We are mere hours away from the release of Sam Mendes’ acclaimed World War I feature film “1917.” And while the film is filled with great performances (primarily with its two leads), a wonderful score, and incredibly, visceral action, the main selling point for “1917” is clearly how the film is “one-shot.” Told in real-time, Mendes is able to stitch the film together so that it feels as if it is one long take, adding to the immersion. It’s a trick that has been used by filmmakers in the past, with a recent (and award-winning) attempt being Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Birdman.”
While speaking on the WTF Podcast (via IndieWire), Leonardo DiCaprio revealed that Iñárritu almost used the one-shot gimmick a second time for the Oscar-winning film “The Revenant.” And if you’re familiar with the intense production of “The Revenant,” which starred DiCaprio as a man attempting to survive in the woods during some of the harshest conditions you can face, you have to wonder if a one-shot version of the film might have actually killed someone. (Kidding, of course.)
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That being said, to hear DiCaprio talk about it, a one-shot ‘Revenant’ was pretty darn close to becoming a reality.
“There was no way to foresee what he was going to do out there on ‘The Revenant,’” DiCaprio said. “The script was one thing. It was a linear story of a guy surviving out in the wilderness. A great revenge story. What he did cinematically with that movie just blows me away.”
He continued, “There was a point where he wanted to sort of continue that idea of a singular shot like he had done with ‘Birdman,’ throughout the course of that entire wilderness until we got to the point that we realized that there are two characters that go in opposite directions. He quickly sort of improvised with [Emmanuel Lubezski], the great cinematographer, on trying to keep the linear, one-shot take idea but then cut back and forth. At one time, he was like, ‘No I’m going to do one shot all the way through.’ And then he realized there are thousands of miles between the two characters. But what they did on that movie and in those conditions, I don’t know how he pulled it off. It’s incredible.”
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One could argue that the one-shot trick might have been a “hat on a hat” situation, where Iñárritu attempts to do way too much in the course of the film. As it stands, “The Revenant” is a pretty great film that captures the desperation and isolation of DiCaprio’s character incredibly well. Perhaps adding a one-shot layer to it, would have distracted a little too much.
Either way, if you want to see the next one-shot film, “1917” arrives in theaters tomorrow.
