
The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery
(Edwin S. Porter, US 1903, 12 min., 35mm)
Way Down East
(D. W. Griffith, US 1920, 148 min., 35mm)
Tricks through Time | Silent Tuesdays. The second silent night of our special effects program is dedicated to the fathers of editing and suspense, Porter and Griffith. Porter’s milestone The Great Train Robbery is one of the earliest films to use the technique of cross cutting, in which two scenes happening in two different locations are shown simultaneously. Griffith’s dynamic flair for action makes the best of this innovation in the classic climatic sequence of Way Down East on top of breaking ice floes. Live piano by Philip C. Carli. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.