One Take Wonders
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 8:30PM Though I don't recall when it began -- maybe with Rope as just discussed? -- I've been obsessed with one-take scenes for what seems like forever. You know the kind. It's that thrilling moment when the editor seems to go out for a smoke break and the director allows the film and/or performances to fully breathe. That free breathing is probably an illusion since the scenes must be rigidly corseted by the technical and performative choreography required to get it all without "coverage".
When you see a great one take scene or film, even if that "one" take is partly a matter of film trickery (examples: Atonement, Children of Men basically the entirety of Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and Aleksandr Sukorov's Russian Ark and a scene we just discussed from 25 years ago in Peggy Sue Got Married) it can be hard to return to the world of "regular" filmmaking with its generic one and a ½ second cuts composed of plentiful coverage. Over the shoulder. Close up. Over the shoulder. Repeat for billions of converszzzzzzzzzz
I'm sorry I fell asleep.
So why do so few film directors trust in the highwire potency of long or single takes? Are they too difficult to pull off? Are film actors that unable to sustain themselves throughout emotional hairpin turns the way stage actors can 8 shows a week for hours at a time? Do people think the audience will get bored (a falsity since these scenes are usually THE talking points of their movies)?
If they're so hard to pull off why do music videos with significantly lower budgets than movies keep selling them so well?
The latest one I saw was the low budget but high entertainment "Party Girl" by XELLE
Absolutely hot. Think of the rehearsal time required just to time things like that glitter blow? But it works, don't you think?
And I've already expressed my love for both Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" - just her dancing in a gym but with all the lighting tricks it's just totally a great watch -- and Cosmo's Jarvis "Gay Pirate" which is both sing-a-long fun and actually moving.
Although it's NOT a one take video, this REM "üBerlin" video starring rising actor Aaron Johnson (directed by his partner Sam Taylor-Wood) breathes enough to suggest that it wanted to be one and would have been a classic video instead of just a frisky uninhibited one, if it were.
So I ask in full sincerity...
Why are today's directors so afraid of letting a moment play out without zillions of edits? If music videos -- which were once blamed for shortening the average shot length in movies -- can ironically use them so often now, why can't today's full length pictures?
Reader Comments (17)
Hey Nathaniel, have you seen Yuri Zeltser's The Circle? It's a one take thriller that almost shifts into a strip club-set Alice in Wonderland during the third act. It's really cleverly shot if a bit dry and meandering.
Ever seen Nine Lives? Can get a bit narmish at times but still...pretty amazing.
This doesn't answer your question, but one of my favorite long takes of all time is in the middle of "Hunger". (and NO, it's not just b/c it features hottie fuckable Fassbender). Maybe the fact that it follows the long dialog-free opening sequences makes it more memorable? gives it more "pop"? or more likely b/c the acting is superb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq0SETWIO8U
Three Words: I Am Cuba.
I watched that one recently, and it has some of the most stunning one-take shots I've ever seen.
I remember 'Elephant' being even more unsettling due to its lengthy scenes. What scene in 'Atonement' are you talking about?
For some reason I remember the scene in Atonement (on the beach, in Dunkirk, Dom) actually being one take, and not technical trickery. Am I wrong?
step -- i beleive that's one take, but even when technical trickery is used, teh effect of a single shot still has that same unbroken thrill.
To answer your question, it's because long single takes cannot be saved in the editing room if test audiences react badly to them. I can't recall which Steven Soderbergh movie this anecdote was from, but Soderbergh recounted how his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach when a scene he'd shot in a long take tested badly and they couldn't go back to reshoot it.
DAMN YOU TEST AUDIENCES. YOU RUIN EVERYTHING
I watched Haneke's "Code Inconnu" a couple of weeks ago. It's basically one long take after another (the opening scene is about 9 minutes long) and I loved it. The long takes just made everything feel that much more real.
I guess, another reason why they aren't used more often is that a LOT of time has to go into preparation. Everything has to be timed perfectly, especially if there are a lot of actors and extras involved.
anna -- yep, i'm sure. one reason i love them is i'm a huge fan of acting and i think modern cinema RARELY lets us see two actors acting at once which can be so thrilling. It's always shot/reverse shot and you know it was filmed separately and it can be so disheartening. I love seeing two faces in a frame at once interacting.
One of my favorite one-take wonders is the "Love for Sale" sequence in De-Lovely, the Cole Porter movie with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. Stunning. And proof that just because it's one take doesn't mean the camera has to be static and boring. I really loved the featurette on the DVD about how they did it, since it involved multiple ridiculously fast costume and scenic changes. A lesser film would have just done a montage set to the song, but this one chose to do it in one take. Totally chagned my opinion of the movie.
Another one I love is from The Lady Eve, when Barbara Stanwyck is seducing Henry Fonda, and it's just one static shot with both of them perfectly placed in the frame. No director would shoot that scene like that today, it'd be all shot-reverse-shot boredom.
That video has nothing to do with REM or Berlin. Sam Taylor-Wood's Grandma Boy Lust is on display for the world to see -- all the jumping and shots of his ass aren't fooling me that this video is about anything but the two of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErU5hKT2KMs
I think most of the directors that have the talent and confidence to pull them off well prefer to keep them to a minimal as they are very show-offy and draw attention to themselves. There are obvious exceptions, like Alfonso Cuaron.
A post after my own heart! J'adore one-takes. Children of Men had some of the most impressive ones I've seen. I was stunned especially at the car attack scene. I think the element of surprise is what gets you, you're not expecting to be that wowed with showmanship in such an urban realism fashion but Cuarón took it to another level in that film. It's just excellent, quality modern filmmaking.
Cache is another one that immediately springs up.
I love Children of Men and the other films mentioned, but this is simply my favorite unbroken tracking shot:
Goodfellas - The Copacabana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1mHtkpkxiA
It's perfectly done.