Edwin S. Porter

Edwin S. Porter (born April 21, 1870 — died April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer and director, known for early narrative films produced for Thomas Edison's company.

Worked for the Edison film company; directed The Great Train Robbery (1903); credited in film history for early uses of narrative editing techniques such as cross-cutting and for contributing to the development of early narrative and genre cinema.

Stagecoach's review highlights Edwin S. Porter's role as writer/producer/director of The Great Train Robbery (1903). The short (under 12 minutes) is presented as historically important, an early Western/Action and notable for editing techniques like cross-cutting, camera movement and on-location shooting. The review also calls out an infamous final shot of a bandit firing at the camera.

For:students of film history, silent-film enthusiasts, cinema scholars and curious viewers