The Western genre has been a major part of movie and television history. Americans and the world have been fascinated with the “The Old West” and we have seen the western genre merge with other genres such as comedy, science fiction, and even musical.

One of the first true films ever created was the The Great Train Robbery in 1903 by Edwin S. Porter. The twelve minute film is considered legendary for the use of ground breaking film techniques like double exposure and cross cutting. To this day film students all around the world study it for it’s innovation and historical value.

I thought it would be interesting to compare one of the first western films ever created to the 2008 film Appaloosa which will be released to theaters on October 3rd. Appaloosa has a star studded cast including Viggo Mortenson, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger, and many more.

The Great Train Robbery

Here is the full 12 minute film. However, there is no sound in this video because motion pictures did not have reliable sound and film synchronization until 1923.

Appaloosa Trailer

It’s obvious things have come a long way since 1903.

If you would like to delve deeper into the history of western films wikipedia has a comprehensive list of western films.