[quote]Russian Ark is one continuous shot throughout the different rooms of the Hermitage.[/quote]
What movie is that about? When did it come out?
Yes, the Rope thing by Hitchcock, the reels back then could only hold approx. 8-10 minutes of film, so they had to cheat.
I loved the HOBL one-shot, and I thought it does what other filmmakers don’t do enough of, which is show us more of the relationship and geography of the characters and the setting. We get an idea of how big the House of Blue Leaves is and how many rooms it has without actually being there. You don’t get that same feeling if it were edited and cut up the normal way. A feeling of space and time is lost. The best shot in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were the long tracking shots when Bruce Willis and Michael Madsen go out into the real world in real time. It is not showy, but a essentail technique to build tension (I thought Butch was going to get shot up by Marsellus’ gang the first time I saw it).
And besides, long tracking shots are very similar to the way we experience things in real life. I’m glad Tarantino knows how to use it and use it well.