When The Long Shot Is Actually Clever | Vanity Fair

You'll be watching a movie or a TV show and at some point it hits you–the camera has not cut to a new shot in a really long time. Whenever a director wants to display their mastery, the tool they inevitably reach for is the long-take. From early days of cinema to present day, each generation of directors is trying to outdo the last. Here's everything you need to know about the evolution of the one-r.

Director: Joe Pickard
Editor: Matthew Colby
Creative Producer: Tyrice Hester
Line Producer: Romeeka Powell
Associate Producer: Amy Haskour
Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Writer: Joe Pickard, Paul Gulyas
Researcher: Paul Gulyas
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Rachel Kim
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds

00:00 Long Takes
00:57 The Great Train Robbery
01:15 Goodfellas
03:02 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
03:59 Swing Time
04:41 Napoleon
04:50 Henry V
05:21 Rope
06:02 Singin' In The Rain
07:29 The Earrings of Madame de…
08:00 12 Angry Men
08:59 Touch of Evil
09:44 The Longest Day
10:50 Weekend
11:34 A Clockwork Orange
12:06 The Passenger
13:01 All The President's Men
13:31 Superman: The Movie
14:04 The Shining
14:43 Macbeth
15:15 Ghostbusters
15:57 The Sacrifice
16:51 The Player
18:34 Hard Boiled
19:17 Pulp Fiction
19:50 Strange Days
20:50 Swingers
21:30 Boogie Nights
22:46 Russian Ark
23:44 Snake Eyes
24:26 Saving Private Ryan
25:09 Fight Club
26:08 Unbreakable
26:46 A Knight's Tale
27:19 Panic Room
27:58 Oldboy
28:45 Kill Bill: Volume 1
29:31 Shaun of the Dead
30:15 The Day After Tomorrow
30:51 The Polar Express
31:25 Tom-Yum-Goong
32:00 Children of Men
33:00 Atonement
33:40 Cloverfield
34:14 Terminator Salvation
35:22 Here It Goes Again
35:53 Undone (The Sweater Song)
36:40 Old Spice Commercial
37:09 The Adventures of Tintin
37:48 Skyfall
38:30 Gravity
39:00 Birdman
40:20 True Detective S1 E4
41:09 Kingsman: The Secret Service
41:46 Creed
42:16 Spectre
43:24 Hardcore Henry
44:14 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S10 E4
45:06 La La Land
45:50 Baby Driver
46:53 Atomic Blonde
47:39 Angamaly Diaries
48:12 Kidding S1 E3
48:56 Game Night
49:38 1917
50:48 Extraction
51:43 The Bear S1 E7
52:53 Severance S2 E1



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[ElysiaBrenner]

Love this! I kept pausing to write down the films I didn't seen yet, lol. More videos like this, please!

[azohundred]

I love the shoutouts to all those classic-era films! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) is such a masterpiece and I can't recommend it enough to people, modern horror fans will love it. Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944) is also probably my favorite period piece and Shakespeare adaptation as well, so happy to see it mentioned here! That Cavalry Charge is just majestic and Olivier's performance is top notch.
Thanks for showing some appreciation of older cinematic masterpieces, Vanity Fair!

[gaborszabo]

One of the most important but these day unfortunately forgotten legends of long takes is Hungarian filmmaker Miklós Jancsó. Scorsese was directly influenced by him and the Goodfellas scene wouldn't be the way it is without him. Really a shame that he was ignored, though it's nice that at least Béla Tarr was mentioned. Jancsó's influence on Tarr is also unquestionable.

[XenithMusic]

I was surprised Mr. Robot was omitted...that episode is wild!

[ianfrancorchamp]

What a wonderful compilation, thank you❤️

[nicktosti]

PTA's oner in this video is inspired by Soy Cuba which has a more impressive water oner that starts 10 stories up on a building.

[filmdetective]

That Superman oner isn’t the wardrobe’s doing. It’s special effect. Superman is prerecorded and projected as a rear-projection. Clark is just waiting his turn in the hall

[whitt]

Finally they get that video essays are where it’s at

[mecfc]

“Athena” deserves a lot more respect for what they achieved with their oners. The opening scene alone is a masterpiece.

[FullSenderson]

I like that you included “paint drying”.

[UnusMundus]

I'm disappointed they didn't mention I AM CUBA, a film that influenced most of the oners shown in the video, including the Goodfellas shot. And I AM CUBA also has a long acrobatic oner that ends underwater!

[lrrroftheplanetomicronpersei]

The Superman "oner" is rear projection, so there is visual effects in the shot.

[sophcw]

Proud to say I contributed a tiny bit at the end, shout out to the editor Matt!

[RGproductions]

Ahhhh thank you for listing each movie!

[filmmaker]

No mention of the X-Files “Triangle” episode, featuring the best long takes than any of these other TV shows

[objacobi]

35:22 OK Go's "Here It Goes Again" music video was released in 2006.

[SharpWalkers]

Long Day’s Journey Into Night’s 2nd half would’ve absolutely been worth a mention.

[LenaLens]

Enter the Void and the Requiem for a Dream time-lapse scene should have been included, but great show♡

[ltvanburen]

I loved this! Thank you! I wish you had talked about the long shot in Better Call Saul that takes place at a backed-up boarder check. I would love to know if that is one shot or a series spliced together.

[eloisa]

loved this so much, I got to add so many movies to my watchlist!