10 Mind-Blowing Long Takes

Key to creating a great action scene is establishing the geography of the set-piece. How a filmmaker utilizes the space within which the action takes place can accentuate the intensity of the combat. Oh Dae-su's fight through the corridor of the private prison is a brilliant example of such adept action filmmaking.

Starting at one end of the corridor and following Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi) as he battles the hoards of guards, director Park Chan-wook and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung frame the action from one side of the hallway and track the action in one shot. Chung's camera moves back and forth, following the thrashing bodies being kicked, punched, clubbed, and hammered about. Rather than charging into battle with Dae-su, the camera remains detached to the side, instead giving a point-of-view illustrating how crowded and tightly packed the impromptu war zone is.

The combat is messy and exhausting; Dae-su doesn't blow through the guards with ease, but rather is beaten and battered every step of the way. Leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake, Dae-su emerges injured yet invigorated; a twisted smile grows across his face while blood trickles from his neck. Dae-su still has yet to win the war, but his victory in this battle, virtuosically captured by Park and Chung, is brutally satisfying.