The Death Train

The Death Train was originally conceived of as part of John Moran's opera Everyday Newt Burman. The film was honored with a Bessie Award for outstanding design achievement during the 1992-93 theater season. The opera was produced by Ridge Theatre, directed by Bob McGrath, and staged at La Mama, E.T.C., in 1993. A history of cinema is played out during the film's lifetime. Early train footage and zoetrope animation are combined with mid-century newsreel and educational films, concluding finally in a long modern aerial shot. Each frame is a compartment in the train of film, pausing briefly before our eyes to be observed, thereby living its life in the screening, while being carried to the Hereafter.