One-shot film

A one-shot film (also one-take film, single-take film, continuous shot feature film) is a full-length movie filmed in one long take by a single camera, or manufactured to give the impression it was.[1]

Use and theory

[edit]

In a 2019 article, discussing the award-winning film 1917 (2019), Eric Grode of The New York Times wrote that very long takes were becoming popular in more mainstream films "as a sobering reminder of temporality, a virtuosic calling card, a self-issued challenge or all of the above", also citing the Academy Award-winner from several years prior, Birdman (2014).[2]

History

[edit]

Grode notes that before such films as 1917 and Birdman, the idea of experimenting with long uninterrupted takes had a history of over 80 years, with Alfred Hitchcock being a pioneer. Aside from early experiments like Young and Innocent and Notorious, the most famous early example of a film that extensively uses long takes is the 1948 Rope, which was shot in mainly seven-to-ten–minute continuous takes (the physical limit of film stock at the time) that appear as four long takes of around 15 to 20 minutes each, close to the maximum length allowed by the cinema projectors of the time.[3] Reportedly, James Stewart, star of Rope, did not like the long takes and apparently muttered on set that the cameras were more important than the actors.[2] Hitchcock intended to shoot the film as if it were a play, and timed five of the ten segments to allow for hidden edits behind furniture; elaborate camera and actor choreography was used. He wrote Rope this way because he felt "if time passed between cuts, the suspense of whether the body was still in the trunk would be lost".[4]

Grode also examines the 1958 film Touch of Evil as an example, though only its three-minute opening sequence is shot in real time. However, the use of a real time ticking bomb through the single shot is seen as a standard.[2]

Although animated films are not included in a list of one-shot films, The Wolf House (2018) is a deconstructed example of (stop-motion) animated film that presented in a form of single, unbroken shot sequence.[5][6][7]

Notable examples

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Actual "one shot"

[edit]
Year Title Length Director Nationality Ref.
1982 Macbeth 57 min. (longest shot)[a] Béla Tarr Hungary [8]
1998 Big Monday 74 min. Michael Rehfield United States [9]
2000 Timecode 97 min. Mike Figgis United States [10]
2002 Russian Ark 96 min. Alexander Sokurov Russia [11]
2003 Sábado [es] 65 min. Matías Bize Chile [12]
2007 Alternation 11 min Mehdi Fard Ghaderi Iran [13]
2007 PVC-1 85 min. Spiros Stathoulopoulos Colombia [14]
2008 Still Orangutans' 81 min. Gustavo Spolidero Brazil [15]
2011 Reversing Circles 21 min. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi Iran [16]
2013 Rati Chakravyuh 102 min. Ashish Avikunthak India [17]
2013 Fish & Cat 134 min. Shahram Mokri Iran [18]
2013 El triste olor de la carne 87 min. Cristóbal Arteaga Spain [19]
2013 Ana Arabia 85 min. Amos Gitai Israel [20]
2013 Somebody Marry Me 98 min. John Asher United States [21]
2013 Daikuko 98 min. Mitani Koki Japan [22]
2014 Agadam 123 min. Mohamad Issack India [23]
2015 Victoria 140 min. Sebastian Schipper Germany [24]
2015 Anino sa likod ng buwan 120 min. Jun Lana Philippines [25]
2015 The Story Of A Rainy Night 24 min Mehdi Fard Ghaderi Iran [26]
2015 Daksha 142 min. S. Narayan India [27]
2016 Paint Drying 607 min. Charlie Shackleton United Kingdom [28]
2016 Eight 81 min. Peter Blackburn Australia [29]
2016 Immortality 145 min. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi Iran [30]
2016 King Dave 99 min. Podz Canada [31]
2017 Fourplay 77 min. Dean Ronalds United States [32]
2017 The Wedding Party 119 min. Thane Economou United States [33]
2017 One Shot-Fear Without Cut 140 min. Haroon Rashid India [34]
2017 One Cut of the Dead 37 min. (longest shot) Shin'ichirō Ueda Japan [35]
2017 Watch The Sunset 83 min. Tristan Barr & Michael Gosden Australia [36]
2017 Lost in London 103 min. Woody Harrelson United Kingdom [37]
2018 Heegondhu Dina 106.11 min Vikram Yoganand India [38]
2018 The Silent Pasture of Sparrows 20 min. Qmars Mootab United States [39]
2018 Utøya: July 22 90 min. Erik Poppe Norway [40]
2018 Blind Spot 98 min. Tuva Novotny Norway [41]
2018 Jaalo 101 min Araaj Keshav Giri Nepal [42]
2018 Tatort: Die Musik stirbt zuletzt [de] 88 min. Dani Levy Switzerland [43][44]
2018 A Boy. A Girl. A Dream: Love on Election Night 89 min. Qasim Basir United States [45]
2019 El Amor No Puede Esperar (Love Can't Wait) 76 min. Juan Carlos Carrasco Mexico [46]
2019 Last Call 77 min. Gavin Michael Booth Canada [47]
2019 Shonibar Bikel 83 min Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Bangladesh [48]
2020 Limbo [de] 89 min. Tim Dünschede Germany [49]
2020 Let's Scare Julie 83 min. Jud Cremata United States [50][51]
2021 Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam 85 min. Don Palathara India [52]
2021 Rendez-Vous 105 min. Pablo Olmos Arrayales Mexico [53]
2021 Roaring 20's 85 min. Elisabeth Vogler France [54]
2021 Boiling Point 94 min. Philip Barantini United Kingdom [55]
2021 Causalidad 115 min. Who (Marcelo Politano) Argentina [56]
2022 Iravin Nizhal 98 min R. Parthiban India [57]
2022 Yuddha Kaandam 90 min Bose Venkat India [58]
2023 Tales from the Neighborhood Café 41 min. Al Hallak United States [59]
2023 The Night Inside 23 min Antonio Cuesta Spain [60]
2023 Failure! 87 min. Alex Kahuam Mexico - United States [61]
2024 MadS 88 min. David Moreau France [62]
2024 An Order From the Sky 72 min. Karthi Radhakrishnan India [63]
  1. ^ One five-minute shot and the film's opening credits precede the film's 57 minute main shot.

Edited to appear as "one shot"

[edit]
Year Title Length Director Nationality Notes Ref.
1964 Empire 485 min. Andy Warhol United States [64]
2002 Irréversible 92 min. Gaspar Noe France An experimental film combines with one-shot and reverse order. [65][66]
2010 The Silent House 86 min. Gustavo Hernández Uruguay [67]
2011 Silent House 87 min. Chris Kentis, Laura Lau United States [68]
2014 Birdman 119 minutes Alejandro González Iñárritu United States [2]
2019 1917 118 min. Sam Mendes United Kingdom Actually edited to appear as two shots, with the camera cutting to black as the protagonist gets knocked out half-way. [69]
2020 Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes 70 min. Junta Yamaguchi Japan [70]
2021 One Shot 97 min. James Nunn United Kingdom [71]
2022 Medusa Deluxe 100 min. Thomas Hardiman United Kingdom [72]
2023 Shttl 114 min. Ady Walter Ukraine [73]
2024 One More Shot 102 min. James Nunn United Kingdom [74]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Best one shot (one-take) movies". FEENTA. 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  2. ^ a b c d Grode, Eric (December 25, 2019). "1917 Isn't the First (Supposedly) One-Shot Film. Here's a Timeline". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Bordwell, David (2008). Poetics of Cinema. New York: Routledge. pp. 32–36. ISBN 9780415977791.
  4. ^ "'1917' and 12 Other 'One-Shot' Movies, From 'Timecode' to 'Birdman' (Photos)". TheWrap. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  5. ^ "Ten Rules for Animating The Wolf House". walkerart.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  6. ^ Jutton, Lee (2020-05-13). "THE WOLF HOUSE: A Delightfully Disturbing Fairy Tale". Film Inquiry. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  7. ^ Kenny, Glenn (2020-05-14). "'The Wolf House' Review: A Different Kind of Quarantine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  8. ^ "Bela Tarr: Macbeth (1982)". Can't Stop the Movies. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  9. ^ Smith, Clay (1999-03-19). "Reflections". The Austin Chronicle. Austin. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  10. ^ Williams, Richard (2000-08-11). "Once upon a Time Code". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  11. ^ Ward, Caleb (2014-04-22). "Behind the Scenes of the 96 Minute Shot, The Russian Ark". The Beat. PremiumBeat. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  12. ^ "Sábado (2003)". cinechile.
  13. ^ Alternation ( تناوب ) by Mehdi Fard Ghaderi - Iran Drama Short Film | Viddsee. Retrieved 2024-05-07 – via www.viddsee.com.
  14. ^ Beale, Lewis (2008-07-15). "A movie shot in real time recalls Colombian nightmare". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  15. ^ Lowe, Justin (2008-11-12). "Still Orangutans". The Hollywood Reporter. AP. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  16. ^ "The Documentary And Experimental Film Center". defcapp.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  17. ^ Sorabjee, Deepika (2014-07-06). "Circling Time". ArtSlant. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  18. ^ Simon, Alissa (2013-09-17). "Venice Film Review: 'Fish & Cat'". Variety. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  19. ^ Dalton, Stephen (2013-07-10). "The Sad Smell of Flesh (El Triste Olor de la Carne): Karlovy Vary Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  20. ^ Lyttelton, Oliver (2013-09-09). "Venice Review: Amos Gitai's Shot-In-One-Take 'Ana Arabia'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  21. ^ "Malibu local completes film". The Malibu Times. 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  22. ^ "Mitani Koki to film another single-cut drama starring Takeuchi Yuko". Tokyo Hive. 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  23. ^ Jeshi, K. (2014-01-02). "A record start". The Hindu. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  24. ^ Kohn, Eric (2015-02-16). "Adopt Films Picks Up One-Shot Heist Thriller 'Victoria'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  25. ^ "Shadow Behind the Moon". Five Flavours Film Festival. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  26. ^ "Story of a Rainy Night wins San Pedro Filmfest". en.irna.ir. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  27. ^ "Duniya Vijay's 'Daksha' with S.Narayan". Sify Movies. 2014-04-07. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  28. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (2016-01-26). "BBFC rates Paint Drying film 'U', after sitting through all 607 minutes". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  29. ^ Barry, Kristina (2014-03-28). "One shot wonders – how feature film Eight was made". The Creative Issue. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  30. ^ "Rome Film Fest; Immortality, shot in a single take". Variety. 2016-10-03.
  31. ^ Kelly, Brendan (2016-07-11). "Podz's King Dave: One-shot film premières at Fantasia". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  32. ^ Scheck, Frank (2018-04-01). "'Fourplay': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  33. ^ Chitwood, Adam (2017-05-16). "'The Wedding Party' Trailer Reveals Romantic Comedy Shot Entirely in One Take". Collider. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  34. ^ Shukla, Richa (2017-01-02). "Haroon Rashid's film in Guinness World Records". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  35. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2019-01-04). "One Cut of the Dead review – zombie films get a shot in the arm". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  36. ^ Cunningham, James (2017-03-01). "Australia's first single-take feature film, 'Watch the Sunset', with it's cinematographer Damien Lipp". Australian Cinematographer Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  37. ^ McGovern, Joe (2016-12-06). "Woody Harrelson will make history with world's first-ever 'live cinema' movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  38. ^ "'Heegondhu Dina' review: This ambitious Kannada film deserves a watch for sheer audacity". 31 March 2018.
  39. ^ Buder, Emily (2018-01-24). "How a Sundance Film Pulled Off a 90-Minute Single Take". No Film School. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  40. ^ Connolly, Kate (2018-02-19). "Utøya massacre re-enactment stuns Berlin audiences". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  41. ^ Lodge, Guy (2018-10-03). "Film Review: 'Blind Spot'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  42. ^ "Nepali Movie – Jaalo (Guinness world record holder one-shot film) – Nepal & Nepali". 24 September 2018. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  43. ^ Brachmann, Jan (2018-08-05). "Luzern hören und sterben". Faz.net. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  44. ^ comparison between the Swiss and Standard German versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcsqnJeQZw
  45. ^ Buder, Emily (2018-01-24). "How a Sundance Film Pulled Off a 90-Minute Single Take". No Film School. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  46. ^ Carrasco, Juan Carlos, Love Can't Wait (Comedy, Romance), retrieved 2021-03-21
  47. ^ Debruge, Peter (2020-09-18). "'Last Call' Review: A Split-Screen Stunt Obscures the Statement at the Center of This Suicidal Plea for Help". Variety. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  48. ^ "Farooki's 'Shonibar Bikel' selected for Sydney Film Festival 2019". Dhaka Tribune. 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-05-21. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  49. ^ Ortmann, Joana (2020-02-20). "Das ist das One-Shot-Experiment von fünf HFF-Absolventen". Bayerischer Rundfunk. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  50. ^ "How Jud Cremata pulled off a one-shot thriller with 'Let's Scare Julie'". Screen International. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  51. ^ "Let's Scare Julie". Film Seekers. 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  52. ^ "Don Palathara's next is Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam". Cinema Express. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  53. ^ "Thriller Shot in One Take 'Rendez-Vous' Due on VOD Feb. 12 From Level 33". MediaPlayNews. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  54. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (April 21, 2021). "Tribeca-Bound, Paris-Set 'Roaring 20's'Acquired by Films Boutique (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  55. ^ "Boiling Point". 55th Karlovy Vary IFF. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  56. ^ "Amazon Prime Video premieres Causalidad, a film made entirely in sequence shot". Market Research Telecast. 2021-12-17. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  57. ^ "A Single-Shot Film Of Phenomenal Power And Ambition". NDTV review. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  58. ^ "India's First Single Shot Action Movie 'YUDDHA KAANDAM ' Will Be An Internationally Recognised And Awards Winning Movie Which Will Create A Lot Of Sensations". industryhit review. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  59. ^ Cranwell, Taylor (2023-06-20). "'Tales from the Neighborhood Cafe' Puts Alexandria's St. Elmo's Coffee Pub on the Movie Map". The Zebra. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  60. ^ "La Noche Dentro - Film Distribution". LINE UP Film Agency. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  61. ^ "Ted Raimi Thriller 'Failure!' Snapped Up for North American Distribution at Cannes Market by Red Water Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  62. ^ Robinson, Tasha (October 18, 2024). "MadS' director says shooting a blood-gushing single-take horror movie is easy, kinda". Polygon. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  63. ^ "WORLD'S FIRST SINGLE SHOT WITH SINGLE CHARACTER FEATURE FILM".
  64. ^ Ciampaglia, Dante A. (August 5, 2014). "Andy Warhol's Empire Turns 50". Architectural Record. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  65. ^ Sterritt, David (2005). Guiltless Pleasures: A David Sterritt Film Reader. University Press of Mississippi. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-57806-780-0.
  66. ^ Renga, Dana (2013). Unfinished Business: Screening the Italian Mafia in the New Millennium. University of Toronto Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4426-1558-8.
  67. ^ Gingold, Michael (May 11, 2019). "A Walk Through The Silent House with Director Gustavo Hernández". Fangoria. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  68. ^ Thompson, Bob (March 8, 2012). "Elizabeth Olsen on Silent House and why she'll never co-star with Mary-Kate and Ashley". National Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.
  69. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 26, 2019). "Making of '1917': How Sam Mendes Filmed a "Ticking Clock Thriller"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  70. ^ Balmont, James (3 December 2021). "Screen sensation: the single-shot thriller bringing time-travel into the Zoom era". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  71. ^ Harvey, Dennis (November 5, 2021). "'One Shot' Review: Defending a High-Security U.S. Military Base in Gimmicky Single-Take Stunt". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  72. ^ Lodge, Guy (7 August 2022). "'Medusa Deluxe' Review: One-Shot Hairdressing Murder Mystery Is an Elaborate, Backcombed Tease". Variety. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  73. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-09-01). "'SHTTL': Single-Shot Shoah Feature With Saul Rubinek Wraps In Ukraine; Sets To Be Maintained As Open-Air Museum". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  74. ^ Eoin (2024). "One More Shot (2024) Review". Retrieved 2024-08-28.