Making Films Is Difficult
In order to get the perfect shot, film directors rely on many techniques to get things just right. But sometimes, those productions become notorious for the stress they put on the cast and crew. Here are some films that pushed their crew and performers to the limit.
Jack Swings An Ax Through The Door, The Shining (1980)
An iconic moment in film, the “Here’s Johnny!” scene was difficult and the line was improvised by Jack Nicholson, most likely as a reaction to the multiple takes Stanley Kubrick required. The scene took three days to shoot, and 60 doors were used (and chopped) to get just what Kubrick wanted.
Warner Bros., The Shining (1980)
Scatman Crothers’ Tears, The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick famously and notoriously shot every scene in The Shining multiple times. In a wordless scene with Scatman Crothers, Kubrick shot 60 takes as the camera simply moves into a room with Crothers. The 70-year-old Crothers eventually broke down in tears from frustration and fatigue.
Warner Bros., The Shining (1980)
The Rotating Set, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was a landmark film, particularly for its special effects which were revolutionary for the time. In the scene with the rotating centrifuge, CGI wasn’t an option so Kubrick had a huge rotating drum built and actor Kier Dullea was strapped in with stationary objects, like the food he was eating, glued down. Actor Gary Lockwood, whose character is jogging, was running at the bottom of the set while Dullea and his seat rotated along with the set.
MGM, 2001: A Space Odyssey (2001)
Arthur's Fight In The Rotating Hallway, Inception (2010)
One of Christopher Nolan's most celebrated films, Inception features a fight sequence with Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, on a rotating hallway, creating a zero-gravity effect. Inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey and hoping to avoid CGI to execute this effect, Nolan had a hallway-like structure built. The script simply said that Arthur would get into a fight, but it took three weeks to complete with Gordon-Levitt spending much of the time training in preparation.
Warner Bros., Inception (2010)
The Planet Hoth, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The ice planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back was shot in Norway whose landscape and weather conditions proved to be ideal for creating a realistic atmosphere. However, the conditions made it almost impossible to film, as they were in the midst of an actual snowstorm with filming being shut down on several occasions. The cold also caused the camera lenses to frost over and crew members suffered frostbite.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Peter Parker Catches A Tray, Spider-Man (2002)
This was the first of the three Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire. In the scene where Peter Parker uses his newly acquired powers and fast reflexes to catch a lunch tray, director Sam Raimi wanted to shoot it without the use of CGI. It took Maguire 156 attempts before getting it right, resulting in 16 hours’ worth of filming.
RoboCop Grabbing The Keys, RoboCop (1987)
The RoboCop costume was difficult for actor Peter Weller. He wasn’t able to move easily and he had difficulty seeing through the helmet. In one scene, a set of keys is tossed to RoboCop and it took a full day and 50 takes to get it right as the gloves’ material provided no grip.
Orion Pictures, RoboCop (1987)
Marion’s Lifeless Stare, Psycho (1960)
In addition to being genuinely shocking to 1960s audiences due to its subject matter and graphic (for the time) gore, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is also celebrated for its camerawork which, although it looked smooth and effortless, was in fact complex. After Janet Leigh’s character Marion is fatally stabbed in the shower, she falls to the floor of the tub and the camera transitions from a close-up of the drain to Marion’s lifeless eyes, still wide open. As the camera slowly zooms out to reveal her whole face, Leigh keeps her eyes open for the entire one-take shot, remarkably not flinching, twitching, or blinking.
Shamley Productions, Psycho (1960)
342 Retakes, City Lights (1931)
Charlie Chaplin’s classic City Lights was a critical and commercial success but the atmosphere on the set was anything but harmonious. There is a famous scene where Chaplin’s character encounters a blind girl selling flowers and this scene lasts about three minutes. However, Chaplin made actress Virginia Cherrill do 342 takes to get what he wanted, as he felt she was too inexperienced an actress and he was impatient with her.
Charles Chaplin Productions, City Lights (1931)
Charlie And Nicole's Argument, Marriage Story (2019)
A film about divorce, Marriage Story stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Director Noah Baumbach was meticulous when it came to film sets and the scene in which Johansson and Driver's characters get into an argument took multiple days of rehearsals and filming lasted for two days.
Netflix, Marriage Story (2019)
Erica Breaks Up With Mark, The Social Network (2010)
The Social Network tells the story of the beginnings of Facebook. In the opening scene, Mark Zuckerberg breaks up with his girlfriend Erica, and although a relatively straightforward scene, it required 99 takes. Director David Fincher is known for shooting multiple takes in the belief that numerous takes allows for an actor to stop thinking and be more present.
Columbia, The Social Network (2010)
Laughing Problems, The Usual Suspects (1995)
The iconic scene from The Usual Suspects where the five main characters are in a police lineup was unscripted. Originally meant to be a serious scene, the actors ended up ruining the initial takes by contagiously laughing. Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie saw that the laughter helped with a crucial plot point and the scene portrayed the bond between the five crooks.
Spelling Films, The Usual Suspects (1995)
Barrel Of Monkeys, Iron Man 3 (2013)
Although most superhero films rely heavily on greenscreens and CGI effects, Iron Man 3 required a more traditional approach for one scene. In one crucial scene, Iron Man saves civilians falling from a plane and a professional skydiving team was used to play the civilians. It took several days of rehearsal to get it right, and although Iron Man himself was digitally added to the scene after it was shot, the falling passengers were the skydivers actually jumping from a plane.
A Wallet Toss For 3D Audiences, Friday The 13th Part III (1982)
There’s a simple scene in Friday The 13th Part III, shot for the 3D version of the film. Actor Larry Zerner tosses a wallet and it took endless takes to get it to appear that the wallet was being thrown at the audience.
Paramount, Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
Adonis Vs Leo, Creed (2015)
The fight scenes in Creed are elaborate and mostly shot in one take. This required extensive rehearsals and the memorization of complex moves in order to make the scenes both realistic and safe for the actors. One scene in particular, where Adonis is fighting Leo, required specific punches and steps to make it work and in this case, multiple takes were needed, 13 in total, because the actors found the complex choreography difficult.
Tap Dancing Troubles, Hail, Caesar! (2016)
In the dark comedy musical Hail, Caesar!, Channing Tatum was faced with a particular problem he had to overcome. He was required to tap dance. To shoot the six-minute scene, Tatum had three months to learn what usually takes dancers 10 years to learn.
Universal, Hail, Caesar! (2016)
A Change In Perspective, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is famous for its use of both new CGI effects and traditional methods and given the nature of the characters in JRR Tolkien’s world, it required the use of a number of methods to make the Hobbits look appropriately short. Although the actors playing the Hobbits were already on the small side, forced perspective was used to miniaturize them further. When Frodo is sitting next to Gandalf in a cart, actor Elijah Wood is actually seated behind Ian McKellen and with the right camera angles, they appear side-by-side.
New Line Cinema, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Cat Allergies, Captain Marvel (2019)
Brie Larson trained to perform many of her own stunts in Captain Marvel. However, her biggest challenge wasn’t a stunt, it was her interaction with her cat companion which was difficult. Larson has severe cat allergies and a stuffed cat had to be used in some scenes just to relieve Larson of the effects of her allergies.
95 Takes Through A Door, Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Once again, Stanley Kubrick makes an appearance and it’s not surprising, given his reputation for being precise and difficult when it came to multiple takes. In Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick made Tom Cruise walk through a door 95 times until it was completed to Kubrick’s satisfaction.
Warner Bros., Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
D-Day Assault Scene, Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Depictions of major WWII battles are always a challenge to get it to look authentic. Director Steven Spielberg employed 1,500 uniformed extras over the course of several days to get each single shot correct. Spielberg eschewed storyboards in favor of shooting directly with multiple takes, giving Saving Private Ryan an unprecedented realism.
DreamWorks, Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The Burj Khalifa Scene, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)
Tom Cruise generally performs his own stunts in the films of the Mission Impossible franchise. In Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Cruise climbs, swings, and runs alongside an exterior glass wall of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at the time the world’s tallest building. The crew built a replica section of the building for special rigs, equipment, and harnesses before they could start filming and the platform allowed the cameras to lie facing out from the building to capture shots of Cruise running towards them and leaping over.
Paramount, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
The Hacky Sack Scene, Dragon Lord (1982)
The Jackie Chan film Dragon Lord depicts a sporting match—a cross between soccer and hacky sacks—which took hundreds of takes to get a single shot. In the scene, Chan needs to perform a game-winning kick of the ball, and although the results seem straightforward enough, Chan’s physical abilities and use of numerous takes make the scene successful.
Authority Films, Dragon Lord (1982)
The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning, Apocalypse Now (1979)
When Francis Ford Coppola shot Apocalypse Now in the late 1970s, CGI wasn’t an option. A notoriously difficult film to produce, the napalm strike scene stands out in particular for its visual impact and for its difficulty to shoot. Using real F-5 Tigers and real extended explosions was visually and sonically powerful, underscored perfectly by actor Robert Duvall’s iconic monologue about loving “the smell of napalm in the morning”.
United Artists, Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Bridge Collapse, The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Another classic pre-CGI era film, The Bridge on the River Kwai climaxes with a crucial scene involving the destruction of a bridge. Director David Lean opted to not use models and a full-scale bridge was constructed and then demolished with a train plummeting into the river below. The nerve-wracking truth is that they had only one chance to get it right.
Horizon Pictures (II), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Crazy 88 Fight, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
In Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, the Bride is confronted by an army of masked men. An elaborately choreographed battle ensues which took extensive planning, rehearsing and shooting to get just right.
Miramax, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Deserted London, 28 Days Later (2002)
London, the capital of the UK, is a large city and making it look deserted is no small task. The postapocalyptic 28 Days Later finds Cillian Murphy’s protagonist waking up from a coma in an empty London. To achieve this, the roads required for the scene were closed at 4 am each day and had to be reopened for rush hour of the same day, so director Danny Boyle had limited time to get the scenes done right, just a small window each day, and the result is a disturbing and hopeless scene of desolation.
DNA Films, 28 Days Later (2002)
The Joker Chase, The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy creates a dark Gotham City that could nevertheless exist in the real world. In a freeway chase scene featuring the Joker, traditional (practical) effects are used, where a real truck is overturned in order to make the action feel real.
Warner Bros., The Dark Knight (2008)
Car Chase, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
The original sequel to Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior was more expensive than the low-budget cult classic and director George Miller took full advantage of the bigger budget. The film’s climax, where Mad Max is driving a tanker while being attacked by a gang in various vehicles, is elaborate. With vehicles crashing, catching fire, exploding, and people jumping from vehicle to vehicle, the scene was exciting and very expensive.
Kennedy Miller Productions, The Road Warrior (1981)
Titanic Sinking, Titanic (1997)
The film Titanic required an inevitable and long climactic scene, and a variety of techniques were used to depict its impact from an iceberg and eventual sinking. With practical effects like sets and models to greenscreens and CGI, James Cameron conveys well the feeling of horror and doom during the ship’s last moments.
Twentieth Century, Titanic (1997)
Crashing This Plane, The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
For this entry in the Dark Knight trilogy, director Christopher Nolan utilizes stunts, cinematography, and elaborate staging to depict an aircraft nosediving and ultimately crashing into the ground. This film is further evidence of Christopher Nolan’s willingness to try anything to stage an ambitious action sequence.
Warner Bros., The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Wingsuits, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (2011)
The Transformers movies were loaded with CGI effects, but one sequence required the use of traditional stunt work. In the third movie of the series, the strike team has to fly into battle wearing wingsuits. Professional wingsuit skydivers were hired for the film. The divers practiced for a long time on a Swiss mountain to get things right.
Paramount, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Corridor Fight, Oldboy (2003)
The Korean revenge drama Oldboy required actor Choi Min-sik to shoot a crucial scene 18 times. He faces off against 25 men in a narrow hallway in a four-minute unbroken take, with Min-sik wielding a hammer as he fights off his opponents.
Everything, The Abyss (1989)
Before sinking the Titanic, James Cameron tackled another ocean-themed film, The Abyss. Filmed largely underwater, the cast had to obtain diving certification. All the time spent underwater required the cast and crew to experience decompression before coming back to the surface.
Twentieth Century, The Abyss (1989)
The Opening Scene, Rear Window (1954)
The opening scene of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window is one of the most complex movie sequences ever shot. As the film opens, the audience is presented with a static shot of a three-paned window in an apartment complex and covered with blinds. As the credits play, each blind is opened and this slow reveal is like the raising of the curtains at the beginning of a theater performance, setting the tone for the staged feel of this film about voyeurism.
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Rear Window (1954)
The Stunts, Deliverance (1972)
John Boorman’s Deliverance was a notoriously difficult shoot and included a behind-the-scenes fistfight between the director and screenwriter James Dickey. Boorman also required the lead actors to perform their own stunts, and actor Burt Reynolds claimed that Boorman insisted on shooting the film in chronological order in case one of the actors was killed.
Warner Bros., Deliverance (1972)
Shooting In The Open Ocean, Jaws (1975)
Director Steven Spielberg wanted to shoot Jaws in the open ocean, causing many problems including going over budget. Filming at sea was unpredictable, and included boats containing the crew sailing into the frame and ruining takes, water damaging the equipment, and actors and crew members getting seasick. Numerous reshoots were required because the giant mechanical sharks created for the film frequently malfunctioned.
The Whole Production, Heaven’s Gate (1980)
Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate was one of the most expensive flops ever, even bankrupting the studio and destroying Cimino’s career. Cimino's demanding endless takes drove the budget up as did the elaborate set pieces and the film’s insanely long running time. Most notoriously, a battle scene involving horses and hundreds of extras resulted in many injuries and the demise of several horses, as Cimino rushed to complete the film while ignoring safety regulations and animal welfare laws.
Partisan Productions, Heaven's Gate (1980)
A Ship Going Over A Mountain, Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fermín Fitzcarraldo once transported a ship across land from one river to another, over a mountain. In the film Fitzcarraldo, which is based on the event, director Werner Herzog decided to depict the trip by transporting a ship across land from one river to another, over a mountain. On top of that, Herzog had to deal with the notoriously difficult—and very strange—actor Klaus Kinski and the resulting film is as remarkable as it was grueling to film.
Filmverlag der Autoren, Fitzcarraldo (1982)
The Wicked Witch Of The West Melting, The Wizard of Oz (1939)
In order to make the Wicked Witch of the West appear to melt, actress Margaret Hamilton was meant to disappear in a fog of smoke while exiting through a trap door. The door malfunctioned and she fell into the fire, receiving severe burns and shutting down production while she recuperated.
