The Dryden will screen The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, U.S. 1903, 12 min., 35mm), and Way Down East (D. W. Griffith, U.S. 1920, 148 min., 35mm) with live piano accompaniment by Philip C. Carli as part of the Tricks through Time series.

The second silent night of our special effects program is dedicated to the fathers of editing and suspense, Porter and Griffith. Porter's milestone The Great Train Robbery is one of the earliest films to use the technique of cross cutting, in which two scenes happening in two different locations are shown simultaneously. Griffith's dynamic flair for action makes the best of this innovation in the classic climatic sequence of Way Down East on top of breaking ice floes.

[source: George Eastman Museum calendar, 2017-Jul-17]