THE FILMS: Rope (1948, Alfred Hitchcock), Russian Ark (2002, Aleksandr Sokurov), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2013, Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
THE CONNECTION: Films that are—or appear to be—a single long take.
THE THINKING: The single-take film is an ambitious undertaking that not many have attempted. A few have succeeded and others faked it through clever edits and software. This week’s triple feature takes a look at three films from the 1950s through today that use whatever means were available at the time to give audiences a one-shot experience. Of particular interest is how Birdman uses technology not to create that one long take, but instead to modernize some of the tricks Hitchcock used in making Rope way back in 1948. These three films don’t have much in common thematically, but they all share a thread of ambitious filmmaking that is as fun to learn about as the final products are to watch.
Rope, Alfred Hitchcock (1948)
The granddaddy of the single-take film comes unsurprisingly from Alfred Hitchcock, an avid experimenter when it came to filmmaking. He often looked to new or unused technologies (3-D) and techniques (the dolly zoom, the fixed-perspective camera) to tell stories in unique ways. Rope is adapted from a 1929 play of the same name and Hitch wanted to translate that theater-going experience to the screen. That’s where the single shot idea comes in. But in 1948 a film reel could only accommodate a ten-minute shot, so the director and cinematographers William V. Skall and Joseph A. Valentine came up with the idea to hide cuts throughout the film, ending a reel on the back of furniture or a dark curtain, so audiences wouldn’t see where the reel was changed. It worked very smoothly and when you watch, unless you’re looking for them, you’ll never even notice the stitching.
Reviews of Rope upon its release were very favorable, but critics in recent years have been mixed. However, even if they didn’t enjoy the film almost everyone agrees that it’s a fine cinematic experiment worth watching.
Russian Ark, Aleksandr Sokurov (2002)
Where Hitchcock was bound by the technology of his time when making Rope, director Aleksandr Sokurov was empowered by it. Russian Ark is an ambitious project which incorporates uncompressed digital video—the first feature to do this—to actually record the entire film in one single take. There are incredible amounts of logistics involved in an undertaking of this scale; things like camera battery life, lighting levels, and keeping things out of the shot were all hurdles of the production. Most of this needed to be right on the day, and some was cleaned up in post. But one thing that couldn’t be edited—and this seems to be the biggest accomplishment of all—is getting 2,000 actors to hit their marks. They do though, and everything comes together to create an intriguing achievement between the marriage of cinema and technology.
The story in Russian Ark is essentially a guided tour through the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, with visitors from various centuries like Peter the Great popping in and out throughout. Whether or not it would be as interesting without the single-shot technique, who knows. But presented as it is, the film is fascinating and very enjoyable.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2013)
This film is an interesting piece of this triple feature because it essentially uses present-day technology—a la Russian Ark—to stitch together scenes the way Rope did. It never claims to be one take, especially since there are completely different scenes at the beginning and end. But what’s inside those bookends is an implied single-shot story with a camera that moves fluidly through even the tightest spots. If you’re familiar with other projects from the creative team of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki you’ll recognize their signature style here of close, shallow shots and an ever-roving camera—all things that make Birdman something to behold. Throw in some great performances from Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone, and you have a unique film that’s a lot of fun to watch.
FURTHER READING (AND VIEWING):
- Alfred Hitchcock discusses the production difficulties of making Rope—and other fascinating things—with Dick Cavett.
- “How They Shot Russian Ark in One Take with No Cuts” (Film School Rejects)
- “Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki aimed high on Birdman“ (LA Times)
WHERE TO WATCH: