Film and Cinematography buffs, I have a question.

[Jason California]

Can anybody recommend a good movie that is all one shot? I don't care what it is about, I would just like to see how the movie maker handled the task.

[Joe Kalicki]

There's only one I can think of, but I don't know the title of it. It takes place in a museum.

There are a lot of movies that take place in real time, but that's not really the same.

[NeverWanderer]

Hmm... there is a movie that came out in the late 90s, early 2000s that was basically a four-way split screen starring Selma Hayek, among others. It had the illusion of everything being on single shot, but I dunno if it actually was.

I believe the title was "Timecode".

[Pia Guerra]

Rope, though not all one shot (simply because it was impossible to do when film reels could only record in 10 - 15 minute blocks) it's pretty good at maintaining the sense of one shot throughout with almost seamless cuts.

[Boris the Blade]

Russian Ark is all one shot.

The good is debatable amongst viewers.

Not film though.

[Michael Blacklist]

I believe the title was "Timecode".

That's it. I couldn't think of the name.

[NeverWanderer]

Sheboingboing, man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220100/

[Pia Guerra]

Russian Ark is the movie set in the museum.

EDIT Boris beat me to it.

Also, check out Children of Men for three amazing scenes spliced together from separate shots digitally to look seamless.

[Mark Mavro (kryptic6)]

Rope, though not all one shot (simply because it was impossible to do when film reels could only record in 10 - 15 minute blocks) it's pretty good at maintaining the sense of one shot throughout with almost seamless cuts.

That and Timecode are my only guesses.

Rope is even more impressive I think just because of the harsher limitations Hitchcock had to deal with in shooting reels of film. He had to cleverly find places where he could hide the cut. He definitely pioneered the idea.

[Jason California]

Thanks. If any other ideas come in please let me know.

[Pia Guerra]

You can also check out the Orson Welles film noir, Touch of Evil for a three minute tracking shot that is still considered one of the best long shots ever done. Many directors, including Altman have done similar scenes (the Player) in tribute.

[THWIP!]

Rope, though not all one shot (simply because it was impossible to do when film reels could only record in 10 - 15 minute blocks) it's pretty good at maintaining the sense of one shot throughout with almost seamless cuts.

I was going to come here and post about this movie. I haven't seen all of Hitchcock's work but I really enjoyed this film. The scene cutting or the replacing of the film is obvious but I don't think it takes away from the film. Though in the film reality time flies by really fast.

[Boris the Blade]

Irreversible is also a fake "one-shot" movie.

[Pia Guerra]

Of course, there's the incredible scene in Branagh's Henry V at the end of the Agincourt battle. An absolute must if you're studying long shots.

[Mark Mavro (kryptic6)]

You can also check out the Orson Welles film noir, Touch of Evil for a three minute tracking shot that is still considered one of the best long shots ever done. Many directors, including Altman have done similar scenes (the Player) in tribute.

Try and see the version without music and credits over the scene, though, as Orson Welles originally intended.

[Boris the Blade]

Le Week-end by has quite a few.

[THWIP!]

And if we're talking scenes without cuts the tracking shot in the middle of Atonement was beautiful.

Also Tarantino throws a scene with no cuts into all his films.

[Jason California]

Nice. Even in the wee hours of the night I can count on Benbo. :D

[Boris the Blade]

The opening half-hour of Snake Eyes is all one shot.

[NeverWanderer]

If we're just talking shots, the first scene on Serenity, IN Serenity, is a oner. (Actually, two shots on two different sets that are brilliantly blended together)

[Jason California]

The opening half-hour of Snake Eyes is all one shot.


I have not seen that in years...and I like Cage. sounds like I will check it out again and get Rope in que as well.

[Boris the Blade]

I have not seen that in years...and I like Cage. sounds like I will check it out again and get Rope in que as well.
It's really bad. Really, really bad.

But it fits the criteria.

I like Cage too.

[Michael Blacklist]

Snake Eyes's is not a half hour.

[Joe Kalicki]

De Palma always does long shots. There's one in Mission to Mars too.

[Michael Blacklist]

De Palma always does long shots. There's one in Mission to Mars too.

I liked the Mission to Mars one.

[FedEx Fanboy]

A sort of Homage to Hitchcock's "Rope", "Running Time" starring Bruce Campbell, uses minimals takes/shots to create a fake continuous shot. Subsequently, the film emulates "Real Time".

Kim Ki-Duk's "Real Fiction" was shot using ten 35mm cameras and two digital cameras, all running simultaneously. He shot the 83-minute feature film in 200 minutes and then edited it to a cohesive story.

[(akaRyanHoffman)]

Irreversible is also a fake "one-shot" movie.

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch this.

[Boris the Blade]

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch this.
And I don't hold it against ya.

[Roger]

i'm trying to think of the title.
but it came out last year, and it's 4 shorts and each one is supposed to be all 1 shot....

[Andreas]

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch this.

The good thing is, it has kind of a happy ending. :innocent:

Andreas

[Uther]

There are loads of films that are episodic films made of a handful of 10 to 20 minute long takes. It was quite the thing a few years ago on the festival circuit.

Also, the recent Australian Indie Boxing Day is all one non-cheated take. What makes it better than Russian Ark is that it isn't terrible.

[Bill Nolan]

Just go see a play. :P

[Jason California]

Just go see a play. :P

Not quite the same thing Bill, but thanks for trying. ;-)

[LordKinbote]

There's an episode of The X-Files called "Triangle" that uses four unbroken shots that are around 10 minutes.

[SteveFlack]

There's tons of porn that fits this description.

-Steve!

[schizorabbit]

There was that one Johnny Depp movie--Nick of Time--that was supposed to create the illusion of one shot, but then the movie chickened out somewhere along the line and cut away to other characters (bad guys?).

[MIKE D]

There was that one Johnny Depp movie--Nick of Time--that was supposed to create the illusion of one shot, but then the movie chickened out somewhere along the line and cut away to other characters (bad guys?).

No the only gimmick in that movie was that it was supposed to be shot in real time.

[schizorabbit]

No the only gimmick in that movie was that it was supposed to be shot in real time.

Ahhhh. Hence, the title: Nick...of TIME!!!! Thanks for the correction. Never mind.

[schizorabbit]

Did you happen to catch that long-ass one-shot fight scene from Oldboy?

http://www.videosift.com/video/Old-Boys-Corridor-Hammer-Fight-One-shot-Choreography

[Fourthman]

No the only gimmick in that movie was that it was supposed to be shot in real time.

24 later stole the gimmick and the plot for its first season.

[MIKE D]

24 later stole the gimmick and the plot for its first season.

True. The benefit of doing that gimmick over two hours instead of twenty four is that there's just no time for anyone to suffer short term memory loss or be chased by cougars.

[Lab-Rat]

only thing I can't think of is

Running Time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Time_%28film%29

Stars Bruce Campbell. Written produced and directed by Josh Becker. It was filmed in real time...and it also tracks as a continuous take with no cuts. So...it's not really a movie done in one shot...but it looks like it (outside of one place where blood gets on the camera lens and then a few minutes later disappears).

Josh Becker was supposedly inspired by the idea behind Hitchcok's Rope, even though he felt it was a bad movie. There's a really good "behind the scenes" write up by Josh Becker himself that I thought was a good read.

http://www.beckerfilms.com/page3.html


I own the movie on DVD and I really enjoyed it. The Commentary by Campbell, like will all his comentaries, is a good one. I got to meet Bruce once at a book signing and got to talk about the film with him for a bit. He was really impressed as most of his fans never talk about that one. He was really proud of it as an actor.