Last month, at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, Collider hosted an early screening of1917followed by a Q&A with directorSam Mendes, cinematographerRoger Deakins, and editorLee Smith. While I wanted to offer the Q&A to our readers right after the screening, due to spoilers being discussed, we decided to hold off on posting until people had the chance to see the film.
During the Q&A, Mendes, Deakins and Lee talked about filming the movie like it was a seamless take, what sort of camera rigs they used, what shots were the most difficult, which scene took the most takes and why, lighting when you’re filming seven or eight minute takes, how they decided on which take to use in the editing room, what Deakins felt was the most difficult shot in the film, and a lot more.
As most of you know,1917starsDean-Charles ChapmanandGeorge MacKayas two young soldiers fighting in World War I who are tasked with getting important information about an impending and catastrophic attack on British forces in the right hands across enemy lines. However, in an effort to tell the story in a unique way, the filmmakers designed1917to take place without any cuts. So from the moment the film starts until the final frame, you’re in the heart of World War I and will have a completely different appreciation of what soldiers go through in war. Everything about this movie isexceptionallymade, from the performances by all the actors to the way the film puts you on the front lines of war.1917is a stunning cinematic achievement and one of the greatest war films I’ve ever seen. I cannot recommend this film enough.1917also starsColin Firth,Benedict Cumberbatch,Andrew Scott,Mark Strong, andRichard Madden. For more on the film, Irecommend reading Matt Goldberg’s glowing review.
If you’re wondering how these brilliant filmmakers pulled off one of the best films of 2019, you’re going to really enjoy this Q&A. Check it out in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about with some of their answers.
Lee Sith, what did you do on this movie? Because it’s all one take.
Will there be a BTS documentary on the making of the movie?
When did you realize you wanted to do it as a seamless take?
Roger, talk a little about what the first phone call or meeting was like when Mendes told you the idea.
Could you talk about some of the camera rigs and what you had to do, technology you had to develop to bring this to life?
Which was the shot or the day where you were throwing shit in the air? The most difficult?
What was the most takes you did on what scene and what was the fewest?
I’m assuming the first cut with this was the final cut.
Just to confirm, there’s nothing on the cutting room floor?
Talk a little about lighting this movie and the challenges of doing these incredibly long takes.
What kind of cameras and why?
Having to build all the locations because you can’t reuse anything.
How to turn a flat-seeming No Man’s Land into a three-dimensional, character-inhabited, immersive world.
Which scene was the toughest to pick a take on?
What’s Roger Deakins’ most difficult shot from the film?
How scared do you get that one small thing will go wrong?
