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The Player (1992)
How Long? 7 minutes 50 seconds
How Cool? Robert Altman was a dab hand with long takes, and the opening of this Hollywood satire is probably his most famous. The technical virtuosity is put to light-hearted effect, as the camera zeroes in on various people strolling across a production lot.
The scene is packed with knowing mirth: Fred Ward's complaining ("The pictures they make these days are MTV, all cut, cut, cut. Welles' Touch of Evil 's opening shot was 6 ½ minutes long..."), the introductory clapperboard that opens the scene on a choice painting, and tons of snort-worthy (improvised) dialogue that's a goldmine for film aficionados.
An opener that perfectly sets the tone of what's to follow. The goodwill cameos that Altman has in store only add to the effect.
Touch of Evil (1958)
How Long? 3 minutes 25 seconds
How Cool? It's the combo of the (now-vintage) style and the cutting-edge technique that makes this a classic opener. Even for jaded audiences, the camera movement and choreography simply demand respect.
The conceit is simple: a ticking bomb is planted in the trunk of a car, which then drives through the Mexico streets to the American border. The camera weaves dexterously through the lively street population, with the omnipresent threat remaining firmly in our minds until the first cut brings the explosive pay off.
La Ronde (1950)
How Long? 4 minutes 52 seconds.
How Cool? Max Ophüls' adaptation of Arthur Schindler's play Reigen examines the sexual merry-go-round that is the lives of the characters that occupy the various strata of Viennese society.
Anton Wolbrook's narrator/omnipresent auteur figure gets the story's metaphorical carousel spinning, and flagrantly disregards the fourth wall, establishing the many layers of Ophüls' sublime comedy-drama with peerless style before setting events in motion.
Fernando Meirelles is directing another adaptation of the Schnitzler play, called 360 , which is due out in 2012. It'll be interesting to see if there are any visual nods to Ophüls' movie.
Oldboy (2003)
How Long? 2 minutes 45 seconds
How Cool? This side-scrolling fight sequence keeps the camerawork simple to magnify the intensity of the corridor fight scene. Oldboy 's not short on memorable moments, but this wince-inducing scrap could be the champion.
Recently released from 15 years captivity, Dae-su takes on a bunch of goons armed only with a hammer. Brutal, claustrophobic and visually-exhilarating, the fight exemplifies the punishing intensity that characterises the whole movie.
Hard Boiled (1992)
How Long? 2 minutes 49 seconds
How Cool? It's cool to the point of pretty much showing off. In John Woo's peerless Hong Kong action fest, Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung shoot their way through a hospital, in a bombastic, cut-free sequence.
The use of squibs, pyrotechnics, and even the odd moment of slo-mo add up to form an immensely engaging action scene, that grabs the viewer more tightly than 3D ever seems to. Heck, even when the cut comes, it's for an explosive pay-off that's much more satisfying than any of Woo's Hollywood output.
Week End (1967)
How Long? 7 minutes 32 seconds, interrupted by the flash of a title card
How Cool? The charming vintage cars would make this scene cool enough in its own right. New Wave maestro Jean-Luc Godard revolutionised the jump cut seven years earlier in À bout de souffle , but here he makes extravagant use of the long take.
There's a musical jaunt around a farm that also clocks in around the seven-minute mark, but it's the traffic jam sequence that's the more arresting and memorable. Godard immerses the viewer deep into the frustration of the slow-moving congestion, before a harsh, shocking pay-off.
Serenity (2005)
How Long? 4 minutes 14 seconds
How Cool? Any four-minute tracking shot fronted by Nathan Fillion is going to be inherently cooler than your average. The real genius of this shot in Joss Whedon's Firefly spin-off is that it's as engaging for newcomers as it is for hardcore fans.
After establishing the Alliance's dodgy intentions in the movie's opening moments, Whedon (re)introduces us to the crew within the industrial bowels of the good ship Serenity, via a stressed-out Captain Malcolm, who's having a bit of trouble with the Primary Buffer Panel.
It's a superb moment of character economy that makes Marvel's decision to give Whedon The Avengers look like a very sensible one indeed.
Soy Cuba (1964)
How Long? 1 minute 29 seconds, followed by 2 minutes 34 seconds
