There are at least 34 hidden cuts in Sam Mendes’ war movie 1917. The movie’s harrowing depiction of two soldiers on a mission to stop an impending battle between British and German forces during World War I was intriguing itself, but it was the one-shot trick that was truly astonishing.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins and the rest of the production crew incorporated similar elements to what director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki did for their movie, Birdman. Filming one, long take is an extremely difficult process that requires extensive rehearsing from all parties involved. There have been several one-shot scenes in major movies and TV shows, going from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to True Detective, but to trick audiences into believing that an entire movie has been filmed in one-shot, showcasing an entire journey from start to finish, is a feat in and of itself.
So understandably, much of the buzz around 1917 has centered on the movie’s technical marvels, and specifically on its gimmick of appearing to take place in a single shot. While the camera does indeed cut from one shot to the next in 1917, the movie does a thoroughly remarkable job in masking where those cuts take place, but the areas of 1917 where the camera does cut can be spotted if the movie is examined closely enough. Here are the 34 camera cuts we spotted in 1917:
Cut - Schofield And Blake Come Out Of The Bunker After Receiving Their Orders
The first hidden cut in 1917 comes right after the two soldiers are tasked with their mission. Lance Corporal’s William Schofield and Tom Blake, played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, are summoned into the bunker of their commanding officer, and given orders to deliver a message to stop another British battalion’s coming battle with German forces, a mission they must carry out on foot due to communication lines being cut. As Schofield and Blake leave the bunker, the screen momentarily goes black before the two re-emerge into the trench, and it is here that the first camera cut of 1917 takes place.
Cut - Soldiers Passing In Front Of The Camera In The Trench
As Schofield and Blake walk through the trench to deliver the orders they’ve received, some other soldiers also pass in front of the camera walking in the opposite direction. This obscures Schofield and Blake from the audience’s view for a split second and allows for 1917’s next hidden cut.
Cut - Camera Spins As Schofield And Blake March Through The Trench
As Schofield and Blake continue through the trench to communicate their orders, there is a camera spin as part of an ongoing dialogue exchange. This also serves to facilitate the movie’s next cut.
Cut - Repeat of Soldiers Passing In Front Of The Camera In The Trench
The same trick that was used to set up 1917’s second hidden cut is repeated one more time in the trench, with some other soldiers once again passing in front of the camera to momentarily obscure the main action from the audience’s view. As before, this allows for the movie’s next camera cut.
Cut - The Hill That Passes In Front Of Schofield And Blake As They Head Out
Once Schofield and Blake are fully prepped for their mission, the two climb out of the trench and march through the muddy battlefield to carry out their orders. At one point, a small hill passes in front of the camera, blocking the two from the audience’s view for a second, before we see them again on the other side. This is also where 1917’s next cut takes place.
Cut - Schofield And Blake Walk Into The Bunker After Crossing The Mud Field
After Schofield and Blake get across the vacant battlefield unharmed, the two enter another bunker, which will provide them some temporary cover from being spotted by any planes flying over head. As they enter, the screen once again briefly goes black and gives 1917 its next cut.
Cut - Explosion In The Bunker
Schofield and Blake’s brief respite from the threats they face outside is ended when a bomb goes off inside the bunker, leaving Schofield buried under a pile of rubble until Blake digs him out. The explosion also puts a big flash onscreen to hide the characters and setting from view. This is also a tactic for disguising camera cuts that will be repeated at multiple other points throughout 1917.
Cut - The Wreckage Of A Tank Passes In Front Of The Camera
1917’s next cut comes as Schofield and Blake continue their trek after leaving the bunker. As they get going, a demolished tank passes in front of the camera, blocking them from the audience’s view, and setting up the window for the movie to hide another cut.
Cut - Brick Wall In The Field
As Schofield and Blake continue onward, the two head into an open field. At this point, they pass through a brick wall in the field. This passes in front of the camera, allowing for another cut.
Cut - The Plane Crash
The next 1917 hidden cut comes when Schofield and Blake arrive on a vacant farm. The two see three planes in a dogfight off in the distance and find themselves forced to flee when one of them is shot down and crashes right in the middle of the barn. This brings with it plenty of fire and smoke, which conceal the cut.
Cut - Camera Passes The Back Of The House As Schofield Joins The New Battalion
As Schofield mourns Blake’s death, another British battalion arrives on the farm, with the commanding officer Captain Smith, played by Mark Strong, offering Schofield a ride to his destination. As Schofield departs the farm for the battalion’s truck, he and Smith are blocked from view for a moment as they walk through the house on the farm, with the camera panning across the outside.
Cut - Camera Passes The Back Of Another Soldier As They Board The Truck
The next cut sets up a trick the movie pulls multiple times. As Schofield boards the truck, the camera passes the back of another soldier on board, hiding Schofield from view while allowing for the camera to cut.
Cuts - Camera Passes The Backs Of Soldiers On The Truck Again
Here, Mendes manages to squeeze in a few more cuts in relatively quick succession after the truck gets caught in the mud. As Schofield and the other soldiers get off to free the truck and then re-board the truck, the same trick is applied as before to hide camera cuts. When the battalion then comes to a destroyed bridge, Schofield is forced to depart and continue on foot, with the same technique applied one more time as he departs the truck for the final time.
Cut - Schofield Blacks Out After Getting Shot In The Helmet
Next up is by far the most easily spotted cut in 1917. As Schofield continues onward, he finds himself trading fire with a lone German soldier inside of an abandoned house. As Schofield manages to make his way into the building, he ascends the staircase and finds the door to the room the other soldier is firing from shut. Schofield opens the door, prepared to take out his enemy, with both of them getting one shot off as soon as he does. The bullet from Schofield’s opponent strikes his helmet, sending him tumbling down the staircase and knocking him out cold. From here, the screen goes completely black for a few seconds, allowing for the one cut in the whole movie that can be pinpointed by the naked eye.
Cut - Camera Goes Out The Window When Schofield Comes To
The next 1917 cut is seen after Schofield regains consciousness. As he prepares to head back down the staircase and exit the building, the camera moves ahead through the room where his now dead enemy lies and exits through the window. This allows for another cut, and for the camera to meet Schofield on the ground outside as he leaves the building.
Cut - Screen Goes Black As Schofield Runs While Flares Are Being Fired
As Schofield continues ahead, he walks through the ruins of an old city while trying to keep from being spotted by enemy soldiers. The scene is lit through a combination of distant fire and flares being shot into the air by German soldiers. It is here that the screen also momentarily goes black again, and where the next cut in the movie arrives.
Cut - Schofield Goes Through The Basement Window To Flee A Pursuing Soldier
Schofield only gets so far through the city before he is spotted by a German soldier, who gives chase while firing at him. Schofield manages to evade his pursuer by climbing through the basement window of a decrepit house, with serves to set up the next cut.
Cut - Schofield Walks Out Of The Basement
Schofield finds a respite from the conflict for a few minutes in the basement, where he finds a woman protecting an infant and engages in conversation with her for a few minutes. When Schofield departs to complete his mission, the next cut comes when the screen again goes to black as he exits the basement.
Cut - Camera Goes Around A Brick Wall And Shows Schofield Again On The Other Side
As Schofield marches on through the city, the audience’s view of him is once again obscured when a brick wall passes in front of the camera. This allows for the camera to cut again and meet Schofield on the other side once he passes the wall.
Cut - Schofield Jumps Into The River To Flee Pursuing Soldiers
Another one of 1917’s more easily detected cuts comes when Schofield’s cover is blown, and he finds himself fleeing a group of German soldiers in the area. To escape their gunfire and greater numbers, Schofield jumps off a ledge into a river below and right into the next cut.
Cuts - Schofield Is Taken Down The Rapids And Goes Down A Waterfall
After Schofield leaps into the river to escape enemy fire, the next three cuts are interspersed as he is carried down the rapids. One of these cuts is also strategically placed at the point when Schofield goes down a waterfall.
Cut - Schofield Climbs The Hill After Getting Out Of The River
Once Schofield’s ride down the rapids comes to an end, he climbs out of the river and begins trekking up a rather steep hill, finding another battalion of soldiers at the top. As Schofield climbs the hill, the next cut comes when a tree passes in front of the camera.
Cut - The Camera Passes The Backs Of Some Other Soldiers As The Battalion Marches Into Battle
When Schofield realizes that he has found the unit that he has been tasked with reaching, he rushes to stop the imminent attack since the soldiers are preparing to attack. As the soldiers march into the nearby trench for the impending battle, the camera passes the backs of some of the soldiers for the next cut.
Cut - Bomb Goes Off As Schofield Tries To Locate The Commander
Schofield heads into the trench, frantically trying to find the commanding officer to stop the battle. As he does, a bomb goes off, setting off a blast of sand and smoke that blocks the action onscreen from the audience’s view, allowing the camera to cut again.
Cut- Camera Spins As Schofield Tries To Find The Commander
As Schofield continues his search for the commander, the next cut mirrors one of the early ones in 1917’s opening, with the camera spinning to show the action inside the trench as Schofield desperately tries to deliver his message.
Cut - Schofield Runs Across The Battlefield
With Schofield running out of time to find the commander and with the battle about to begin, he has no choice but to climb out of the trench and sprint across the battlefield with his fellow soldiers running into battle. It is here that another cut takes place via the explosion set off by one of the many bombs dropping.
Cut - Explosion When Schofield Re-enters The Trench
Schofield manages to make it across the battlefield alive and re-enter the area of the trench where the commander’s bunker is located. At this point, another explosion occurs, which works in another cut.
Cut - Entering The Bunker With Colonel Mackenzie
Schofield finally manages to locate the battalion’s commanding officer, Colonel Mackenzie, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Here, the camera cuts again as Schofield enters Mackenzie’s bunker.
Cut - Camera Spins In The Bunker After Schofield Delivers The Message
After locating Colonel Mackenzie, Schofield successfully delivers the orders to call off the attack, which Mackenzie is less than thrilled about. The camera spin employed to facilitate other cuts in the movie is also used here, with the camera spinning after Schofield delivers the orders.
Cut - Final Scene By The Tree
After finally completing his mission, Schofield leaves the bunker, finding his fellow soldier Lieutenant Joseph Blake, played by Richard Madden, and is forced to deliver the news of his brother Tom’s death earlier in the movie. The weary and exhausted Schofield then finally sits by a tree, looking at some pictures of his wife and children, with the movie getting in one final cut as the camera passes the tree.
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With so many camera cuts masked throughout the movie, the acclaim 1917 has seen for its technical excellence is very well-deserved. The continuous one-shot gimmick is a hard one to pull off, and certainly that much more so when the goal is to make an entire, two-hour movie resemble a single take, but it is certainly safe to declare “mission accomplished” with the various means by which 1917 masks every point where one shot ends and the next begins.
