Comparing the first movie with modern ones

Today I watched the Great Train Robbery. The story is about some robbers. They stop a train and steal $5,000. A group of men goes after them. They kill all the robbers and the back the money. This is the first American film, made in 1903 by Edwin S. Porter for Thomas Edison.

 "The Great Train Robbery" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There were some things different to a modern film.

• It was silent
• It was black and white
• Things were not real, eg a clock, a wall, a door
• It was easy to get on the train - no stuntmen
• Bad acting eg when a man got shot
• Not realistic special effects eg using a doll an explosion
• Peoples' clothes are old
• Using slow horses
• Animals are in danger when the robbers got shot by the group of men
• Ending is very sudden

Some things were the same.

• It was an action story
• There were animals in the story
• The bad guys lose
• There was a chase
• They were using guns to steal money
• It was a little exciting

Posted by Yuto, after reading The Story of Motion Pictures, a Richmond ELT graded reader. It was an exciting movie!