The Great Train Robbery (1903) and the Development of Narrative Cinema

In the article “Moving Towards Fictional Narratives: Story films become the dominant product 1903-1904” Musser explains how film The Great Train Robbery (1903) is an example of the shift from actuality to fiction; the film demonstrated that it was possible to create a gripping story even with the defined limits in the narrative constructions at the time. It is important to mention that the change to fiction film did require an adaptation of the editing systems, modification of the contraction of viewing positions, and a change in the modes of identification.

The Great Train Robbery (1903) exemplifies the different elements that contributed to the development of narrative cinema. It was the first creative American film which narrative revolved around crime, pursuit, and retribution. In the early 1900s “the chase” became an important aspect of film narratives; it encouraged a simplification of the story line, this made voice narration and linear progression of narrative unnecessary. In other words, the chase in films created a self-sufficient narrative in which the viewers understood the story just with the information that was given to them in the film. The railway subgenre was also fundamental to the development of narrative. It had a very important role in changing the ways the audience identified with the story world. Musser argues that identification in this subgenre happened in three levels: the subject of the camera, the camera itself, and with the narratorial perspective. The different possibilities of identification and emotional involvement in these railroad narratives gave people the possibility to travel regardless of their positionality.