Park Chan-wook's films are now available to stream on MUBI in the U.S. Watch them or anything else steaming on MUBI with a whole month free at mubi.com/cinemastix
I highly suggest Tony Jaa’s Protector 2, for the one take Pagoda section. He starts at the bottom floor, and fights his way, up, even tossing guys over the side, on each level, on the way. One can see where makers of Daredevil, and even The Raid, got a lot of inspiration. It’s like the hallway from Oldboy, except the camera follows up three or four floors, and Jaa’s stunt team are wearing padding, to allow him to actually hit them, with full force at times, as well as being thrown through things, hit with weapons, etc. There is an excellent making of, that explains how they did it, how long it was rehearsed, and how many different takes it took. It’s still what I consider the best one take action scene.
If you look for One-shot-movies, I really like Hojoom/Invasion, an Iranian movie I watched at the Berlinale. It was impressive and besides the one-shot thing also a good movie (I did not know before it would be in one whot, I realized about a third through the film that there are no cuts). As Berlinale had the makers I also heard the cameraman speaking about all his movement was planned beforehand, including when the camera was standing still long enough for him to take a sip of water. On another note: One Shot of the Dead, it is (despite it's title) not really a one-shot movie, but a love letter to film making and very wholesome. As much as a zombie movie can be.
hey - this is sebastian from berlin - i m the director of VICTORIA - i was just discovering this channel having watched abot 5 videos in a row (very much liking all of them!) and when i was checking out more videos - i saw this - WOW - hahahahah - so proud you included us - plus you got everything right - every thing - i m kinda late to commenting on this - so probabaly noone will ever read this - but if somebody does - *hello from berlin!*
so cool to read this. as a choreographer that works with improvisation, and having felt the insecurity of if this is a good idea, i'm so glad to hear the trust and responsbility you give actors with their skills. watched Victoria years back and was floored, so learning all this afterwards is even more amazing. thanks for such an inspiring work!
The problem with this approach, that this dedication to one-shot moviemaking is so powerful, that it overshadows everything else the movie offers, to a point that it ALMOST becomes a gimmick. However, this one-shot method gives such an intensity to the performances and action, that this film did become the most exhilarating movie experience I've had in the past 10 years at least.
See, I had that concern when I went to see it on its release. I went mainly because I like the male lead, Frederick Lau, and the manager of my local arthouse cinema recommended it. But when I heard it was one take, I was close to dismissing it as a gimmick. But in fact it's essential: there's no better way of explaining how these kids could end up in this situation than actually showing every single moment of it. It's authentic, in the sense that it stays demonstrably true to what's happening because you see it all, and panic-inducing because there's no escape from events, not even between the cuts.
From the sound of it, it was necessary for the film to convey what the director wanted to convey. A gimmick is a mechanic used for the purely superficial objective of increased publicity/attention
cutting, framing, sticking back together, editing and adding cgi are the true gimmicks. I've always saw film as theater for the masses, in its purest form the only focus is the performance of actors, no one goes to theater to watch good background design, while many people go to the movies for the gimmicky eye candy.
The only reason to stick so closely to the rule rule of "one shot" is for it to be a gimmick. Otherwise you'd make cuts when needed, just with long shots.
I remember having to watch this movie for one of my college classes: the subtitles didn't work, so I had to watch it without understanding what most characters were saying. Oddly enough, it was really inmmersing, and it felt like I was with the characters and the protagonist, being placed in a chaotic situation that I couldn't figure out.
Interestingly, despite being a German film, a high enough percentage of the film is in English that the movie was disqualified from the foreign language category at the Academy Awards.
Maybe an excuse for being shamefully monolingual, but I've often enjoyed the feeling of being in a country or with friends immersed in a foreign language and having to read faces and other "nonverbals". I don't get the people who find this offensive (assuming you don't NEED to understand).
I actually did my thesis for film school just 2 months ago about the importance of sound in video editing. Victoria was an obvious choice. The first time I saw it, it was my dad who recommended me to see it because he knew about my interest in film studies. I was blown away by the whole film: actors, shots, editing (or not). And when I watched it again for my thesis, I was also blown away by the sound. Just a great film that I will keep on recommending.
@@bitumenboyy well it's a one-shot film, so how fo process sound in a one shot film? Do you play the reality and try to fully immerge the public by having a great sound design and no music extradiegsetic, or is it too naturally and off putting for the viewer so you actually do have to music to ease out the silence? How do you play with the silence? What kind of music do you use in those situations? If it's a one shot movie, what is your point of view as a viewer? Is the camera an invisible character watching the scene on the outside of things, or do you share you're point of view with the charcater that you follow (mostly Victoria)? If so, are you gonna accentuate sounds that are more intriguing to the character or not? These types of questions.
Top 5 film of all time for me. I absolutely love how it captures the feeling of "Do you ever have one of those nights where it feels like anything could happen?"
@@StemLG I was about to ask, what are the other four... Here's my proposal, in no particular order (with my comment where I think it's necessary): - Come and See (1985). The scariest movie I've ever watched and it's not even a horror film. - Moonfall. If you want to learn how to overdo it and be proud of it, you have to watch - and enjoy - this movie! - Monty Python's Life of Brian - Koyaanisqatsi
I remember being at my parent's house. It was late and my dad was, as normal, going to watch something laying down on the sofa 'til he sleeps. The moment I passed behind him, he change the channel and it was the first minutes of Victoria. He held the remote like 20 minutes, ready to change again as always. But he didn't. And I was stuck too. I finally watch the rest of the movie with him on the sofa. So breathtaking. Maybe one of my best silent moment with my dad. Appreciating by pure luck a masterpiece.
Man, I love this channel. The stuff you talk about is actually different from the dozens of copycat film analysis channels. One of the few channels which actually talk about the craft. Thank you!
@@sockzandsandals2315 I mean there's nerdwriter but his analysis isn't limited to films, he analyses everything. Every frame a painting is one but sadly it doesn't produce content anymore. Thomas Flight is one and Cinema Beyond Entertainment is one but the creator of the channel sadly passed away very recently. Films and Stuff is another channel which is very good but doesn't get the number of views it deserves. Patrick Williams is excellent albeit very long. You have to have atleast an hour or so to watch his videos and think about them. Edit: I forgot about Royal Ocean Film Society. That one's good as well.
@@sockzandsandals2315 Consider "This Guy Edits." It's tangentially related to what you're looking for. The gentleman behind the channel is an editor and he analysis films/movies from that perspective.
I played at home this movie without knowing this. We were stuck on the sofa during the all movie, everything was fluid. Best recognition to the cameraman that makes it possible.
I already thought this was an incredible feat, but all the dialogue was imporvised as well?!?! Absolutely insane. AND it's not gimmicky, it's genuinely engaging and totally emmersive. So much so, that when I first watched it, I had no idea going in that it was a 1-shot film. It was only 15/20 minutes into it when I finally realised. I don't think I'm exagerating when I say it might be one of the greatest feats of filmmaking ever achieved.
This is like when you hear a song on the radio where there's no auto-tune, no doubling, no layering. It's a person and their instrument or a band with their instruments, nailing it in one take. Like that filming of America doing their greatest hits all in one take, perfectly. Cinema works powerfully when it is like live theater. When the cast and crew come together to create something that doesn't rely on anything but the story and how it is told to get the message across. No CG, no rewrites, no clever editing, no pushy music to sell the moment. I must watch this movie.
I saw VICTORIA on a college campus when my friend invited me (among others) to check it out with her. I was blown away by it. As tense and exciting as it is, being a heist film shot in one take, I think it manages to be equally exciting in a romantic way because of the charisma and chemistry of its protagonists. I've only seen it the one time, but parts of it are seared into my memory, and I will never forget it!
Thank you for doing a video on Victoria. I watched it on New Year’s Eve that year and was blown away, but I don’t hear many people talk about it. The one take aspect did not feel like a gimmick, but instead served the story well and helped to heighten the emotions and arc the characters go on.
Yeah, I’m always shocked by how infrequently it seems to make the rounds. It’s a staggering achievement. And like you say, also a story served by that achievement.
One of the most impressive one-shot scenes I have seen comes from season 2 of the Chosen. The scene in question is so impressive because it not only was fifteen minutes long, but they had many actors moving in and out of the scene and a bunch of dialogue and the camera was moving around with the characters, and to top it all off, the scene begins during the day and the sun sets as the scene progresses so that by the end it is night. For a show that doesn't have a large budget or a massive following, it's an incredibly impressive feat of film making.
I remember watching this on a whim back in 2015 just because of the sheer audacity of a 2-hour one-take film, and I loved it, I bought it on DVD a little while later and you've just inspired me to finally give this film a well overdue rewatch.
I don't think the idea is crazy. People have been doing theater since the time of Ancient Greece. The "crazy" part is the team's technical ability to capture such a thing so genuinely in the medium of film and the logistical challenges of maintaining one unbroken shot. As long as you have a compelling story to tell, it's a risk that can pay off as evidenced by this film you discussed in the video.
@@Hylebos75they are saying the fact of acting for 2 hours isnt crazy because theather is a thing. (Though inbetweens exist). The crazy thing is being to capture that acting... and the acting being improv, too!
And the technical aspect of scene changes and camera angles. You don't have a bunch of stage hands moving pieces around when you're moving between actual locations. And theater can set up dedicated cameras because it's all intended to be viewed from one angle. I got to see a screening of Spirited Away at the Met. There is a lot of suspension of belief no matter how amazing the practical effects are.
I just love how you intro'd this video. As soon as you said, "What if I told you...", I was like no way... then Victoria popped up and I jumped out of my chair with joy haha! Such a grossly underrated movie!
Haha, that’s fantastic. I actually had to write that whole intro last minute due to some weird editing restrictions (too complicated to get into), and I was like… am I really gonna go for this Daredevil/Birdman preamble? But I just decided to just commit and see what would happen.
@@CinemaStix I'm glad you did. I remember the Daredevil hallway scene and thinking at the time how they'd obviously been inspired by Oldboy. But what got me was that it just felt like it wasn't going to stop. And to see Daredevil look so tired as the scene went on really added to the realism. It was a perfect scene to preface the intro to Victoria. I'd love to see more videos tackling realist vs realism in filmmaking.
I had the exact same feeling! From the thumbnail I had an idea. But as soon as I saw the title card for “Victoria” I got so excited! Great preamble and good way to start the video for sure.
I saw this at the castro theatre in S.F. during the noir film festival. It's one of the most memorable movie moments of my life. I was awestruck at the beauty of this movie. Learning now that the dialogue and actions were improvised just makes it even more incredible.
The Russian Ark is easily one of the most profound films made, physically, in one entire shot. It's remarkable and worth a mention. Not as long as this film, but still great.
Exactly. I went searching for comments @@EricMalette, to see if anyone noted this. I haven't yet seen the film victoria. I have seen all the others. I found Russian ark in my opinion to standout so much more. It is absolutely gorgeous.
One of my favourite films of all time is Boiling Point (2021). As someone with a background in theatre I find the one-shot approach mesmerising as it reminds me of watching an entire play, but it really doesn’t feel rehearsed because of the intensity and raw feeling that the camerawork is able to give. When I studied Hitchcock’s Rope at university we learned that the one-shot lookalike approach (I think the film has 10 ‘hidden’ cuts) was because the story originally was a play, and Hitchcock wanted to replicate that stage feel, which is also apparent in the way the camera mostly keeps to one side of the room, all actors contained within that space.
One of the greatest movies ever and I think it never got the recognition it deserved. A true masterpiece. It's even better when you know Berlin. This movie feels so real at some point.
I watched this movie last night based off of your discussion of it in this video. It was so much better than I expected a true one-shot film to be. Editing gives you so much control over pacing, tone, the passage of time and so forth, I figured that this movie would feel flat in comparison. But somehow, they managed to pull it off. There are distinct scenes, a gradual ramping of tension, and you definitely feel time passing. It's an incredible achievement and I'm glad you made this video about it.
I love the sentiment you chose to end this on, "you have to do things against better advice." More filmmakers today need to hold their ground. In an era with every popular blockbuster being greenlit via algorithm, one can tell when a creative product is one of too much compromise. I've cried twice on both viewings of the *Barbie* bus stop scene. Then I learned Warner wanted it cut from the theatrical release. Gerwig came out and said it's the heart of the film and without it, she wouldn't know why she's doing the film. That's what we need more of. Films and filmmakers who look better advice in the face and say, "Fuck off, I'm doing this."
I was just reading through the Star Wars archive book, reminding me of the days when that movie was a groundbreaking risk-tasking endeavour, and where George Lucas outlined his feelings about studio execs as dipshits that ask you to make a movie, then tell you what the movie should or shouldn’t have, while not having any experience or skills in it. Leaving the artist asking ‘what the fuck did you pay me for?’ Nowadays I fear we’re closer to the point that studio execs are not balanced by the artists working under them that do the real work, and the gap between studio exec and finished product is closed by the CGI and visual effects they can just order someone else to do exactly to their specifications. And now AI will destroy that gap, any script can be AI-generated, so can actors, so can the edit or whatnot. Film has always been about getting over obstacles, creative workarounds based on restraints and budget limitations. I’ll be glad when Indie studios agreeing to SAG continue making films while big studios have all their productions shut down. George Lucas decided to fund his own movies, but there’s only few directors now who have that chance or opportunity, mostly 50+ directors with a legacy career behind them, the Scorcese/Tarantino/Ridley Scott/Spielberg/Nolan/Villeneuve, who get to have final say and full control. Many young directors are left to do studio bidding in blockbuster/IP-drive films or linger in the Indie scene with no funding. So few are given the sort of shots that the most famous directors got back in the 70s/80s/90s. I mean Spielberg got to make Duel, at 19, as his first film. And Jaws at 22.
I think I’ve gotten to the point in watching movies where I don’t feel that impressed with a technical accomplishment just because it’s technically impressive. However with Victoria it doesn’t feel like something just added for brownie points, it actually affects the story. It’s tiring and really gives you that feeling of finding yourself caught up in an absolute disaster of a night that you just can’t dig out of. Giving time to breathe with traditional cuts might not be awful with a good editor but it doesn’t capture the feeling of pausing for a second in your own brain at 3am wondering “what am I doing?” Also I do feel like there’s a theatrical quality to the way characters leave and have to figure out how to get where they need to be for their next appearance in an instance
I wish more movies did extremely long shot takes. I find that they add a lot of realism to movies. Especially when compared to the nauseating cut-happy editing of old
Before sunset is one of my favourite films. Having said that, the crew who made Victoria are peobably the bravest and the most insane buch of people in filmmaking. Mad props to them.
I saw Victoria years ago I guess when it first came out. The first time I saw it it made me want to see it again the second time I saw it I suspected that there were no edits the third time I saw it I couldn’t believe what a masterpiece, it is! Powerful, incredible!
I loved the film Russian Ark, which is a 90-minute single shot movie, that has 2000 actors in it. It basically has a narrator moving through the St. Petersburg Winter Palace and he encounters all of these historical figures. The whole thing feels rather dreamlike than just some dry historical recounting. It took them four tries apparently to do.
I remember watching Russian Ark as a teen and the only thing that distracted me or drew the "one shot" thing into my mind was seeing the zips on the back of various actors costumes. Such an annoyingly small detail but it KILLED me as a teen.
My thing about Russian Ark is I'm always wondering, is it a true one shot movie The first three takes they shot ended in the first ten minutes and only the fourth went the distance. But on the credits there are three editors credited. So did they use elements of the first three takes in the final edit or is the released movie just the fourth take. I'm inclined to believe its the former since why would you NEED editors on a movie recorded as a single shot
@@reptongeek I could see needing editors not so much for cutting scenes, but to help smooth things out or to add a few special effects (of which there seemed to be a few, think the queen running off into the distance or the water at the end). I could see lighting and sound being a major source of concern as well, especially with so many actors moving in and out
Wow, great to see this film getting some love and recognition; it's bizarre to me that usually in all the talk of long cuts and films like Birdman or 1917 that Victoria basically never gets a mention! Back in 2015 I had 1 month trial of LoveFilm (shortly before it was killed by streaming services) and I made it my mission to rent and watch some more indie films and go out of my comfort zone a bit. I watched Mustang and The Survivalist both also great releases from 2015, and I also watched Victoria, intrigued by the idea of the zero cuts and the news at the time that it had been disqualified from running for "Best foreign Picture" at the Oscars because so much of the dialogue is English. I still think of VIctoria every time I hear anyone mention long cuts; not only is the film a genuine full length cut, which is a lot rarer than most people realise, but it's also a really good film with some brilliant performances and improv dialogue from the main cast, especially considering they had to be constantly in character for a solid 2+ hours! I highly recommend it for anyone with a genuine interest in cinema.
I can’t tell you how happy I am I stumbled upon your channel. And subsequently this video. I’ve been talking about this movie for years. And I don’t know anyone that’s seen it or even knows what it is. I really enjoyed this movie. And thought it was really interesting and an amazing technical/artistic achievement. Thank you so so so so much for talking about this!
ill be 100% honest, i was thinking about producing movies/series that were improvised, either from start to finish or just in parts, and now 1am youtube recommended me this video, the funny thing is that i didnt even talk about it, just thought about it, youtube is reading my mind.
I saw this movie years ago and it really affected me, but I remember not having much of a chance to talk about it because no one else had apparently seen it. Loved seeing it pop up on your channel- ambitious, for sure. and I realize some may not be in love with what one could call "gimmicky" filmmaking, but I felt this was so beautifully made and performed. A ton of heart behind all of it, and it comes through. You crushed it on this video again, very well said and shown
One of my favorite movies of all time, even from the opening scene(epilepsy warning if you watch it!). The pacing is a bit slow because it is in one take, but once you get over that, it is simply amazing.
teared up watching this. i miss the little cinema playing such movies walking distance from where i lived in high school. i even walked there after class one day to see cosmopolis (amazing film) and it blew me away watching it again seeing the ending conversation, i sobbed. the local theatres now are just so full of crap. its so depressing.
When I first started, I was hesitant about seeming all over the place in what I covered. But then I just felt like, ya know, if I love X, Y and Z, changes are there are other people out there who do, too. At that seems to have held true :)
I loved this movie equally both times I saw it. I couldn't quite belive it was actually one take. While that does add nerve the performances were also outstanding. The moment I learned that it was also improvised to the extent it was gave me a physical sensation of awe like vertigo or something. That fact elevates this to one of the singular most impressive feats in cinema history. I'm absolutely floored.
There is one scene in this film that is everything for me. When Victoria plays the piano and says she's not good enough. She built up her life to go to the academy to play the piano and realized she's just not quite good enough and now her life has collapsed... or completely open. This "quiet" scene made the whole film worth watching. I was all in with the characters. If this scene didn't exist it wouldn't have worked.
Same. My favourite scene of the movie, because as Victoria plays you can hear his ego shuttering. Also there were 2 reasonable points in this madness of a movie: 1. When Victoria described how one have no actual life when one wants to become a professional musician/sportsman/whatever and 2. When that dude let them in, Sonne screamed 'Are you an idiot, why did you let us in if you have a child inside???' That was really great.
Ah, as I've had months without seeing a film I truly thought "That was amazing," I started to forget the times I've stumbled upon films that truly wowed me. Thanks for the reminder of the time I discovered Victoria.
Oh my. I decided to rent this movie thanks to you, and I'm really glad I did. It left me with a lot of emotions and contemplation, and was 100% worth the 5 dollar price tag. Thank you again for such a brilliant channel.
Actually if one is nitpicky, the longest unbroken shot movie is "Paint Drying" from 2016 which is 10 hrs and 7min of someone painting a wall and it subsequently drying, it is a protest piece against the British Board of Film Classification who had to sit thru the whole film in cinema quality to give it a rating of "U" for Universal
@@CinemaStix Longest shot in a feature film is also enough, as I doubt anyone will ever show Paint drying on their TV program, whereas Victoria was shown (atleast) on German and Austrian late night TV programs :)
I’ll never forget the feeling of watching this at TIFF when it came out. Electric. I tell people about this film all the time. This video deepened my appreciation of the achievement that it is. Thank you.
Victoria is such a feat of virtuosity, most of my friends would probably be bored to tears but I was like "whoa". Thanks for the vid, I had pretty much forgotten about it :)
Mr. Robot has a lot of experimental choices that go unnoticed, some noteworthy episodes in the middle seasons: one where the entire episode is made to look like a seamless cut / continuous shot. Another where the entire episode had only ONE word dialogue. You don't notice these episodes till someone tells you about em, pretty staggering choices at the time for a running series.
Tiny thing that I think really, really elevates the end of this video: the pauses after the questions you ask. The "What do you think?" ending to youtube videos is quite common, and almost never particularly effective to me. Those pauses forced me to sit with my thoughts, even just for a second, and start to think about your questions. I'm not so into film that I have particularly strong opinions on them, but I can honestly say even just those few seconds of contemplation put this video in the upper echelons of the (admittedly niche category of) videos I've watched that end with questions. Bravo! (and, overall, a fantastic video, as usual from your channel)
‘Boiling Point’ is another great one-shot movie with no cuts. S1E7 of ‘The Bear’ does a similar thing, albeit with cuts. There’s a fight sequence and car-chase in ‘Atomic Blonde’ also that uses cuts but is highly effective.
i was about to mention boiling point too but thought id check if someone beat me to it. loved that movie. there was also an amazing episode in season 1 of true detective with a massive 1 shot chase
I LOVE the idea of doing the improv based on prompts and I totally think that is worth it. Even the best writers in the world can't foresee the organic chemistry between actors, so they can't really make it more "real" in the writing room. The one continuous cut tho... It does bring SOME value, but I also think it's way more hassle for less pay-off in most cases. It's impressive as hell though.
I am beyond refreshed by the humanity this film seems to capture. Editing out mistakes, or fumbled lines, or forcing actors to NEVER fix their hair creates a level of separation that shatters the reality. People drop things and stutter and get nervous. LEAVE IT IN!!
i adore this film. the fake piano playing isn't good. but i actually didn't know it was all improv. the method he chose to say new things every time explains why the performances feel so genuine. they're actually listening to each other, and responding, and it feels so real. that makes so much sense now hahaha
Kudos to the camera crew on such a production, stamina, focus control and light/exposure control required are remarkable to maintain the quality for a 2 hour (or whatever length) single shot literally running from place to place, each with it own different settings and conditions. Even a 'simple' thing such as avoiding to trip and fall due to unlevel ground is a chore when concentrating on the camera image rather than the street/stairs/furniture/lamp posts and the thousand other obstacles ahead of you.
As a European, who's always trying to get my American friends _(and random people on the internet)_ to give European movies a chance, your channel is one I always recommend since you are so great at explaining all the intricacies of a *great* movie - and you often talk about European movies, which is rare in the RUclips film space. I grew up in Sweden, now live in Norway, used to live a while in both Denmark and Germany. Thank you so much for opening up people's minds to the way we make movies around here. It's oftentimes a bit grittier than the *ultra polished* American 2-4 seconds then "CUT" and VFX-galore, and not nearly as politically correct aaall theee fuuuuckiiiiing tiiiiime _(sorry, I'm very tired of a lot of the shit that's getting pumped out of Hollywood, but there are of course still great movies being made in the US too - they are just very few and far between)._ *"Victoria"* is, without a doubt, one of the very best movies to have come out of Germany and Europe, and the world, in a long time. Though here in Norway we've given the world quite a few good ones in the last couple of years, and Sweden have *always* been great at movies. Not to mention Great Britain _(and then I mean all of Great Britain, _*_not_*_ only England)._ And I'm happy to see Swedish directors _(like Ruben Östlund)_ getting big, because they know how to utilise Swedish talent since they know how to use the actors and not just put them into the "Either you play a Russian, or a viking"-slot. *Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving people who may not be aware of the great movies coming out of Europe a chance to open their minds to how we make films around here. Truly, thank you!*
The problem with a film like this: how do you pack it with enough STORY for a feature length narrative without the option of cutting out the "fat" and jumping in time? The fact that Victoria pulled off an engaging story with great characters is nothing short of unbelievable.
I mean, did you never have an intense time of about 2 hours? There are all this anecdotes people tell - crazy, funny, devastating things that happened in a short time span. I could think of several of those that would not be boring - because those people were not bored living them. And you are right there with them. I think that is amazing - and so intimate..
@@CinemaStixAll these other channels seem to always talk about the same movies, and very superficially. Good to see someone who really appreciate the craft! Bring me back to when I used to share a flat with a cinema major 😆
as an austrian i'm ususally not into german movies or tv, the dialect is offputting, and maybe like netflix movies, they always fall short, try to hard but never hit. but victoria was great. it felt alive, if not real, at least realistic, its a great movie. great cast, great chemistry between them, 9,5/10
Wow! From this video I see some traditional yet difficult lighting schemes, such as the rembrandt, and in this kind of work i guess it is more difficult. I imagine the crew already practiced and set up the lights before the actors arrive at each location and the actors had some instructions on where to stand for example. So congrats to the entire crew.
Russian Ark had a cast of 2.000 and was shot as a single 90-minute sequence in 2001 directly into a hard drive that had to be carried with the DP through the Heritage Museum's 30 rooms where it was shot. Not to belittle Victoria but that was a far greater technical achievement.
But at least it was a "controlled" area. It's also an incredibly boring movie that feels basically like a guided historic museum tour with some weird narrative choices.
May I recommend the very unsettling Soft & Quiet? I believe 3 takes is the film were shot, and the vast majority of the film is from only one take. The cuts in the beginning are hidden. In the case of this movie I feel the oner really does enhance the story, showing how a night devolves in real time. Excellent video! Well done :)
After 2 minutes into your RUclips video, I decided to watch Victoria before spoiling it. Wow! absolutely one of my favorite movies of all time, (and I've watched thousands of movies) Everything felt so real.
8:18 I feel like every single time I watch this movie again I can tell more of this mistakes, but at the same time it just makes the whole thing feel even more real
This type of restriction often forces more creativity. So many times you hear stories of classic movies that had no budget and disasters on set with directors having nervous breakdowns and studios deciding the movie was a loss only to end up with a masterpiece that changes cinema forever. These restrictions can force outcomes that are often better than having everything ready to go and easy. Reminds me of a short film festival we used to have where I live. It was shot on super 8 film and you couldn't edit. You got one roll of film and a camera and you turned in the roll of film at the end and never saw the result until the night of the festival. You saw what you shot brand new just like the audience. The restriction of this forced a lot of innovative tricks to get what was needed to tell a story and often the results are uniquely better than having no restrictions. You had to shoot your scenes in linear order. Cuts were only shutting the camera off and on. The only audio was syncing a separate soundtrack to the 3:30 film length. Unless you counted exact frames for each scene or were doing fbf animation, you had to "guess" where to put the audio since you don't have an actual edit of the film to sync accurately. When I did it I recorded audio on a phone while filming each scene and used the clicks of the camera to determine how long each scene was and knew what was going on. It was not even remotely accurate but was close enough for simple voiceovers to match the action.
Just came back to say that I just finished watching Victoria because of your video and loved it. This movie has the energy of that night you go out to club and everything happens. Thanks for the awesome recommendation!
I think a long take that is often slept on is Mr Robot Season 3 Episode 4 (Runtime Error). An absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. Keen to check out Victoria now!
Honestly, I feel surprised that there aren't more movies like this. Stage performers act like this all the time... It's ALL done in a single take, you can't just do-over if you flub your performance. You have to memorize every line, every scene, every action. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to pull off.
EXTREMELY underrated movie. Didn't hear from it till now and just finished watching it. LOVED it! You can really FEEL the angst, the joy, the tears and all
Russian Ark is another movie that is filmed in one unbroken take. It's one very long tracking shot through the Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg, with actors playing historical figures from different eras. It's basically a whistle-stop tour of Russian history, a fun movie that's worth checking out.
Came to say the same thing. Although I think there are some CGI transitions during its 1 hr 39 min runtime. Regardless, the scope of that movie is incredible. There were nearly 5,000 people involved in bringing that movie to life, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
The problem with Russian Ark is that it's a 1 take gimmick movie with cool set/costumes/extra, but (from what I recall) a non-existent plot. I gave up watching it halfway through because it wasn't going anywhere. Victoria, on the other hand shifts from a casual night out in Berlin, to a budding romance, to a high stakes heist and you're brought along for the ride. The one take helps with the intensity, but it's a great story overall
I have seen this movie a few months ago, it is incredible. I have never seen anything like it and never felt this close to the actors and action. It is a masterpiece. Period.
I made a short film with all the same principles, literally from the “No predetermined dialogue” to the “if you mess up role with it”, and I had a back story and everything and kind of what I wanted to happen for the story beats, and all in one shot. It’s so awesome to see that another filmmaker made a FEATURE long version of that, I’ve been meaning to check this out, but I didn’t know about all of the things I stated prior and now I really want to see it
Great video. Thanks so much. One of my favourite long takes, that I really don't think gets the attention it deserves, is the beach scene from Atonement. It's wonderfully crafted and shows a bunch of stories at once, but also was a result of necessity as production was running out of time and money. To pull that one out of that hat at the last minute is real proof that necessity breeds creation.
I stumbled across victoria back in like 2016, back then i loved it so much i went out and bought the blu ray. The change from dusk to night to sunrise in one take makes it fun to watch for me. You see the club in early morning, it has that vibe where most people have started to leave already and the remaining people are vibing. Same with the coffee place opening. That little attention to detail makes it feel good.
Seeing Victoria for the first time was a mind-blowing experience. The immersion is unlike any other movie. Tiny imperfections that wouldn't normally make the final cut make everything feel more real. You get to witness all the transitions between locations. "Did all that really just happen without a single cut? How did they do it? I need to watch this again and pay more attention". It's the only movie I ever watched twice in a row.
It's like theater play but in the form of a movie watched in cinema. The amount of "choreography" behind the scenes to pull that off must've been massive.
There's a equivalent in gaming: In 1998 Half-Life came out, to my knowledge the first first-person shooter that didn't do loading screens (technically it did, like with one-shot movies there were "seams"), and the entire game didn't have cutscenes or anything that would remove you from the point of view of your character. Then Half-Life 2 did the same thing. Before I played it, I remember my friend from school telling us about the game, and it's hard to describe - for the first time I couldn't tell if someone was talking about a movie or not. And after I played it, it felt way more like I had been on that adventure. Immersion is a powerful thing.
We actually had a Q&A with the actress afterwards and she said her favorite version was the second run they did and that she was trying to convince the director to make all three versions available
I think that’s probably the way to do it. Although rewatching it knowing about the unscripted aspect was a totally new viewing experience for me on a third go. Crazy to watch those decisions from the actors.
This is incredible, I can not imagine all the things that should be planed, the sound comes to my mind as mentioned here, but the worst nightmare for me would be the light and exposure, then the focus. Incredible really...
I am not able to discuss film that much due to my current circumstances (serving overseas) with other people so it feels good when you throw up in a new video talking about films I would love to talk about. Just wanted to say thanks. Love your videos
After this video I had to find it, yiu can see it in Germany on Netflix as of this post… everything you said is 100% true and unbelievable, but I would ass that the DP, Focus puller, are insane. This movie goes from wides to CU from indoors to outside, how was the play on the camera done. On top of the One shot, improved dialogue. You have to think of the lighting, the sound, the transition of location. you wrap your head around that. The story is solid! Wow I have been introduced to one of my favourites of all time not for one shining moment but for every moment.
Great video as always! I went straight to see the movie after watch this video and i was not disappointed! I've watched it without subtitles as someone suggest (i don't understand german but I understand english) and it was really a great experience! Thanks for the video and the suggestion Danny 🤙
Whoo! Glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been wanting to share this movie with people for ages. I’m glad you were able to toggle subtitles. My Blu Ray copy, they seem to be hardcoded in.
I remember watching this in the theater, such a great movie, really good acting too. I didn't know about the improvisation until now and it makes sense, the acting is very down to earth and the emotions feel really raw.
Park Chan-wook's films are now available to stream on MUBI in the U.S. Watch them or anything else steaming on MUBI with a whole month free at mubi.com/cinemastix
Please watch Iravin Nizhal if you can it's a One shot Non Linear Indian movie and it's pretty good too
LETS GO!!!! MY BOIS GOT SPONSERS!!!
I highly suggest Tony Jaa’s Protector 2, for the one take Pagoda section.
He starts at the bottom floor, and fights his way, up, even tossing guys over the side, on each level, on the way.
One can see where makers of Daredevil, and even The Raid, got a lot of inspiration.
It’s like the hallway from Oldboy, except the camera follows up three or four floors, and Jaa’s stunt team are wearing padding, to allow him to actually hit them, with full force at times, as well as being thrown through things, hit with weapons, etc.
There is an excellent making of, that explains how they did it, how long it was rehearsed, and how many different takes it took.
It’s still what I consider the best one take action scene.
If you look for One-shot-movies, I really like Hojoom/Invasion, an Iranian movie I watched at the Berlinale. It was impressive and besides the one-shot thing also a good movie (I did not know before it would be in one whot, I realized about a third through the film that there are no cuts). As Berlinale had the makers I also heard the cameraman speaking about all his movement was planned beforehand, including when the camera was standing still long enough for him to take a sip of water.
On another note: One Shot of the Dead, it is (despite it's title) not really a one-shot movie, but a love letter to film making and very wholesome. As much as a zombie movie can be.
But...no discussion on Russian Ark. Waaaaaaaat??
hey - this is sebastian from berlin - i m the director of VICTORIA - i was just discovering this channel having watched abot 5 videos in a row (very much liking all of them!) and when i was checking out more videos - i saw this - WOW - hahahahah - so proud you included us - plus you got everything right - every thing - i m kinda late to commenting on this - so probabaly noone will ever read this - but if somebody does - *hello from berlin!*
so cool, glad you've found this video :) hello from Romania
Great movie! It's a shame your comment is buried.
This comment should be included in the narrative
you helped create such an amazing movie thank you Sebastian
so cool to read this. as a choreographer that works with improvisation, and having felt the insecurity of if this is a good idea, i'm so glad to hear the trust and responsbility you give actors with their skills. watched Victoria years back and was floored, so learning all this afterwards is even more amazing. thanks for such an inspiring work!
The problem with this approach, that this dedication to one-shot moviemaking is so powerful, that it overshadows everything else the movie offers, to a point that it ALMOST becomes a gimmick. However, this one-shot method gives such an intensity to the performances and action, that this film did become the most exhilarating movie experience I've had in the past 10 years at least.
See, I had that concern when I went to see it on its release. I went mainly because I like the male lead, Frederick Lau, and the manager of my local arthouse cinema recommended it. But when I heard it was one take, I was close to dismissing it as a gimmick. But in fact it's essential: there's no better way of explaining how these kids could end up in this situation than actually showing every single moment of it. It's authentic, in the sense that it stays demonstrably true to what's happening because you see it all, and panic-inducing because there's no escape from events, not even between the cuts.
From the sound of it, it was necessary for the film to convey what the director wanted to convey. A gimmick is a mechanic used for the purely superficial objective of increased publicity/attention
The other problem: not everyone handling the long take is competent, either in the take or on either end of it
cutting, framing, sticking back together, editing and adding cgi are the true gimmicks. I've always saw film as theater for the masses, in its purest form the only focus is the performance of actors, no one goes to theater to watch good background design, while many people go to the movies for the gimmicky eye candy.
The only reason to stick so closely to the rule rule of "one shot" is for it to be a gimmick. Otherwise you'd make cuts when needed, just with long shots.
I remember having to watch this movie for one of my college classes: the subtitles didn't work, so I had to watch it without understanding what most characters were saying. Oddly enough, it was really inmmersing, and it felt like I was with the characters and the protagonist, being placed in a chaotic situation that I couldn't figure out.
Interestingly, despite being a German film, a high enough percentage of the film is in English that the movie was disqualified from the foreign language category at the Academy Awards.
Caught in 4k
Exactly, I watched this without subtitles and I dont understand German. I really felt like Im in movie with them...
Most of it is in English anyways.
Maybe an excuse for being shamefully monolingual, but I've often enjoyed the feeling of being in a country or with friends immersed in a foreign language and having to read faces and other "nonverbals". I don't get the people who find this offensive (assuming you don't NEED to understand).
I actually did my thesis for film school just 2 months ago about the importance of sound in video editing. Victoria was an obvious choice. The first time I saw it, it was my dad who recommended me to see it because he knew about my interest in film studies. I was blown away by the whole film: actors, shots, editing (or not). And when I watched it again for my thesis, I was also blown away by the sound. Just a great film that I will keep on recommending.
Nice
Huerrr❤rrrrr❤rehurrrr❤r❤r❤❤❤rr❤❤r😊
It really is a unique film. I loved it when I saw it in the cinema.
What is so interesting about the sound in that movie?
@@bitumenboyy well it's a one-shot film, so how fo process sound in a one shot film? Do you play the reality and try to fully immerge the public by having a great sound design and no music extradiegsetic, or is it too naturally and off putting for the viewer so you actually do have to music to ease out the silence? How do you play with the silence? What kind of music do you use in those situations? If it's a one shot movie, what is your point of view as a viewer? Is the camera an invisible character watching the scene on the outside of things, or do you share you're point of view with the charcater that you follow (mostly Victoria)? If so, are you gonna accentuate sounds that are more intriguing to the character or not? These types of questions.
Top 5 film of all time for me. I absolutely love how it captures the feeling of "Do you ever have one of those nights where it feels like anything could happen?"
I've had one of those nights, watching it felt surreal.
Kinda reminds me of After Hours.
@@HandyMan657underrated Scorsese film
@AlexSinclair would love to know your other 4 top movies :p
@@StemLG I was about to ask, what are the other four...
Here's my proposal, in no particular order (with my comment where I think it's necessary):
- Come and See (1985). The scariest movie I've ever watched and it's not even a horror film.
- Moonfall. If you want to learn how to overdo it and be proud of it, you have to watch - and enjoy - this movie!
- Monty Python's Life of Brian
- Koyaanisqatsi
I remember being at my parent's house. It was late and my dad was, as normal, going to watch something laying down on the sofa 'til he sleeps. The moment I passed behind him, he change the channel and it was the first minutes of Victoria. He held the remote like 20 minutes, ready to change again as always. But he didn't. And I was stuck too. I finally watch the rest of the movie with him on the sofa. So breathtaking. Maybe one of my best silent moment with my dad. Appreciating by pure luck a masterpiece.
That is magic. I don't know any other word for it.
Man, I love this channel. The stuff you talk about is actually different from the dozens of copycat film analysis channels. One of the few channels which actually talk about the craft. Thank you!
Thank YOU for being here :)
-Danny
Same.
What are some other good film analysis channels?
@@sockzandsandals2315 I mean there's nerdwriter but his analysis isn't limited to films, he analyses everything. Every frame a painting is one but sadly it doesn't produce content anymore. Thomas Flight is one and Cinema Beyond Entertainment is one but the creator of the channel sadly passed away very recently. Films and Stuff is another channel which is very good but doesn't get the number of views it deserves. Patrick Williams is excellent albeit very long. You have to have atleast an hour or so to watch his videos and think about them.
Edit: I forgot about Royal Ocean Film Society. That one's good as well.
@@sockzandsandals2315 Consider "This Guy Edits." It's tangentially related to what you're looking for. The gentleman behind the channel is an editor and he analysis films/movies from that perspective.
I played at home this movie without knowing this.
We were stuck on the sofa during the all movie, everything was fluid.
Best recognition to the cameraman that makes it possible.
I already thought this was an incredible feat, but all the dialogue was imporvised as well?!?!
Absolutely insane. AND it's not gimmicky, it's genuinely engaging and totally emmersive.
So much so, that when I first watched it, I had no idea going in that it was a 1-shot film. It was only 15/20 minutes into it when I finally realised.
I don't think I'm exagerating when I say it might be one of the greatest feats of filmmaking ever achieved.
And yet so rarely the topic of conversation! Truly insane achievement.
im not sure what would be more difficult for the actors. memorizing a 2 hour script or just improvise it
@@c0dy42 definitely improvising. Memorising long scripts isn't actually that difficult. People do it all the time for theatre
This is like when you hear a song on the radio where there's no auto-tune, no doubling, no layering. It's a person and their instrument or a band with their instruments, nailing it in one take. Like that filming of America doing their greatest hits all in one take, perfectly. Cinema works powerfully when it is like live theater. When the cast and crew come together to create something that doesn't rely on anything but the story and how it is told to get the message across. No CG, no rewrites, no clever editing, no pushy music to sell the moment. I must watch this movie.
I saw VICTORIA on a college campus when my friend invited me (among others) to check it out with her. I was blown away by it. As tense and exciting as it is, being a heist film shot in one take, I think it manages to be equally exciting in a romantic way because of the charisma and chemistry of its protagonists. I've only seen it the one time, but parts of it are seared into my memory, and I will never forget it!
Me too, only watched once. I feel like I need to revisit to experience it again. Same with the movie Raw.
i watched it on a plane back from germany not knowing what i was even about to get into and fell in love with it instantly. it’s brilliant.
Thank you for doing a video on Victoria. I watched it on New Year’s Eve that year and was blown away, but I don’t hear many people talk about it. The one take aspect did not feel like a gimmick, but instead served the story well and helped to heighten the emotions and arc the characters go on.
Yeah, I’m always shocked by how infrequently it seems to make the rounds. It’s a staggering achievement. And like you say, also a story served by that achievement.
I watched this on the New Year's Night this year. Totally worth it.
One of the most impressive one-shot scenes I have seen comes from season 2 of the Chosen. The scene in question is so impressive because it not only was fifteen minutes long, but they had many actors moving in and out of the scene and a bunch of dialogue and the camera was moving around with the characters, and to top it all off, the scene begins during the day and the sun sets as the scene progresses so that by the end it is night. For a show that doesn't have a large budget or a massive following, it's an incredibly impressive feat of film making.
I know!! I remember watching that and being shocked haha.
Haven’t watched this yet but based on the technical prowess to shoot in one take in tandem with actors doing improv sounds mind blowing
I’ll be curious to hear with you think of it if you end up checking it out.
when you have a flight in 130 minutes but still need to film a movie.
I remember watching this on a whim back in 2015 just because of the sheer audacity of a 2-hour one-take film, and I loved it, I bought it on DVD a little while later and you've just inspired me to finally give this film a well overdue rewatch.
I don't think the idea is crazy. People have been doing theater since the time of Ancient Greece. The "crazy" part is the team's technical ability to capture such a thing so genuinely in the medium of film and the logistical challenges of maintaining one unbroken shot. As long as you have a compelling story to tell, it's a risk that can pay off as evidenced by this film you discussed in the video.
How pedantic. You say it's NOT crazy to do, then say ok ok yeah it's technically crazy to do. -__-
@@Hylebos75they are saying the fact of acting for 2 hours isnt crazy because theather is a thing. (Though inbetweens exist). The crazy thing is being to capture that acting... and the acting being improv, too!
@@capuchinosofia4771 you're very right, good point about the improv. And the whole fact that they can't ever repeat themselves with a single line even
And the technical aspect of scene changes and camera angles. You don't have a bunch of stage hands moving pieces around when you're moving between actual locations. And theater can set up dedicated cameras because it's all intended to be viewed from one angle. I got to see a screening of Spirited Away at the Met. There is a lot of suspension of belief no matter how amazing the practical effects are.
In roundabout way, it does feel like the ability for cheap cameras to film this long does actually return us to the theatre setting, but in film form
I've been trying to get as many people possible to see this movie. One of the best films I've seen. Victoria 2015 💖 thanks
Same here. Here’s to hoping this helps get the word out.
Same!
I just love how you intro'd this video. As soon as you said, "What if I told you...", I was like no way... then Victoria popped up and I jumped out of my chair with joy haha! Such a grossly underrated movie!
Haha, that’s fantastic. I actually had to write that whole intro last minute due to some weird editing restrictions (too complicated to get into), and I was like… am I really gonna go for this Daredevil/Birdman preamble? But I just decided to just commit and see what would happen.
@@CinemaStix I'm glad you did. I remember the Daredevil hallway scene and thinking at the time how they'd obviously been inspired by Oldboy. But what got me was that it just felt like it wasn't going to stop. And to see Daredevil look so tired as the scene went on really added to the realism. It was a perfect scene to preface the intro to Victoria. I'd love to see more videos tackling realist vs realism in filmmaking.
I had the exact same feeling! From the thumbnail I had an idea. But as soon as I saw the title card for “Victoria” I got so excited! Great preamble and good way to start the video for sure.
I saw this at the castro theatre in S.F. during the noir film festival. It's one of the most memorable movie moments of my life. I was awestruck at the beauty of this movie. Learning now that the dialogue and actions were improvised just makes it even more incredible.
The Russian Ark is easily one of the most profound films made, physically, in one entire shot. It's remarkable and worth a mention. Not as long as this film, but still great.
Yeah. How Russian Ark isn't a central comparison in this essay is utterly baffling. They did this already. And perhaps better. Just weird.
Exactly. I went searching for comments @@EricMalette, to see if anyone noted this. I haven't yet seen the film victoria. I have seen all the others. I found Russian ark in my opinion to standout so much more. It is absolutely gorgeous.
@@EricMalette I agree, how this wasn't mentioned?
This is why I'm here. Russian Ark is beautiful and extremely well done and far more complex than Victoria.
This is a great example of great teamwork...when everyone is on the same page and willing to do it
One of my favourite films of all time is Boiling Point (2021). As someone with a background in theatre I find the one-shot approach mesmerising as it reminds me of watching an entire play, but it really doesn’t feel rehearsed because of the intensity and raw feeling that the camerawork is able to give. When I studied Hitchcock’s Rope at university we learned that the one-shot lookalike approach (I think the film has 10 ‘hidden’ cuts) was because the story originally was a play, and Hitchcock wanted to replicate that stage feel, which is also apparent in the way the camera mostly keeps to one side of the room, all actors contained within that space.
One of the greatest movies ever and I think it never got the recognition it deserved. A true masterpiece. It's even better when you know Berlin. This movie feels so real at some point.
I watched this movie last night based off of your discussion of it in this video. It was so much better than I expected a true one-shot film to be. Editing gives you so much control over pacing, tone, the passage of time and so forth, I figured that this movie would feel flat in comparison. But somehow, they managed to pull it off. There are distinct scenes, a gradual ramping of tension, and you definitely feel time passing. It's an incredible achievement and I'm glad you made this video about it.
I love the sentiment you chose to end this on, "you have to do things against better advice."
More filmmakers today need to hold their ground. In an era with every popular blockbuster being greenlit via algorithm, one can tell when a creative product is one of too much compromise.
I've cried twice on both viewings of the *Barbie* bus stop scene. Then I learned Warner wanted it cut from the theatrical release. Gerwig came out and said it's the heart of the film and without it, she wouldn't know why she's doing the film.
That's what we need more of. Films and filmmakers who look better advice in the face and say, "Fuck off, I'm doing this."
I was just reading through the Star Wars archive book, reminding me of the days when that movie was a groundbreaking risk-tasking endeavour, and where George Lucas outlined his feelings about studio execs as dipshits that ask you to make a movie, then tell you what the movie should or shouldn’t have, while not having any experience or skills in it. Leaving the artist asking ‘what the fuck did you pay me for?’ Nowadays I fear we’re closer to the point that studio execs are not balanced by the artists working under them that do the real work, and the gap between studio exec and finished product is closed by the CGI and visual effects they can just order someone else to do exactly to their specifications. And now AI will destroy that gap, any script can be AI-generated, so can actors, so can the edit or whatnot.
Film has always been about getting over obstacles, creative workarounds based on restraints and budget limitations. I’ll be glad when Indie studios agreeing to SAG continue making films while big studios have all their productions shut down.
George Lucas decided to fund his own movies, but there’s only few directors now who have that chance or opportunity, mostly 50+ directors with a legacy career behind them, the Scorcese/Tarantino/Ridley Scott/Spielberg/Nolan/Villeneuve, who get to have final say and full control. Many young directors are left to do studio bidding in blockbuster/IP-drive films or linger in the Indie scene with no funding. So few are given the sort of shots that the most famous directors got back in the 70s/80s/90s. I mean Spielberg got to make Duel, at 19, as his first film. And Jaws at 22.
@@GuineaPigEveryday ok
@@2muchteevee Why would you start a discussion but then dismiss someone who gives a detailed response? Talk about rude.
@@Selrisitai ok
@@2muchteeveek
I think I’ve gotten to the point in watching movies where I don’t feel that impressed with a technical accomplishment just because it’s technically impressive. However with Victoria it doesn’t feel like something just added for brownie points, it actually affects the story. It’s tiring and really gives you that feeling of finding yourself caught up in an absolute disaster of a night that you just can’t dig out of. Giving time to breathe with traditional cuts might not be awful with a good editor but it doesn’t capture the feeling of pausing for a second in your own brain at 3am wondering “what am I doing?” Also I do feel like there’s a theatrical quality to the way characters leave and have to figure out how to get where they need to be for their next appearance in an instance
I wish more movies did extremely long shot takes. I find that they add a lot of realism to movies. Especially when compared to the nauseating cut-happy editing of old
Before sunset is one of my favourite films. Having said that, the crew who made Victoria are peobably the bravest and the most insane buch of people in filmmaking. Mad props to them.
I saw Victoria years ago I guess when it first came out. The first time I saw it it made me want to see it again the second time I saw it I suspected that there were no edits the third time I saw it I couldn’t believe what a masterpiece, it is! Powerful, incredible!
I loved the film Russian Ark, which is a 90-minute single shot movie, that has 2000 actors in it. It basically has a narrator moving through the St. Petersburg Winter Palace and he encounters all of these historical figures. The whole thing feels rather dreamlike than just some dry historical recounting. It took them four tries apparently to do.
I remember watching Russian Ark as a teen and the only thing that distracted me or drew the "one shot" thing into my mind was seeing the zips on the back of various actors costumes. Such an annoyingly small detail but it KILLED me as a teen.
My thing about Russian Ark is I'm always wondering, is it a true one shot movie
The first three takes they shot ended in the first ten minutes and only the fourth went the distance. But on the credits there are three editors credited. So did they use elements of the first three takes in the final edit or is the released movie just the fourth take. I'm inclined to believe its the former since why would you NEED editors on a movie recorded as a single shot
@@reptongeek I could see needing editors not so much for cutting scenes, but to help smooth things out or to add a few special effects (of which there seemed to be a few, think the queen running off into the distance or the water at the end). I could see lighting and sound being a major source of concern as well, especially with so many actors moving in and out
Wow, great to see this film getting some love and recognition; it's bizarre to me that usually in all the talk of long cuts and films like Birdman or 1917 that Victoria basically never gets a mention!
Back in 2015 I had 1 month trial of LoveFilm (shortly before it was killed by streaming services) and I made it my mission to rent and watch some more indie films and go out of my comfort zone a bit. I watched Mustang and The Survivalist both also great releases from 2015, and I also watched Victoria, intrigued by the idea of the zero cuts and the news at the time that it had been disqualified from running for "Best foreign Picture" at the Oscars because so much of the dialogue is English. I still think of VIctoria every time I hear anyone mention long cuts; not only is the film a genuine full length cut, which is a lot rarer than most people realise, but it's also a really good film with some brilliant performances and improv dialogue from the main cast, especially considering they had to be constantly in character for a solid 2+ hours! I highly recommend it for anyone with a genuine interest in cinema.
The craziest to me was when the TV show E.R. did a completely live episode - twice. Once for the East coast and one for the West coast. S4E1.
I can’t tell you how happy I am I stumbled upon your channel. And subsequently this video. I’ve been talking about this movie for years. And I don’t know anyone that’s seen it or even knows what it is.
I really enjoyed this movie. And thought it was really interesting and an amazing technical/artistic achievement. Thank you so so so so much for talking about this!
This channel is scratching an itch (every frame a painting-esque) that I havent been able to satisfy for years
:)
ill be 100% honest, i was thinking about producing movies/series that were improvised, either from start to finish or just in parts, and now 1am youtube recommended me this video, the funny thing is that i didnt even talk about it, just thought about it, youtube is reading my mind.
Finally, someone is talking about this masterpiece.
I saw this movie years ago and it really affected me, but I remember not having much of a chance to talk about it because no one else had apparently seen it. Loved seeing it pop up on your channel- ambitious, for sure. and I realize some may not be in love with what one could call "gimmicky" filmmaking, but I felt this was so beautifully made and performed. A ton of heart behind all of it, and it comes through. You crushed it on this video again, very well said and shown
One of my favorite movies of all time, even from the opening scene(epilepsy warning if you watch it!). The pacing is a bit slow because it is in one take, but once you get over that, it is simply amazing.
teared up watching this. i miss the little cinema playing such movies walking distance from where i lived in high school. i even walked there after class one day to see cosmopolis (amazing film) and it blew me away watching it again seeing the ending conversation, i sobbed. the local theatres now are just so full of crap. its so depressing.
Wow. Talk about embracing the art of filmmaking. I haven’t seen it, I’ll look for it.
Let me know what you think of it.
-Danny
I love your channel man, you provide a very well versed take on alot of movies i love alot.
When I first started, I was hesitant about seeming all over the place in what I covered. But then I just felt like, ya know, if I love X, Y and Z, changes are there are other people out there who do, too. At that seems to have held true :)
@@CinemaStix Hell yeah man, keep up the good work. Your content is great.
I loved this movie equally both times I saw it. I couldn't quite belive it was actually one take. While that does add nerve the performances were also outstanding. The moment I learned that it was also improvised to the extent it was gave me a physical sensation of awe like vertigo or something. That fact elevates this to one of the singular most impressive feats in cinema history. I'm absolutely floored.
There is one scene in this film that is everything for me. When Victoria plays the piano and says she's not good enough. She built up her life to go to the academy to play the piano and realized she's just not quite good enough and now her life has collapsed... or completely open. This "quiet" scene made the whole film worth watching. I was all in with the characters. If this scene didn't exist it wouldn't have worked.
Same. My favourite scene of the movie, because as Victoria plays you can hear his ego shuttering. Also there were 2 reasonable points in this madness of a movie: 1. When Victoria described how one have no actual life when one wants to become a professional musician/sportsman/whatever and 2. When that dude let them in, Sonne screamed 'Are you an idiot, why did you let us in if you have a child inside???' That was really great.
Ah, as I've had months without seeing a film I truly thought "That was amazing," I started to forget the times I've stumbled upon films that truly wowed me. Thanks for the reminder of the time I discovered Victoria.
Oh my. I decided to rent this movie thanks to you, and I'm really glad I did. It left me with a lot of emotions and contemplation, and was 100% worth the 5 dollar price tag. Thank you again for such a brilliant channel.
Actually if one is nitpicky, the longest unbroken shot movie is "Paint Drying" from 2016 which is 10 hrs and 7min of someone painting a wall and it subsequently drying, it is a protest piece against the British Board of Film Classification who had to sit thru the whole film in cinema quality to give it a rating of "U" for Universal
Shucks. Yes. I’ll definitely admit when I’m wrong. Longest shot “at the time” we’ll just say.
:)
-Danny
I think we can give you a pass for that one. @@CinemaStix
@@CinemaStix Longest shot in a feature film is also enough, as I doubt anyone will ever show Paint drying on their TV program, whereas Victoria was shown (atleast) on German and Austrian late night TV programs :)
thanks for spreading awareness of this incredibly special, tender, intimate, and insane film, one of my all-time favorites.
:D
I’ll never forget the feeling of watching this at TIFF when it came out. Electric. I tell people about this film all the time. This video deepened my appreciation of the achievement that it is. Thank you.
Victoria is such a feat of virtuosity, most of my friends would probably be bored to tears but I was like "whoa". Thanks for the vid, I had pretty much forgotten about it :)
:D
Mr. Robot has a lot of experimental choices that go unnoticed, some noteworthy episodes in the middle seasons: one where the entire episode is made to look like a seamless cut / continuous shot. Another where the entire episode had only ONE word dialogue. You don't notice these episodes till someone tells you about em, pretty staggering choices at the time for a running series.
they also had an extra mini episode aired on youtube which was VR.
Tiny thing that I think really, really elevates the end of this video: the pauses after the questions you ask. The "What do you think?" ending to youtube videos is quite common, and almost never particularly effective to me. Those pauses forced me to sit with my thoughts, even just for a second, and start to think about your questions. I'm not so into film that I have particularly strong opinions on them, but I can honestly say even just those few seconds of contemplation put this video in the upper echelons of the (admittedly niche category of) videos I've watched that end with questions. Bravo!
(and, overall, a fantastic video, as usual from your channel)
‘Boiling Point’ is another great one-shot movie with no cuts. S1E7 of ‘The Bear’ does a similar thing, albeit with cuts. There’s a fight sequence and car-chase in ‘Atomic Blonde’ also that uses cuts but is highly effective.
Yeah! I’ll do a follow-up at some point that includes Boiling Point for sure.
And I love those sequences in AB.
Came here to mention Boiling Point. It’s incredible.
Also Haunting of Hill House's "Two Storms!" They got the show greenlight based on the concept of doing the episode as a longshot (technically two).
@@CinemaStix I'm the editor on Boiling Point. Gimme a shout if you want a little extra insight there.
i was about to mention boiling point too but thought id check if someone beat me to it. loved that movie. there was also an amazing episode in season 1 of true detective with a massive 1 shot chase
I LOVE the idea of doing the improv based on prompts and I totally think that is worth it. Even the best writers in the world can't foresee the organic chemistry between actors, so they can't really make it more "real" in the writing room.
The one continuous cut tho... It does bring SOME value, but I also think it's way more hassle for less pay-off in most cases. It's impressive as hell though.
Victoria is an unbelievable film
It's so good, even beyond the "gimick"
Love the evolution of the screen grab and video title since I saw it first posted 2 days ago. Keep it up
Victoria is a master piece and im so glad that its finally getting some recognition.
I am beyond refreshed by the humanity this film seems to capture. Editing out mistakes, or fumbled lines, or forcing actors to NEVER fix their hair creates a level of separation that shatters the reality. People drop things and stutter and get nervous. LEAVE IT IN!!
i adore this film. the fake piano playing isn't good. but i actually didn't know it was all improv. the method he chose to say new things every time explains why the performances feel so genuine. they're actually listening to each other, and responding, and it feels so real. that makes so much sense now hahaha
Kudos to the camera crew on such a production, stamina, focus control and light/exposure control required are remarkable to maintain the quality for a 2 hour (or whatever length) single shot literally running from place to place, each with it own different settings and conditions. Even a 'simple' thing such as avoiding to trip and fall due to unlevel ground is a chore when concentrating on the camera image rather than the street/stairs/furniture/lamp posts and the thousand other obstacles ahead of you.
As a European, who's always trying to get my American friends _(and random people on the internet)_ to give European movies a chance, your channel is one I always recommend since you are so great at explaining all the intricacies of a *great* movie - and you often talk about European movies, which is rare in the RUclips film space. I grew up in Sweden, now live in Norway, used to live a while in both Denmark and Germany. Thank you so much for opening up people's minds to the way we make movies around here. It's oftentimes a bit grittier than the *ultra polished* American 2-4 seconds then "CUT" and VFX-galore, and not nearly as politically correct aaall theee fuuuuckiiiiing tiiiiime _(sorry, I'm very tired of a lot of the shit that's getting pumped out of Hollywood, but there are of course still great movies being made in the US too - they are just very few and far between)._ *"Victoria"* is, without a doubt, one of the very best movies to have come out of Germany and Europe, and the world, in a long time. Though here in Norway we've given the world quite a few good ones in the last couple of years, and Sweden have *always* been great at movies. Not to mention Great Britain _(and then I mean all of Great Britain, _*_not_*_ only England)._ And I'm happy to see Swedish directors _(like Ruben Östlund)_ getting big, because they know how to utilise Swedish talent since they know how to use the actors and not just put them into the "Either you play a Russian, or a viking"-slot.
*Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving people who may not be aware of the great movies coming out of Europe a chance to open their minds to how we make films around here. Truly, thank you!*
Watched it with my production-feel wife tonight and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the post
The problem with a film like this: how do you pack it with enough STORY for a feature length narrative without the option of cutting out the "fat" and jumping in time? The fact that Victoria pulled off an engaging story with great characters is nothing short of unbelievable.
I mean, did you never have an intense time of about 2 hours? There are all this anecdotes people tell - crazy, funny, devastating things that happened in a short time span. I could think of several of those that would not be boring - because those people were not bored living them. And you are right there with them. I think that is amazing - and so intimate..
Glad I started following your channel - it got me to see this masterpiece that had escaped my attention!!!
I’m glad, too! I’ve been wanting to share this movie since long before I started the channel. So I’m just glad to have finally gotten the chance.
@@CinemaStixAll these other channels seem to always talk about the same movies, and very superficially. Good to see someone who really appreciate the craft!
Bring me back to when I used to share a flat with a cinema major 😆
as an austrian i'm ususally not into german movies or tv, the dialect is offputting, and maybe like netflix movies, they always fall short, try to hard but never hit. but victoria was great. it felt alive, if not real, at least realistic, its a great movie. great cast, great chemistry between them, 9,5/10
Wow! From this video I see some traditional yet difficult lighting schemes, such as the rembrandt, and in this kind of work i guess it is more difficult. I imagine the crew already practiced and set up the lights before the actors arrive at each location and the actors had some instructions on where to stand for example. So congrats to the entire crew.
Russian Ark had a cast of 2.000 and was shot as a single 90-minute sequence in 2001 directly into a hard drive that had to be carried with the DP through the Heritage Museum's 30 rooms where it was shot.
Not to belittle Victoria but that was a far greater technical achievement.
But at least it was a "controlled" area. It's also an incredibly boring movie that feels basically like a guided historic museum tour with some weird narrative choices.
May I recommend the very unsettling Soft & Quiet? I believe 3 takes is the film were shot, and the vast majority of the film is from only one take. The cuts in the beginning are hidden. In the case of this movie I feel the oner really does enhance the story, showing how a night devolves in real time.
Excellent video! Well done :)
After 2 minutes into your RUclips video, I decided to watch Victoria before spoiling it. Wow! absolutely one of my favorite movies of all time, (and I've watched thousands of movies) Everything felt so real.
Oh I’m so glad! Such a unique viewing experience. I found it even more enthralling rewatching it knowing about the level of improvisation.
Where to watch?
8:18 I feel like every single time I watch this movie again I can tell more of this mistakes, but at the same time it just makes the whole thing feel even more real
great work as always, also wanted to say i'm loving Mubi so far! it's so much different than any streaming service i've had. thanks for the promo!
Right? I’m so glad. Something about the way they lay stuff out makes me want to watch everything I see. No idea what it is.
And thank you :)
This type of restriction often forces more creativity. So many times you hear stories of classic movies that had no budget and disasters on set with directors having nervous breakdowns and studios deciding the movie was a loss only to end up with a masterpiece that changes cinema forever. These restrictions can force outcomes that are often better than having everything ready to go and easy.
Reminds me of a short film festival we used to have where I live. It was shot on super 8 film and you couldn't edit. You got one roll of film and a camera and you turned in the roll of film at the end and never saw the result until the night of the festival. You saw what you shot brand new just like the audience. The restriction of this forced a lot of innovative tricks to get what was needed to tell a story and often the results are uniquely better than having no restrictions. You had to shoot your scenes in linear order. Cuts were only shutting the camera off and on. The only audio was syncing a separate soundtrack to the 3:30 film length. Unless you counted exact frames for each scene or were doing fbf animation, you had to "guess" where to put the audio since you don't have an actual edit of the film to sync accurately. When I did it I recorded audio on a phone while filming each scene and used the clicks of the camera to determine how long each scene was and knew what was going on. It was not even remotely accurate but was close enough for simple voiceovers to match the action.
Victoria is a MASTERPIECE !!! I was in awe when I watched it !
Just came back to say that I just finished watching Victoria because of your video and loved it. This movie has the energy of that night you go out to club and everything happens. Thanks for the awesome recommendation!
I think a long take that is often slept on is Mr Robot Season 3 Episode 4 (Runtime Error). An absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.
Keen to check out Victoria now!
This video has gone through like 6 different titles 😂 Great work.
Honestly, I feel surprised that there aren't more movies like this. Stage performers act like this all the time... It's ALL done in a single take, you can't just do-over if you flub your performance. You have to memorize every line, every scene, every action.
You wouldn't think it would be that hard to pull off.
EXTREMELY underrated movie. Didn't hear from it till now and just finished watching it.
LOVED it! You can really FEEL the angst, the joy, the tears and all
Russian Ark is another movie that is filmed in one unbroken take. It's one very long tracking shot through the Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg, with actors playing historical figures from different eras. It's basically a whistle-stop tour of Russian history, a fun movie that's worth checking out.
At the start I thought the video was about the Russian Ark.
Came to say the same thing. Although I think there are some CGI transitions during its 1 hr 39 min runtime. Regardless, the scope of that movie is incredible. There were nearly 5,000 people involved in bringing that movie to life, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Ah…was scrolling down to see if anyone mentioned Russian Ark. glad he also showed a clip of Timecode as that movie is basically a one cut x4.
The problem with Russian Ark is that it's a 1 take gimmick movie with cool set/costumes/extra, but (from what I recall) a non-existent plot. I gave up watching it halfway through because it wasn't going anywhere. Victoria, on the other hand shifts from a casual night out in Berlin, to a budding romance, to a high stakes heist and you're brought along for the ride. The one take helps with the intensity, but it's a great story overall
@@GrannyBX Yeah, you’re right. It’s been close to twenty years since I’ve seen it, so I must’ve been mistaken.
I have seen this movie a few months ago, it is incredible. I have never seen anything like it and never felt this close to the actors and action. It is a masterpiece. Period.
I made a short film with all the same principles, literally from the “No predetermined dialogue” to the “if you mess up role with it”, and I had a back story and everything and kind of what I wanted to happen for the story beats, and all in one shot. It’s so awesome to see that another filmmaker made a FEATURE long version of that, I’ve been meaning to check this out, but I didn’t know about all of the things I stated prior and now I really want to see it
That was f..king amazing, thanks very much, and big congrats to the director Schipper and his entire crew.
Great video. Thanks so much.
One of my favourite long takes, that I really don't think gets the attention it deserves, is the beach scene from Atonement. It's wonderfully crafted and shows a bunch of stories at once, but also was a result of necessity as production was running out of time and money. To pull that one out of that hat at the last minute is real proof that necessity breeds creation.
I have just had a burst of inspiration. Thank you.
I stumbled across victoria back in like 2016, back then i loved it so much i went out and bought the blu ray.
The change from dusk to night to sunrise in one take makes it fun to watch for me. You see the club in early morning, it has that vibe where most people have started to leave already and the remaining people are vibing. Same with the coffee place opening. That little attention to detail makes it feel good.
Seeing Victoria for the first time was a mind-blowing experience. The immersion is unlike any other movie. Tiny imperfections that wouldn't normally make the final cut make everything feel more real. You get to witness all the transitions between locations. "Did all that really just happen without a single cut? How did they do it? I need to watch this again and pay more attention". It's the only movie I ever watched twice in a row.
It's like theater play but in the form of a movie watched in cinema. The amount of "choreography" behind the scenes to pull that off must've been massive.
There's a equivalent in gaming: In 1998 Half-Life came out, to my knowledge the first first-person shooter that didn't do loading screens (technically it did, like with one-shot movies there were "seams"), and the entire game didn't have cutscenes or anything that would remove you from the point of view of your character. Then Half-Life 2 did the same thing. Before I played it, I remember my friend from school telling us about the game, and it's hard to describe - for the first time I couldn't tell if someone was talking about a movie or not. And after I played it, it felt way more like I had been on that adventure. Immersion is a powerful thing.
this legit is one of my favorite movies. Seen is a few dozen times. found it to be a work of art.
!!!!! Saw this movie in a German film festival and I think about it frequently but I've never met anyone that's seen it too!!!! This is exciting
:D
We actually had a Q&A with the actress afterwards and she said her favorite version was the second run they did and that she was trying to convince the director to make all three versions available
I was 1 minute in, hoping that you'd bring up Victoria. Watched it for the first time blind, without any expectations.
I think that’s probably the way to do it. Although rewatching it knowing about the unscripted aspect was a totally new viewing experience for me on a third go. Crazy to watch those decisions from the actors.
@@CinemaStix Absolutely! I loved hearing about the story behind it. Thanks for sharing bro
I'm surprised you showed a clip but didn't really reference 'Rope' by Hitchcock. One of his best. I swear the movie is like 3 shots.
This is incredible, I can not imagine all the things that should be planed, the sound comes to my mind as mentioned here, but the worst nightmare for me would be the light and exposure, then the focus. Incredible really...
I am not able to discuss film that much due to my current circumstances (serving overseas) with other people so it feels good when you throw up in a new video talking about films I would love to talk about. Just wanted to say thanks. Love your videos
:D
There’s an episode of Mr. Robot all in one take where not a single dialogue is spoken. And it’s glorious.
After this video I had to find it, yiu can see it in Germany on Netflix as of this post… everything you said is 100% true and unbelievable, but I would ass that the DP, Focus puller, are insane. This movie goes from wides to CU from indoors to outside, how was the play on the camera done. On top of the One shot, improved dialogue. You have to think of the lighting, the sound, the transition of location. you wrap your head around that.
The story is solid!
Wow I have been introduced to one of my favourites of all time not for one shining moment but for every moment.
Great video as always! I went straight to see the movie after watch this video and i was not disappointed!
I've watched it without subtitles as someone suggest (i don't understand german but I understand english) and it was really a great experience! Thanks for the video and the suggestion Danny 🤙
Whoo! Glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been wanting to share this movie with people for ages.
I’m glad you were able to toggle subtitles. My Blu Ray copy, they seem to be hardcoded in.
great video, this movie looks awesome ill have to watch it definitely. thanks danny boyd
I’ll love to get your thoughts on it!
I remember watching this in the theater, such a great movie, really good acting too. I didn't know about the improvisation until now and it makes sense, the acting is very down to earth and the emotions feel really raw.