There is a scene in Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, a taut, nail-biting, attack on a car, filmed in an almost impossible single take where the camera swoops above, through and around the assaulted vehicle as the action unfolds. When I first watched it, I had to pause the DVD so that I could wrap my brain around the technicalities of what I had just seen accomplished on screen. I ended up just sitting there making weird gurgling noises.
Judging by this insanely impressive new trailer for Cuarón’s latest, Gravity, I think I’m going to be doing a whole lot of the same. Its a good thing that sound doesn’t travel in space.
Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone–tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.
That scene is apparently only one part of a nearly 20-minute long single take, the logistics of which is simply mind-numbing. The movie is already being hailed by many that have seen it as a complete “game-changer” and I’m starting to see why.
Gravity will be attracting you to cinemas on October 4, 2013.
Last Updated: July 25, 2013
RinceandLeSIGH
July 25, 2013 at 10:41
I really dislike this player, doesn’t seem to buffer! Movie sounds awesome though.
Kervyn Cloete
July 25, 2013 at 13:52
My faithful manservant, Darryn, is currently working on it.
RinceandLeSIGH
July 25, 2013 at 13:55
I am intrigued to watch this 20 minute scene. DO you not think it is cheating though? I mean, it’s not like the scene in Death Proof, this has mental CGI thrown in too…
Kervyn Cloete
July 25, 2013 at 14:08
Cuaron generally uses CGI to enhance the backgrounds of the scenes, not to stitch together individual shorter cuts like some movies did. For example in Children of Men, he uses CGI to make a fake roof for the car to allow the camera rig “entry” into to it.