This wonderful film, beautifully shot by the legendary James Wong Howe, also contains a cinematic first. The opening shot of the train is the first ever helicopter shot in motion picture history. Picnic was filmed shortly after the invention of the steadicam, and the new technology was utilized for the sweeping opening shot. All the cinematography is incredible, and makes this film worth seeing, even if you're not really a fan of melodrama.
shareI don't know what version of "Picnic" you were watching but it wasn't the 1955 version. After the Columbia logo opens the film we see a train yard at ground level and William Holden departs a box car and goes to the river's edge to clean up. All the while there are no helicopter shots during this opening title sequence.
I think maybe you meant the ending. That is the only shot I can think of with a train filmed from above.
Boy oh boy... you're just wrong all over the place.
The Steadicam was invented in the 70s and came into common use in the 80s. If you had lived through it, you'd remember the transition from dolly shots where the platform was oviously shaking, to the smooth aerisl shots in movies like The Shining.
Do you just make up your "facts?" You're two and a half decades ahead of schedule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steadicam