10 More Incredible Movie Scenes Shot In A Single Take

Due to Hard Boiled's kinetic stunts and bombastic gunfights, it's easy to see how to it helped Taiwanese director John Woo break into Hollywood. Even though the action is engrossing, nothing is as masterfully shot as the climax.

During the third act, police officers Tequila and Alan enter a hospital, armed to the teeth, to take down a horde of gangsters. Although this shootout is incredible, one shot in particular stands out since it goes uninterrupted for three minutes.

However, the most impressive part isn't the shootout itself, but what's happening behind the scenes while the camera is rolling. When Tequila and Alan take the elevator, it looks like they're moving onto another floor. But since this isn't a real elevator, the actors remain on the same level throughout this scene. 

When the elevator doors closed, the film crew had 20 seconds to clean the set, switch out props, and bring out different actors to give the illusion the leading characters have arrived on a different section of the hospital.

Being aware of this detail makes viewers appreciate this scene more, since it's hard to believe the crew used the same set 20 seconds apart to film both sequences.