10 Mind-Blowing Long Takes

True Detective is an anomaly of a television show. The first season dropped to great acclaim for its twisty, macabre story, brilliant use of setting, performances from its central duo of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and strong direction from Cary Joji Fukunaga. For all intents and purposes, it had the makings to be one of the best new shows on television...and then season two happened. With a more convoluted storyline, less interesting setting, and less intriguing characters, True Detective season two was a major disappointment.

One of the major factors that helped season one make such an impact was the consistent auteur vision throughout. Fukunaga's direction combined with Adam Arkapaw's cinematography created one of the most visually stunning shows at the time. The show reached its apex in the episode "Who Goes There," in which Rust (Matthew McConaughey) goes undercover with a biker gang. The final sequence of the episode features a six-minute long shot of their robbery of a rival gang going horribly wrong.

The tension ratchets up as Arkapaw's camera follows Rust through the house he's busting to find more gang members. To say more would spoil the experience, but watching Rust attempt to keep control over a situation slowly boiling over is extremely tense. As the tension explodes, Arkapaw follows Rust as he desperately attempts to escape the chaos unfolding. The result is an unbearably tense, brutal, and exciting sequence of a robbery gone south and one of the most cinematic television sequences of all time.