10 Movies Only Directed As Experiments

3. A Single-Take Historical Drama With Thousands Of Cast Members - Russian Ark

The Experiment

Lost in London seems like a positively sane undertaking compared to Alexander Sokurov's 2002 historical art-house drama Russian Ark.

Though Sokurov didn't shoot his film live, it was filmed in a single unbroken take, and because shooting a movie with people just talking in one take wasn't tough enough, he decided to make the film a lively trawl through the history of St. Petersburg, featuring more than 2,000 actors and three orchestras.

The film's cinematographer and Steadicam operator, Tilman Büttner, was tasked with executing the 90-minute take, which would see him travel through 33 rooms of the Russian State Hermitage Museum on December 23, 2001.

How Did It Turn Out?

Astoundingly. Though the actual content of the film may not appeal to many beyond history aficionados, the sheer bravura nature of the project makes it compulsively watchable all the same.

The sheer mind-boggling complexity of the production, with elaborate dance sequences and absurdly fluid camera movements, is literally jaw-dropping, and completely gripping from first minute to last.

The successful take for the film was in fact the fourth, after the first three attempts failed and the camera only had enough battery power for one more take. Phew.