10 Amazing TV Scenes Shot In One Take
4. The Ending - Blackadder Goes Forth
Sometimes a scene is done in one take because of various technical limitations or to achieve a desired effect. This one was done because it was so damn emotional.
The premise of Blackadder, a British sitcom that ran over four seasons, was that each incarnation would feature the descendants of characters from previous series.
Rowan Atkinson played The Black Adder in the first season, then Lord Blackadder in season 2, before finally arriving at Captain Blackadder in the fourth season set in World War I.
By the time it came to film the climax of the show, in which Blackadder and his men leave their trenches to enter open combat, the actors had gotten very accustomed to playing their characters.
Naturally, a scene that involved them all getting gunned down was hard to swallow.
When director Richard Boden was dissatisfied with the first take, the actors refused to do another. So, with the help of slow motion and a couple of filters, the scene was totally changed in post.
The end result is considered one of the most poignant and emblematic scenes in British TV history; a perfect summary of the madness of conflict.
Not bad for a make-do.