Cool movie. This and A Trip to the Moon are good introductions to the earlier, simpler days of cinema before Griffith modernized it with all of his 'advanced techniques' and 'art.' Not that those are bad things ... but it's interesting to see narratives and creative ideas coming into films.

It's hard to judge fairly a film that is over 110 years old. But I'm sorry, it was dull. There are a couple of technical innovations, such as the shot on top of a moving train, and what I believe is the first ever camera pan, but narrative-wise it's poor compared to the films that Georges Méliès had already been making for a few years.

On a side note, I was surprised to find that the very famous shot of the man firing a gun into the camera was right at the end of the film, with no context at all. An early ancestor of the Family Guy cut-away gag, perhaps? :p

In conclusion, if you're going to watch an ancient movie, I would recommend that you watch Voyage dans la Lune instead. At least that one is kind of entertaining.

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