1. An Entire Movie Filmed In One 99-Minute Take - Russian Ark
Impressive though Children of Men's scene was, it still hasn't got anything on the King of the single-take sequences, the 99-minute Alexander Sokurov movie Russian Ark, which is a film recorded in a single...freaking...take. That's right, and this isn't some talky indie film, either; it's a massively ambitious production with enormous sets, elaborate song and dance numbers and...basically everything that makes a long take seem like utter Hell. Sokurov got the take right on a third attempt, and to lighten the load, the sound was all re-dubbed later (apparently because cinematographer Tilman Büttner kept swearing at minor screw-ups). Needless to say, this is one of the most daring and audacious film projects ever undertaken, and though the narrative might not be the most engaging, it is an utterly beguiling jaunt through Russian history, and absolutely something you should watch. Reports continually emerge that films have topped Russian Ark's single-take feat in terms of run-time, but none as of yet, it appears, have been able to match its scope and style.
How It Changed Cinema: It threw the gauntlet down to every other filmmaker out there, a dare to eschew the wasted hours of re-jigging lights and re-applying make-up, proof that a movie
can be made inside of 100 minutes (excluding pre-production time, of course). We couldn't include them all, so which other incredible long takes do you love? Let us know in the comments below.