Alfonso Cuaron's new film "Gravity" debuted a fabulous new trailer recently. The content of the trailer is astounding enough, but what really stands out is the way it is presented: in a single, unbroken shot. An unbroken shot, or "long take", is a shot that contains no film edits. A typical shot only lasts between 5 - 12 seconds, so when you see one that lasts anywhere above 45 seconds you start to take notice. The scene in the "Gravity" trailer lasts just under two minutes, which is an impressive feat. It also makes us think about some of the other amazing single-take shots that we've seen. These are our top 10 favorites.
It's become accepted internet-era knowledge that Joss Whedon's "Firefly" should not have been cancelled. Back in 2003, Fox didn't get the memo and they cancelled it anyway. In 2005 Whedon gave the fans some closure with a feature-length film that wrapped up most of the show's unanswered questions. But rather than counting on people to know the show already before going into "Serenity", Whedon made an effort to catch the uninitiated up to speed. The opening scene of "Serenity" not only introduces us to all the main characters (of which there are many), but also expertly conveys the unconventional setting, the rules of the universe, and the tone of the film. All of this is done in a shot that appears to last continuously for over four minutes. This is a bit of trickery however, as there is an invisible cut halfway through the scene.
This is another Whedon film that achieves a long take without actually filming the scene all at once. The scene during the battle of Manhattan follows each individual superhero across the city as they're fighting, cleverly showing how they work together as an actual team. The shot only lasts 44 seconds, but in that time we cover a massive distance and are shown exactly what we want to see: heroes kicking ass.
Jean Luc-Godard's experimental black comedy Weekend is not exactly an easy watch. You may find it easier to view over the course of several sessions. Then you might truly learn to love this famous tracking shot of a glacial traffic jam. As a married couple navigates their way through the stalemate of cars, we may start to squirm at the seven-minute long shot. After all, not much in terms of story is happening on-screen. But as the commentary track on the below clip points out, there is a significant amount of symbolism behind the vehicles and activities we see during the traffic jam. Finally, nothing can prepare us for the way the scene concludes.
Orson Welles changed the directing game with "Citizen Kane", but that was not his only grand achievement. The 1958 film "Touch of Evil" is an excellent piece of crime-thriller filmmaking, and the opening scene is remembered as one of the greatest tracking shots of all time. We begin with an unseen man planting a bomb in the trunk of a car. As the scene unfolds, the car begins subtly interacting with the films' main character Mike Vargas and his wife Susan (Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh). At this point, the car and Mike have no connection, and yet the way Welles has them dance around each other lets us know that soon these two plots will converge.
Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" chronicles real-life gangster Henry Hill's journey up the ranks of the mob in New York. This scene, featuring Hill and his date entering a nightclub through the kitchen and making their way to their seats, is a three-minute long metaphor for Hill's rise from small-time crook to powerful crime boss.
"Oldboy" is a pretty messed-up movie. You won't walk away from it feeling very clean, but you will know that you've just experienced something great. Perhaps the greatest scene comes when main character Dae-Su, on a quest for vengeance, encounters a narrow hallway full of enemies with nothing to defend himself but a hammer. Rather than showing us the action head on, director Chan-wook Park takes a side-scroller approach and places his audience in the wall. The choreography of the scene is magnificent.
Many films depicting war have had some great long takes or tracking shots. "Gone with the Wind" featured the heart-stopping shot of Scarlet walking through the field of injured people after the burning of Atlanta. Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" boasts multiple great (short) tracking shots, including Gen. Mireau walking through the trenches or Col. Dax leading his men into battle. But "Atonement" takes all of those shots and expands on them enormously. Featuring a soldier wishing to return home to his love, the scene takes us through the ravaged beach of Dunkirk. The choreography of the scene is massive, with hundreds of extras to wrangle, as well as pyrotechnic and animal cues to time perfectly. Click here to check out the scene.
Robert Altman's "The Player" is one of the best satires of Hollywood ever made, and it got off to a great start with its opening shot. In a stunning eight-minute long shot, Altman brings us through a movie studio, overhearing executives talk about movies. The audience's eye wanders around the lot, occasionally peeking through windows eavesdropping on movie pitches in progress. If the tour wasn't enough, Altman also shows great self-awareness by having two characters walking around discussing great tracking shots in movies, such as "Touch of Evil" and "Rope".
So we've made our way back to the man who made "Gravity", Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron's "Children of Men" boasts multiple amazing long takes and it's difficult limiting this article to just one. While the climactic uprising is a phenomenal example of tracking through a large area with many pyrotechnic cues (like "Atonement"), an earlier scene featuring a car shootout steals the show. The camera primarily stays at the center of the car interior and swivels to capture action as it happens. Some speculate that the shot actually was compiled with a series of sessions (like "The Avengers"), but most believe the scene was done in a single take.
What are some of your favorite long takes in movie history? Tweet me @NicksMovies or @StageBuddy and let me know!
