Long Continuous Shots and Ad-Libbing

Today, at the end of class, Nick and Mr. Bennett, were having a discussion about the movies, The Player and Touch of Evil, which each had very long shots without a cut, a fantastic cinematic achievement, when done well. Unfortunately, I have not seen either of these films but it would be certainly be interesting to watch both of them, but the discussion brought to mind two films that have similar styling.

A movie that some of you may have seen was Children of Men, which was released in 2006 and starred Clive Owen. Now to begin with, this was an extraordinary film, in many different aspects and one of my favorites, but it is especially well known for its long shots without a cut. I would write a full review on it if I was able to remember the film more vividly, but it was an amazing film that I would suggest everyone to see.

But back to the continuous shots. In this film, there are three lengthy scenes without a cut, one which is 3:58, one which is 3:11, and the third and most incredible which was 6:11. Believe me, if you have seen it or when you see it you will know. The first scene is also nearly impossible and when I read that it was not cut, I was shocked and amazed. Each of the three scenes were great and the movie on the whole was great. It was quite a compelling story with great acting and many other brilliant elements of film. It was not perfect, but it was very well done and I do highly recommend because of it as a film as a whole but also to see these three shots.

A second film, which I have not seen, which was released in 2007, was the Oscar-nominated Atonement. I wish I could comment on it better but I have read that their is a 4:30 shot which is incredible because of its scope and various elements and that the movie is worth seeing for that alone so people may want to check it out. I should probably watch it myself but the movie as a whole does not appeal, in the least.

Finally, an unrelated, not movie topic, but I know that Mr. Bennett was discussing ad-libbing and improving, a characteristic of some actors. Now, some of you may be familiar with the TV series, Scrubs, by far my favorite show on television. For anyone who knows about the show, they will definitely know the role of the Janitor, portrayed by Neil Flynn. I have read (and it could be false) that nearly all of the lines by the Janitor are improvised and that several times throughout the script, instead of giving him a line, the script literally says, "Whatever Neil says."

That could be an exaggeration but when that was brought up today I thought of those two different ideas and the films and TV that connected to them. I highly endorse Children of Men and Scrubs, because I am addicted to Scrubs and think everyone should check it out but I did think it was interesting the amount of improving that the character does.