One-shot film

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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]

Contents

Use and theory

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

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


Actual "one shot"

YearTitleLengthDirectorNationalityRef.
1982 Macbeth 57 min. (longest shot) [lower-alpha 1] 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 PVC-1 85 min. Spiros Stathoulopoulos Colombia [13]
2008 Still Orangutans'81 min. Gustavo Spolidero Brazil [14]
2013 Rati Chakravyuh 102 min. Ashish Avikunthak India [15]
2013 Fish & Cat 134 min. Shahram Mokri Iran [16]
2013 El triste olor de la carne 87 min. Cristóbal Arteaga Spain [17]
2013 Ana Arabia 85 min. Amos Gitai Israel [18]
2013Somebody Marry Me98 min. John Asher United States [19]
2013Daikuko98 min.Mitani KokiJapan [20]
2014 Agadam 123 min. Mohamad Issack India [21]
2015 Victoria 140 min. Sebastian Schipper Germany [22]
2015Anino sa likod ng buwan120 min. Jun Lana Philippines [23]
2015 Daksha 142 min. S. Narayan India [24]
2016 Paint Drying 607 min. Charlie Shackleton United Kingdom [25]
2016Eight81 min.Peter BlackburnAustralia [26]
2016 Immortality 145 min. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi Iran [27]
2016 King Dave 99 min. Podz Canada [28]
2017Fourplay77 min.Dean RonaldsUnited States [29]
2017 The Wedding Party 119 min. Thane Economou United States [30]
2017One Shot-Fear Without Cut140 min.Haroon RashidIndia [31]
2017 One Cut of the Dead 37 min. (longest shot)Shin'ichirō UedaJapan [32]
2017Watch The Sunset83 min. Tristan Barr & Michael Gosden Australia [33]
2017 Lost in London 103 min. Woody Harrelson United Kingdom [34]
2018 Heegondhu Dina 106.11 min Vikram Yoganand India [35]
2018The Silent Pasture of Sparrows20 min. Qmars Mootab United States [36]
2018 Utøya: July 22 90 min. Erik Poppe Norway [37]
2018 Blind Spot 98 min. Tuva Novotny Norway [38]
2018Jaalo101 minAraaj Keshav GiriNepal [39]
2018 Tatort: Die Musik stirbt zuletzt  [ de ]88 min. Dani Levy Switzerland [40] [41]
2018 A Boy. A Girl. A Dream: Love on Election Night 89 min. Qasim Basir United States [42]
2019El Amor No Puede Esperar (Love Can't Wait)76 min.Juan Carlos CarrascoMexico [43]
2019 Last Call 77 min. Gavin Michael Booth Canada [44]
2019 Shonibar Bikel 83 min Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Bangladesh [45]
2020 Limbo  [ de ]89 min.Tim DünschedeGermany [46]
2020 Let's Scare Julie 83 min.Jud CremataUnited States [47] [48]
2021 Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam 85 min. Don Palathara India [49]
2021Rendez-Vous105 min.Pablo Olmos ArrayalesMexico [50]
2021 Roaring 20's 85 min.Elisabeth VoglerFrance [51]
2021 Boiling Point 94 min. Philip Barantini United Kingdom [52]
2021Causalidad115 min.Who (Marcelo Politano)Argentina [53]
2022 Iravin Nizhal 98 min R. Parthiban India [54]
2022 Medusa Deluxe 100 min.Thomas HardimanUnited Kingdom [55]
2022 Yuddha Kaandam 90 min Bose Venkat India [56]
2023Tales from the Neighborhood Café41 min.Al HallakUnited States [57]
2023The Night Inside23 min Antonio Cuesta Spain [58]
  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"

YearTitleLengthDirectorNationalityNotesRef.
1964 Empire 485 min. Andy Warhol United States [59]
2002 Irreversible 92 min. Gaspar Noe FranceAn experimental film combines with one-shot and reverse order. [60] [61]
2010 The Silent House 86 min.Gustavo HernándezUruguay [62]
2011 Silent House 87 min. Chris Kentis, Laura LauUnited States [63]
2014 Birdman 119 minutes Alejandro González Iñárritu United States [2]
2019 1917 118 min. Sam Mendes United KingdomActually edited to appear as two shots, with the camera cutting to black as the protagonist faints half-way. [64]
2020 Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes 70 min.Junta YamaguchiJapan [65]
2021 One Shot 97 min.James NunnUnited Kingdom [66]
2023 Shttl 114 min.Ady WalterUkraine [67]

See also

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References

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