10 More Incredible Movie Scenes Shot In A Single Take

Shooting a complex scene in one go isn't just stressful, but potentially terrifying. The smallest hiccup can botch the whole operation, forcing the crew to set up everything again, costing time and money.

However, this is scarier when there's only one chance to get the shot. So, when Christopher Nolan decided to blow up a hospital for real in The Dark Knight, he was painfully aware there wouldn't be a second take.

In the scene, the Joker (Heath Ledger) activates a detonator while exiting a hospital, causing the whole building to explode. Ledger knew the tiniest miscalculation could place him in serious danger, but still managed to nail this 30-second sequence on his first (and only) try, despite being mere feet away from falling debris and spewing fireballs.

Ledger was so flawless, it spawned a false rumour that the Oscar-winning actor improvised the moment where the Joker fiddles with the detonator after the major bomb seemingly fails to go off.

Although the scene would've been easier to shoot with CGI, green-screen, or multiple composite shots, the final product wouldn't have turned out this well.