A one-shot film (also known as a one-take film, single-take film, or continuous shot feature film) is a full-length movie filmed in one long take by a single camera, or manufactured to give the impression it was.
History Grode notes that before such films as 1917 and Birdman, the idea of experimenting with long uninterrupted takes had a history of over 80 years, with Alfred Hitchcock being a pioneer. Aside from early experiments like Young and Innocent and Notorious, the most famous early example of a film that extensively uses long takes is the 1948 Rope, which was shot in mainly seven-to-ten–minute continuous takes (the physical limit of film stock at the time) that appear as four long takes of around 15 to 20 minutes each, close to the maximum length allowed by the cinema projectors of the time. Reportedly, James Stewart, star of Rope, did not like the long takes and apparently muttered on set that the cameras were more important than the actors. Hitchcock intended to shoot the film as if it were a play, and timed five of the ten segments to allow for hidden edits behind furniture; elaborate camera and actor choreography was used. He wrote Rope this way because he felt "if time passed between cuts, the suspense of whether the body was still in the trunk would be lost".
Grode also examines the 1958 film Touch of Evil as an example, though only its three-minute opening sequence is shot in real time. However, the use of a real time ticking bomb through the single shot is seen as a standard.
The Wolf House (2018) is a deconstructed example of (stop-motion) animation that presented in a form of single, unbroken shot sequence.
In a 2019 article, discussing the award-winning film 1917 (2019), Eric Grode of The New York Times wrote that very long takes were becoming popular in more mainstream films "as a sobering reminder of temporality, a virtuosic calling card, a self-issued challenge or all of the above", also citing the Academy Award-winner from several years prior, Birdman (2014).
Notable examples
Actual "one shot" Year Title Length Director Nationality 1982 Macbeth 57 min. (longest shot)Béla Tarr Hungary 1990 C'est Vrai (One Hour) 60 min. Robert Frank France 1998 Big Monday 74 min. Michael Rehfield United States 2000 Timecode 97 min. Mike Figgis United States 2002RabbitsEight-episode limited series, 5–7 mins., each done in one take and partially edited with practical background effectsDavid LynchUnited States Russian Ark 96 min. Alexander Sokurov Russia 200365 min.Matías BizeChile 2007Alternation11 minMehdi Fard GhaderiIran 2007 PVC-1 85 min. Spiros Stathoulopoulos Colombia 2008Still Orangutans81 min.Gustavo Spolidero Brazil 2011Reversing Circles21 min.Mehdi Fard GhaderiIran112 min. single shot in one take.Koki MitaniJapan2013 Rati Chakravyuh 102 min. Ashish Avikunthak India Fish & Cat 134 min. Shahram Mokri Iran El triste olor de la carne 87 min. Cristóbal Arteaga Spain Ana Arabia 85 min.Amos Gitai Israel Somebody Marry Me98 min.John AsherUnited States 98 min. single shot in one take.Koki MitaniJapan 2014 Agadam 123 min. Mohamad Issack India 2015 Victoria 140 min. Sebastian Schipper Germany Anino sa Likod ng Buwan 120 min. Jun Robles Lana Philippines The Story Of A Rainy Night24 minMehdi Fard GhaderiIran Daksha 142 min. S. Narayan India 2016 Paint Drying 607 min. Charlie Shackleton United Kingdom Eight 81 min. Peter Blackburn Australia Immortality145 min.Mehdi Fard GhaderiIran King Dave 99 min. Podz Canada 2017 Ice Cream and the Sound of Raindrops 74 min. Daigo Matsui Japan Fourplay77 min.Dean RonaldsUnited States The Wedding Party 119 min. Thane EconomouUnited States One Shot-Fear Without Cut 140 min. Haroon Rashid India Watch The Sunset 83 min. Tristan Barr & Michael Gosden Australia One Cut of the Dead 37 min. one-take sequence Shin'ichiro Ueda Japan Lost in London 103 min. Woody Harrelson United Kingdom2018 Heegondhu Dina106.11 min Vikram YoganandIndia The Silent Pasture of Sparrows 20 min. Qmars Mootab United States Utøya: July 22 90 min. Erik PoppeNorway Blind Spot 98 min. Tuva NovotnyNorway Jaalo101 minAraaj Keshav GiriNepal 88 min.Dani LevySwitzerland comparison between the Swiss and Standard German versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcsqnJeQZw A Boy. A Girl. A Dream: Love on Election Night 89 min. Qasim Basir United States 2019 El Amor No Puede Esperar (Love Can't Wait)76 min.Juan Carlos CarrascoMexicoLast Call77 min.Gavin Michael BoothCanadaShonibar Bikel83 minMostofa Sarwar FarookiBangladesh 2020 89 min. Tim Dünschede Germany City Lights102 min.Malte WirtzGermanyLet's Scare Julie83 min.Jud CremataUnited States2021 Boiling Point 94 min. Philip Barantini United Kingdom Causalidad 115 min. Who (Marcelo Politano) Argentina Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam 85 min. Don Palathara India Rendez-Vous 105 min. Pablo Olmos Arrayales Mexico Roaring 20's 85 min. Elisabeth Vogler France 2022Iravin Nizhal98 minR. ParthibanIndia Yuddha Kaandam90 minAnantharajanIndia The Punishment86 minMatías BizeChile2023Tales from the Neighborhood Café41 min.Al HallakUnited StatesThe Night Inside23 minAntonio CuestaSpain Failure!87 min.Alex KahuamMexico - United States 2024MadS88 min.David MoreauFranceAssemblage92 min.Sofiene MamdiFrance72 min.Karthi RadhakrishnanIndiaMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez StoryEpisode 5 "The Hurt Man", 34 min.Michael UppendahlUnited States2025AdolescenceFour-episode limited series, 51–65 mins., each done in one takePhilip BarantiniUnited KingdomThe StudioEpisode 2 "The Oner," 25 minSeth Rogen & Evan GoldbergUnited StatesConnection at the End of the World16 min. one-take sequence.Sean SlimakUnited StatesSlimak, Sean ‘Outstanding Achievement in Short Script at Indie Short Fest 2024’ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34710754/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk 101 min. single shot in one take. Koki Mitani JapanGunman80 min.Cristian Tapia MarchioriArgentinaThe Deadline91 min.Tong HuiChinaOne Shot with Ed Sheeran60 min.Philip BarantiniUnited Kingdom
Edited to appear as "one shot" Year Title Length Director NationalityNotes 1964 Empire 485 min. Andy Warhol United States 2010 The Silent House 86 min. Gustavo Hernández Uruguay 2011 Silent House 87 min. Chris Kentis, Laura Lau United StatesAn American remake of the 2010 Uruguayan film The Silent House. 2014 Birdman 119 min. Alejandro González Iñárritu United States 2019The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open105 min.Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen HepburnCanadaEdited to appear as two shots, actually 12 hidden cuts. Shot on 16mm film, used "Real-Time Transitioning" camera techniques to account for film size limits.Li, Norm (October 2019). "Long Take: Norm Li, csc (Q&A)" (PDF). Canadian Cinematographer. 11(5): 23 1917 118 min. Sam Mendes United Kingdom Actually edited to appear as two shots, with the camera cutting to black as the protagonist gets knocked out half-way. 2020 Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes 70 min. Junta Yamaguchi Japan 2021 One Shot 97 min. James Nunn United Kingdom 2022Soft and Quiet92 min.Beth de AraujoUnited StatesMedusa Deluxe100 min.Thomas HardimanUnited Kingdom2023Shttl114 min.Ady WalterUkraine2024One More Shot102 min.James NunnUnited Kingdom
See also
List of films shot on digital video prior to 2012
References