20 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Children Of Men

One of the film’s most incredible sequences is its near seven-minute set piece in its third act. The single-take scene sees Theo, Kee, her baby and new ally Marichka trying to avoid the chaos in the Bexhill refugee camp and is filled to the brim with tension, jaw-dropping action beats and concludes in a sobering yet powerful manner.

Therefore, it is surprising that the sequence was almost cut because Cuaron spotted fake blood on the camera lens and yelled “Cut!’ in order to redo the already complex scene. The scene was completed with the stain on the lens because no one could hear the director over the deafening gun shots and explosion.

Fortunately the film's cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, was able to convince the director to keep the scene as it is and the rest is classic movie moment history. Cuaron's initial decision to cut the scene is both amusing and baffling in equal measure since he had intended to include blood splatter in the first act's harrowing car chase.

This just goes to show how the filmmaking process can change on a whim, and sometimes for the better.