10 Mind-Blowing Long Takes

Nowadays, John Woo is mostly known for releasing doves into the air, but back in the day, John Woo was responsible for some of the greatest action films of all time. The film that put him on the map as a great action filmmaker for Hollywood to pay attention to, however, was Hard Boiled. The film follows a Hong Kong police force desperate to control gangsters inflicting violence against innocents. The scene that cemented this film in the action film hall of fame was a two minute and forty two second long tracking shot following two offices fighting their way through a hospital.

Woo and Wang Wing-heng follow the two officers through the various hospital corridors as enemies pop from all corners. A cascade of bullets, debris, and bodies, this sequence is a hallmark of action cinema. Woo and Wing-heng masterfully utilize the hospital setting, as enemies pop out of all different hallways and rooms.

Each barrage of gunfire and carnage is clearly captured in camera, as Woo and Wing-heng maintain just enough distance to keep the sequence legible, but also maintain close enough quarters to viscerally capture this hospital war-zone. An action scene captured in one shot emphasizes the immediacy of the circumstance and enhances its urgency. Few have done this better than John Woo and Wang Wing-heng with this mind-blowing sequence.