# Looking for an Alfred Hitchcock movie \[shot in a single take\]... and others like it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973 "2011-03-25T15:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/1 "2011-03-25T15:13:01Z")
There was an X-Files episode called ‘Triangle’, and it was all done in only a few takes. I believe they said they were inspired be a Hitchcock film with only a few takes. Anyone know which movie it is, and what it’s about? Also, any other movies that attempted the same? I think I remember seeing a movie that had four stories about four people all done in just one take… I forgot the name, but the screen was split into four, and all the stories happened simultaneously. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/2 "2011-03-25T15:17:13Z")
Famously, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” was supposedly only done in one single take. Actually it was 10, because they had to use multiple film reels - one reel was nowhere near long enough to fit an entire movie, obviously. But it was filmed as though it were a single take, and the effect is pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/3 "2011-03-25T15:21:15Z")
I just love the style. Thanks MsWhatsit! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/4 "2011-03-25T15:47:27Z")
No problem! Also, you might want to ask the mods to re-title the thread to “Movies shot in a single take” or something like that, to draw more interest. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/5 "2011-03-25T15:49:07Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > There was an X-Files episode called ‘Triangle’, and it was all done in only a few takes. I believe they said they were inspired be a Hitchcock film with only a few takes. Anyone know which movie it is, and what it’s about? > > Also, any other movies that attempted the same? I think I remember seeing a movie that had four stories about four people all done in just one take… I forgot the name, but the screen was split into four, and all the stories happened simultaneously. > > Thanks I haven’t seen it, but the movie you’re thinking of is [Timecode](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220100/). It sounds intriguing, but I don’t know how successful it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/6 "2011-03-25T16:23:02Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > No problem! Also, you might want to ask the mods to re-title the thread to “Movies shot in a single take” or something like that, to draw more interest. 🙂 I revised the title. I’m assuming the OP won’t mind, but please let me know. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/7 "2011-03-25T16:45:53Z")
Another example is [_Russian Ark_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318034/) (2002). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/8 "2011-03-25T16:49:49Z")
This [link](http://trueslant.com/mikeharvkey/2009/11/30/the-10-best-long-tracking-shots-ever-filmed/) shows you ten well-known long tracking shots. There’s _The Norman Conquests_ which is a trilogy of plays by Alan Ayckbourn. The three plays, _Table Manners_, _Living Together_, and _Round and Round the Garden_, are all self-contained and can be seen alone. But they all feature the same characters and take place simultaneously. The plays are set in three different parts of one house - so a character can walk out of one play and walk into another. And surprisingly enough, there’s an x-rated movie that uses the split screen idea, [_Chrono Sex_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467836/) (2005). Like _Timecode_ it shows four simultaneous stories - only with more sex. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/9 "2011-03-25T16:53:43Z")
How about the [video for Mr. Krinkle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOdo7dhvSwg)by **Primus**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/10 "2011-03-25T16:59:20Z")
[Running Time](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Time_(film)) is another film inspired by **Rope** in that respect. It features Bruce Campbell as an ex-con who just got out of prison and is being pushed into doing a big heist. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/11 "2011-03-25T17:48:55Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > How about the [video for Mr. Krinkle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOdo7dhvSwg)by **Primus**? 😃 I don’t know if that counts. There’s lots of scenes shot with a fixed camera. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/12 "2011-03-25T17:52:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s _The Norman Conquests_ which is a trilogy of plays by Alan Ayckbourn. The three plays, _Table Manners_, _Living Together_, and _Round and Round the Garden_, are all self-contained and can be seen alone. But they all feature the same characters and take place simultaneously. The plays are set in three different parts of one house - so a character can walk out of one play and walk into another. Ayckbourn also did **House & Garden** , two plays that take place simultaneously. It has been staged so that they used the same cast in two different theaters (next door to each other). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/13 "2011-03-25T17:56:12Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I haven’t seen it, but the movie you’re thinking of is [Timecode](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220100/). It sounds intriguing, but I don’t know how successful it would be. Saw that movie a loooong time ago, IIRC my reaction was that the concept was really cool, it was executed well, but the movie itself wasn’t very good. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/14 "2011-03-25T17:56:29Z")
It’s not the whole movie, by any means, but if **Little Nemo** can include long tracking shots, so can I. Rouben Mamoulian’s **Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde** is a fascinating film for many reasons, but opens with a _long_ point-of-view tracking shot that moves from an organ keyboard, through a door, out into the hall, looks _straight into a mirror_, and out into the street. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RV-FHqEi_LE/hqdefault.jpg "Jekyll and Hyde (1931) - Beginning Clip") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV-FHqEi_LE) Of course, the “mirror” is a shot into an identical room, but it’s wonderfully choreographed. I really do think the butler is the same guy in the mirror and out, not just a similar-looking guy. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/15 "2011-03-26T15:08:48Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Saw that movie a loooong time ago, IIRC my reaction was that the concept was really cool, it was executed well, but the movie itself wasn’t very good. You’re right, it wasn’t. Thanks for changing the title. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/16 "2011-03-26T15:22:20Z")
Wasn’t there a Coen brothers movie that was shot all in one take, or at least had a long scene like that? I want to say [Blood Simple.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/) Tarantino uses the long tracking shot in several of his movies. There’s one in _Reservoir Dogs_ and _Kill Bill Vol. 1_, right off the top of my head. I know the OP wasn’t asking for long tracking shots, but someone else mentioned them. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/17 "2011-03-26T21:54:55Z")
**Children of Men** had several scenes that appeared to be very long tracking shots. I don’t know if they were actually shot that way or just very cleverly edited. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/18 "2011-03-26T22:11:09Z")
_The Player_ is somewhat of an homage to Hitchcock, and has a long opening scene done in a single shot. Excellent movie, too, with a great cast. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/19 "2011-03-26T23:37:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a fascinating film for many reasons, but opens with a long point-of-view tracking shot that moves from an organ keyboard, through a door, out into the hall, looks straight into a mirror, and out into the street. There’s an even more fascinating mirror scene in [Contact](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD0_5HFMPIg). As an aside, was _Jekyll and Hyde_ the first horror movie to use “Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor”? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973/20 "2011-03-27T00:21:15Z")
**Boogie Nights** opened with a pretty long unbroken sequence. **Stranger Than Paradise** was, in its entirety, five or six long shots. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-alfred-hitchcock-movie-shot-in-a-single-take-and-others-like-it/575973.md?page=2)