“1917” Reveals Astonishing Behind-the-Scenes Video

1917 was already one of my most anticipated films of the year. It's a World War I epic, starring an amazing group of British actors, and directed by Sam Mendes. He may not always be consistent, but his movies are always fascinating. And then I learned Roger Deakins was shooting it, and then it was revealed a few weeks ago that the film's cinematography is meant to appear as a single continuous shot. Now my expectations are sky high.

In a new behind-the-scenes video, actors and crew reveal the extreme conditions they had to undergo to shoot the film this way. There are no interior shots that could have been filmed on soundstages, and the wide shots and 360-degree turns meant additional lighting was out of the question. Plus, shooting outside left them at the mercy of the weather. But judging by the video, it looks like they were all more than up to the challenge.

Take a look at the video below. 1917 opens in limited release on Christmas Day, followed by a wide release on January 10, 2020.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.