Cinema In Context

Continuous shot films. Sarah Watt, William Chen and Jeremy Downing discuss two films that use a continuous shot throughout most of their films: 1917 (2019) and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). We begin by discussing the way each film utilises the continuous shot affect. We compare the two films to other films that explore long takes, including Gravity (2013), Dunkirk (2017), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Searching (2018), Children of Men (2006), and Roma (2018). Roger Deakins' work is celebrated in 1917, as we marvel the photography and how it works within the real world realities of filming this film. We compare the way the two films balance their leads with their supporting characters and how that plays out with the continuous shot structure. 1917 is compared to a range of better films, including The Revenant (2015), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Apocalypse Now (1979). We unpack and marvel the choreography in both films, which help make the continuous shot dynamic work. We talk