Short of the Week: The first heist movie ever made
There is no doubt that the heist genre is a true fan favourite. Ranging from the Oceans series to the Fast and Furious films, some of the most popular franchises in modern cinema have been directly influenced by the evolution of heist movies.
Of course, some of the greatest heist films were made during the film noir era. The chiaroscuro of noir aesthetics perfectly complemented the genre, complicating the blurred morality of a post-World War II society. Later, filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Michael Mann played around with the frameworks of heist movies and created something new in the process.
While Tarantino and Mann have many cinematic predecessors when it comes to heist films, it can all be traced back to Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 short The Great Train Robbery. Inspired by westerns and real incidents involving actual outlaws, the film paints an unflinching portrait of violence and crime in the United States.
Utilising new European filmmaking techniques and on-location shoots, The Great Train Robbery represents an important point in the trajectory of American cinema. Although some scholars have tried to cite it as the first western, The Great Train Robbery doesn’t exactly fit into the highly distinct sensibilities of the genre. However, it can definitely be viewed as the first heist movie in history.
The film has become an integral part of American popular culture, influencing auteurs such as Martin Scorsese, who paid tribute to it in his gangster epic Goodfellas. The unprecedented moments of hyper-violence left an indelible mark on the traditions of American filmmaking, successfully combining the power of moving images with the extensive mythology of America.
The Great Train Robbery’s most powerful shot, of course, is the shocking close-up at the end of the film. It’s a visceral shot of the outlaw leader emptying his gun into the camera, almost tearing down the fourth wall by insisting that the audience cannot escape from the violence. Famously, this was the moment that influenced James Bond’s identical sequences.
Watch the silent short below.
