1917 (2019) appears to be a one-shot movie.Well, it’s not. It’s 30 shots.Yet, audiences never notice the cuts. That’s the magic trick Sam Mendes pulled off with this World War I thriller. It looks like one seamless journey through No Man’s Land, but behind the curtain is an elaborate dance of edits, choreography, and pure technical insanity.The film follows two young British soldiers—Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman)—tasked with delivering a life-or-death message across enemy territory.The entire narrative unfolds in real-time, without ever breaking the audience’s gaze. Or at least, that’s how it feels.What Mendes, cinematographer Roger Deakins, and editor Lee Smith actually pulled off was a carefully orchestrated illusion: around 30 different shots stitched together to look like one breathless take.Why go through all this trouble? Because the story demanded it. Mendes wanted the audience to feel like they were in it—to breathe the same air, trudge through the same mud, and never look away. By ditching traditional coverage, the film becomes a tightrope walk—where time is a straight line, and survival is a ticking clock.And how they pulled it off? Well, let’s break it down.Why a ‘One-Take’ War Film? The Vision Behind 1917Sam Mendes didn’t chase high-octane spectacle—he chased truth. His drive for real-time immersion stems from a story his grandfather, Alfred Mendes, only shared as an elder. These stories stayed with young Sam: a scrawny messenger slipping through misty no‑man’s‑land because he was too small to be seen above the fog. Mendes said it “stuck with...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today