This hour-long documentary on the early career of Edwin S. Porter, one of early cinema's most innovative and prolific pioneers and the director of "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), uses much of the research and history also found in Charles Musser's book "Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company." Musser is an authority on the early films of the Edison Company and, consequently, the films of Porter, who became the Edison Company's foremost filmmaker for a time. His book is over 500 pages and a valuable source on the subject, but this one-hour teaching tool, also made by Musser, doesn't do it justice.
Perhaps, this documentary could be useful in perking an interest in early cinema; otherwise, it's quick and somewhat dull. Those already interested can learn more elsewhere, such as in Musser's books. The film only covers Porter's films from 1898 to 1902, too, which means that many of his more interesting pictures, such as "The Great Train Robbery" or "Dream of a Rarebit Fiend" (1906), are barely mentioned or not mentioned at all. It would have been better, I think, if they'd made it longer than an hour and covered Porter's entire film-making career--something similar to the highly recommended documentary on Georges Méliès, "La Magie Méliès" (The Magic of Méliès) (1997).
On the other hand, the late silent film star Blanche Sweet, who appeared in many of the films of America's next great filmmaker after Porter, D.W. Griffith, is the documentary's narrator. And, several short films are shown in their entirety, including Porter's "Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison" (1901), "Appointment by Telephone," "Jack and the Beanstalk" (both 1902), "Life of an American Fireman" (1903) and others. There's also some instructive discussion on early film editing developments and styles.
