Betting on the Long Shot

Before you start I should explain I am going to need your undivided attention. I have some video for you to watch. So if you are having a quick skive at work I recommend you save this article and read it later when I can have your undivided attention. Trust me, it will be worth it.

The Long Shot in cinema is a camera shot that shows the entire subject from head to toe and places that subject in relation to their surroundings. The long shot is also called a 'wide shot' or 'full shot' and it is used to show the relationship between characters and their environment. Here I am going to be talking about the 'long take' a different technique. A 'long take' (also called continuous take or continuous shot) is a shot with a duration much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general. Significant camera movement and elaborate blocking are often important elements. Apologies to you purists but 'Betting on the Long Take' just did not have the same kind of catch to it. Also a definition of the long shot in gambling is as follows - a risky bet; an attempt, bet, or proposition that has a low probability of success. I think by the end of this you will see what I mean.

The gold standard of long takes is the sequence shot. This is a long take that delivers everything - foreground action, background action, dialogue, scene change. This means no cuts to explain the action. It is difficult to execute and needs relentless planning. It is the ultimate show off shot, when done well, by any director.

To understand this I need to show you Orson Welles opening shot from his film noir 'Touch of Evil' in 1958. This is the shot that every up and coming director still wants to emulate. Remember now there is no digital trickery or special effects; just skill, craft and imagination.

This is considered one of the greatest opening shots in the history of cinema. It has a second, amazing, sequence shot of an interrogation later in the film. You can watch Touch of Evil online on iTunes, Microsoft or Google Play. It is an excellent example of earlier film/noir and every film aficionado should watch it at least once. I am not here to talk about this film though only it's legacy. The best practitioners of the sequence shot, the directors who watched this clip and tried to beat it.

Children of Men

Alfonso Cuaron is the greatest modern day practitioner of the sequence shot. He has made it his signature. This can be seen no where better than his 2006 film 'Children of Men'. I am forever surprised about how few people have seen this film. It is a science fiction action-thriller film. Except it is not. It is so much more. Usually when they just keep listing genres to describe a film it means it stands outside them. It has a star studded cast. It was nominated for three Oscars and in 2016 it was voted 13th in the 100 best films of the 21st Century by 117 critics from around the world. Even if you have seen it, you must watch it again.

The relevance of the story in todays world is phenomenal. Gavin Jacobson sums this up best in his New Statesman article 'Why Children of Men Haunts the Present Moment' from July 2020. Although, if you look online you will find similar articles by a host of other journalists. It has to be stated that the film is littered with incredible sequence shots. Unlike Welles, the director here will use some trickery to preserve the illusion but the principle, the planning and craft of the single shot without a single cut is breath taking. His methods to achieve these shots will secure his legacy for a long time. It is time for me to stop talking and show you exactly what I am talking about. Try and spot the cuts, prepare to be astounded. Enjoy.

Pretty amazing, yes? There are three sequence shots in this film that should be taught to film students around the world as examples of what to aspire to. If you have not watched 2006's 'Children of Men', you must. If you have you must watch it again and soon. You can get the film on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Microsoft and Google Play.

So if you have watched 'Children of Men' what do you watch next? What can stand next to this on a double bill?

Honourable Mentions

This one does not sit on the double bill at the movies but still has to be mentioned. This one is from television. The Housing Project Raid in the True Detective episode 'Who goes There' by director Cary Fukunaga is poetry. At over six minutes long it is an incredible piece. It would be my pick but as I am sticking to film, I regretfully discount it. You can however watch the first season of True Detective on Amazon Prime, HBO and Hulu.

Here is a shortened version of the scene.

Sam Mendes 2019 film '1917' appears to be shot in it's entirety in only two takes. Cinematically it is popcorn for the eyes. I highly recommend it to anyone. I am going to discount it from my sequence shot double bill as the director uses camera tricks and special effects heavily to create the illusion of a single take. You can watch '1917' on Amazon Prime, Microsoft, Google Play or iTunes.

Here are the first nine minutes in one unbroken shot.

My final honourable mention is Goodfellas released in 1990 by Martin Scorsese. This has an incredibly famous long take. It is the scene that involves Henry Hill taking his future wife on their first date. They enter the nightclub through the kitchens. It is an outstanding piece of cinema full of dialogue and character. What makes it even more incredible is the scene was not in the script. The location would not let them film in the entrance of the property so they crafted an incredibly famous scene. I eliminated this because it contrasts rather than compliments the other themes of 'Children to Men'. You can watch Goodfellas online at iTunes, Microsoft or Google Play.

Here is that famous scene created to fix a problem.

Atonement

My choice in the end was simple it is 'Atonement'. It is a 2007 film directed by Joe Wright. It tells the story of the consequences of a crime over six decades.

Atonement is the only film you should watch after Children of Men. They have a lot of parallel themes; loss, deceit, faith and hope. They are both examples of British Cinema at its finest. They are inventive adaptions from books. They make two incredible beach resort settings separated by the English channel look breath taking on screen. Each film utilises some extremely clever narrative tricks. Both will have you thinking about the film long after they have finished.

It also has this amazing sequence shot.

If you watch 'Children of Men', 'Atonement' is truly its equal. Two films could not make better drinking buddies. They can compliment and contrast each other in equal measure. Even without the sequence shots both would be great pieces of art and beautiful examples of storytelling. You should be left in the end debating which one edges the other. You can watch 'Atonement' online at iTunes, Microsoft and Google Play.

We started this with Orson Welles and I would like to leave him with the final word.

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of the poet.

Share my double bill suggestion with your friends and see if they agree.

I mostly write short fiction and you can find more of my own storytelling here.

I wish you all an awesome day and thank you for taking the time to share with me my ideas. Take care.