'Arrival of a Train' and 'Damsel in distress'

The short film 'Arrival of a Train' is a realist film that is composed of no cutting whatsoever. The single shot the scene is made of shows simply the arrival of a train at train station, thus the name. People are coming on and off the train and the quick scene wit the very upbeat and cartoonish piano score helps to give a sense of childishness to the scene. It's interesting to look at the scene on its own because while it's only 50 seconds long and doesn't hold as many ideas as other films, it quickly gives clear insight to the people who take the train every day to and from work. This being very monotonous for many people, in company with with music and the matching actions like the doors opening gives it an interesting impression that this day isn't as monotonous as the average day is. This scene greatly supports that it's a Realist film because of the long single shot that shows a period of time with no alteration to the actual time showing 'real time'.

The short film 'Damsel in distress', very different from 'Arrival of a Train' is a clearly Classical film with many quick cuts as well as having time sped up slightly. These aspects help to give the film a very high energy with a lot of tension built up around the main character. The main character being chained to the train tracks gives an interesting foil to the dog who is running long distances at high speeds metaphorically carrying the story on his back. By running from the woman to the man back to the woman and then to the train conductors he acts as a liaison between all of the characters in the film, sort of transforming him into the main character. At the end of the film the dog can be seen as the center more clearly when the people come together. It's interesting to look at this film because without the rapid cuts and the sped up action the film would not be abe to portray the numerous connections and ideas that it does, all emphasized by the lack of sound.