The only problem I have with the terrific success of The Avengers is that youngsters with no knowledge of cinema are pouring out of the woodwork to celebrate the tracking shot I mentioned. Most of them probably didn't even know what a tracking shot was until they read about this one. Frankly, the praise is incredibly over-the-top, and among these kids Joss Whedon is now a visionary cinematic artist on par with Orson Welles. Look, he's talented and I loved The Avengers, but give me a break...
To counter this foolishness I decided to make a Top 10 list of my favorite tracking/Steadicam shots. I can't objectively say these are the Top 10 tracking shots in cinema history, but I can objectively say that every one of them is better than what we saw in The Avengers. I rated these based on the following factors: shot length, artistry, technical proficiency, the purpose it serves in the film, and what I perceive to be the overall level of difficulty required to pull it off.
First I will acknowledge some of the tracking shots that do not appear on my list, but have been featured on similar lists. You won't find Brian De Palma here; nothing from Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Raising Cain (1992), Carlito's Way (1993), or Snake Eyes (1998). In my view, the Grand Central Station sequence in Carlito's Way is schooled by the shots on my list, and the opening of Snake Eyes had “invisible” cuts that were just too obvious. If I wanted hidden cuts I would put Hitchcock's Rope (1948) on here, though I suppose it would be characterized as a “long take” rather than a tracking shot. De Palma's opening shot in Bonfire of the Vanities is four minutes and forty-three seconds of splendid, must-see Steadicam work, unfortunately marred by some average acting and overall goofiness. Actually, the De Palma shot that almost made the list is one of his most subtle: the ballot pick-up and prom queen announcement scene in Carrie (1976).
Kubrick's body of work offers dozens of exquisite examples, but I'm not sure any single shot belongs in the Top 10 (if one did, it would likely be from Paths of Glory or Eyes Wide Shut, not The Shining). Antonioni ended The Passenger (1975) with a fantastic, slow moving long take, but does it really fit the bill as a Top 10 tracking shot? Spielberg has done several, including that rather impressive sequence with the mechanical spiders scanning the residents of an apartment building in Minority Report (2002). Dario Argento threw a gratuitous one into his film Tenebre (1982). There's also a fine example in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), but it sits just outside the Top 10, for me. The brutal fight scene in Oldboy (2003) is topped by a particular entry that made my list, the hospital shootout in John Woo's Hard-Boiled (1992) came close, and the six minute, forty-seven second opening to Johnnie To's Breaking News (2004) actually did make my first Top 10 draft.
The fact is, there are plenty of exceptional tracking shots in the cinema. There is one in Murnau's Sunrise (1927) that I simply couldn't find a place for, despite how much I love it, but I suppose it's not terribly complex by today's standards anyway (still gorgeous though). I would like to add something by Andrei Tarkovsky, perhaps that brilliant bit with the burning cabin in Mirror (1975) or the final shot of The Sacrifice (1986), but the former is on the short side while the latter resembles more of a static long take.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) has that terrific shot near the end, and Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932) has a phenomenal one to open the film. There are stunning examples in Hitchcock's work, and in the oeuvres of Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Renoir, Truffaut, Angelopoulos, Ruiz, Jansco, and Ophuls. Then there is Sergei Bondarchuk's War and Peace (1967), the greatest epic in cinematic history and one of the most stunning tour de force spectacles these eyes have ever seen. That puppy is loaded with brilliant tracking shots, often in succession.
All of these filmmakers are easily on the level of those who made the list. Let's face it, a great tracking shot may be worthy of praise, but it doesn't make a movie by itself. Unless one shot is the movie, as was the case with Sokurov's Russian Ark. This claim has been made about a few others, including PVC-1 (2007), a Columbian film, and a 2010 picture from Uruguay called The Silent House (the 2011 U.S. remake was done in twelve minute takes and stitched together to appear as a single shot). While I'm not a huge fan of Russian Ark, it is the definitive single shot film because it's more complex and elaborate than the others, in addition to being a true single shot.
For a comparison, I'll go back to War and Peace. What makes it so phenomenal is knowing everything is real. 120,000 soldiers, incredible tracking shots, pyrotechnics, crane shots soaring above vast armies, aerial shots of the battlefield on a scale like Lord of the Rings; all without computer animation. War and Peace wouldn't be War and Peace had it been aided by computers, it simply wouldn't be as jaw dropping. Period.
With lengthy tracking shots, it's the same concept. What makes them special is the intricate choreography, impeccable timing, complex logistics, etc. that we know to be involved in capturing so much in a single take. The actors and crew realize that if they screw up, it's time to do it all over again, often at great expense. How can I have the same admiration for a shot that “cheats” to get it right? All of the sequences I have selected for my Top 10 were truly captured in a single shot, and with one exception, they each last over two minutes.
1. Touch of Evil (1958) - 3 min, 11 sec - Watch
The perfect example of a tracking crane shot that not only baffles on a technical level, but also serves an enormous purpose within the narrative. In just over three minutes of cinematic brilliance courtesy of Orson Welles, we are introduced to the two newlywed main characters (Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh), four atmospheric blocks or so of our setting (a U.S./Mexican border town), and the mystery that must be solved. In addition to putting the entire plot into motion, we have the added drama of knowing there is a bomb that could go off at any time.
2. I Am Cuba (1964) - Funeral Procession: 2 min, 30 sec - Rooftop/Pool Sequence: 3 min, 22 sec - Watch 1 Watch 2
Absolutely stunning work from director Mikhail Kalatozov and the rest of the creative team behind The Cranes Are Flying (1957), another film loaded with fine tracking shots. Though I probably prefer the visual poetry of the funeral procession, I also love the rooftop shot, so I included both. Each is a stunning artistic and technical achievement that inspired a friend of mine to ask, "Were any cameramen injured during the making of this movie?"
It may have the shortest shot length on this list, but it deserves every bit of its ranking. Among action sequences, it arguably remains the finest long tracking shot ever done. Granted, it was filmed from a helicopter, but it still registers as a tracking shot. The level of complexity here is astounding. The timing of everything from cast movements to explosives and squibs, etc. had to be perfect. It's an accomplishment of epic proportions, to say the least. Wow.
4. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) - 7 min, 51 sec - Watch
This beautiful, poignant sequence from one of Bela Tarr's finest films is more than twice as long as any shot I've listed thus far, but it's not as technically complex. This one ranks so highly because it's more than a wonderful tracking shot. It's a lyrical vision of characters going through an emotional catharsis, and it serves a strong thematic purpose within the narrative. One could argue that this scene tells a complete story by itself, almost like a short film, but in the context of the whole picture this shot takes on an even greater significance. Notice Tarr's decision to focus on the sounds of destruction in the hospital, while leaving the victims to suffer in silence.
5. Goodfellas (1990) - 3 min, 3 sec - Watch
It took eight takes to nail this; the best and most celebrated tracking shot of Martin Scorsese's career. Though it is full of energy and technical bravado, it also serves as a peek into the privileged mobster lifestyle.
6. The Player (1992) - 7 min, 47 sec - Watch
This playful, satirical opening shot introduces a number of major characters at a Hollywood studio, and much like the one in Touch of Evil, it really sets the entire story in motion. Fifteen takes were required to get this thing right, and it's clearly a masterpiece of ensemble timing in the Altman tradition.
7. Russian Ark (2002) - 91 min, 27 sec - Watch
Some people love Sokurov's film, others hate it, but we all have to give it credit for doing the seemingly impossible. It's an entire film in a single shot, and it was so well planned and thoroughly choreographed that only two takes were ruined. The third take is the film we see.
Some people have accused Joe Wright, the director, of showing off with this scene. I don't agree, but even if I did the shot might find its way onto this list. Atonement had a $30 million budget, and Wright needed about $4 million more to do the Dunkirk scene as it was written. Permission wasn't granted, so Wright improvised and this shot (the third take) was the result. A big chunk of the budget was spent that day, with all kinds of set decoration, over a thousand costumed extras, horses, etc. It's lovely, superbly choreographed, and even tragic, in its way, which was probably the point.
9. The Protector (2005) - 3 min, 46 sec - Watch
It may be the worst overall movie in the Top 10, but this Steadicam shot is absolutely spectacular. I could watch it half a dozen times in a row and still marvel at it. It took a month of rehearsal and five takes to accomplish; one can only imagine the timing and effort required here by everyone involved, particularly the stunt men and Tony Jaa. I even feel bad for the set decorators, who undoubtedly had quite a job fixing the set and replacing props after the four failed takes. This is, hands down, the greatest single shot hand-to-hand action sequence ever filmed. That's why it made the list. It's so incredible on its merits that it doesn't even matter if Tony Jaa is just beating the tar out of people to rescue his pet elephants...
10. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - 2 min, 39 sec - Watch
A couple shots on this list begin their respective films, but this shot ends one. It's a gorgeous sequence filled with energy, joy, and jubilation as the cast members dance through a courtyard and garden. All this merrymaking culminates in a masterful crane shot that takes in the scope of the celebration.
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dope film
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