The Kiss in the Tunnel

The Kiss in the Tunnel is a short silent film directed by the British film director George Albert Smith and released by G. A. S. Films in 1899.

Plot
At the start of the film we see the entrance of a railway tunnel and a train rushing out of it. The entrance gets closer to us, making us understand that we are watching the film from the point of view of an engine entering the tunnel. The camera then switch to a man and a woman sitting inside the goods truck. The man is reading a newspaper and smoking a cigar and the woman is reading a book. They exchange glances and then the man gets up and kisses the woman on a cheek. He sits down, put his hat on the seat and kisses the woman again on both cheeks. He sits down again accidentally crashing his top hat so he puts a fist inside it to fix it. Both resume reading. The perspective returns to the train's one and we see that it exits the tunnel.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Most likely the very first sentimental film ever made.
 * 2) One of the first films composed by more than a single scene: the tunnel and the inside of the train car/goods truck.
 * 3) In this film editing was used to develop the story gradually, without time skips. For this reason, the scene where we see for the first time the passengers is widely considered to mark the birth of the narrative editing.
 * 4) It has survived in very good conditions, despite its age.
 * 5) This sparks the romance genre and romance films that we know today.

Trivia

 * 1) Several imitations of this movie were made; one of them, "What Happened in the Tunnel", was made by Edwin S. Porter, director of the famous film The Great Train Robbery.

Video
Being the film in the public domain, it can be viewed for free on YouTube. Since the uploader has added music and sound effects, it is advised to mute the sound if you want to experience the film in its original form.

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