Russian Ark

I'm just going to try the shortened version today.

If nothing else, Russian Ark is worth watching because no one will ever be able to make this film ever again. In this era of over-indulged, YouTubed, Borat-wannabe world, it's an impossible task. Sure, the film is only six years old, but asshole culture moves fast. Alternatively, it's a Russian film and I've been told over the last few weeks that the KGB is alive and well in Russia and being headed by Putin when he's not busy invading Alaska. With that kind of reach, a film like this is probably simple to make with super state-sponsored asshole suppression programs. Then again, if you're busy invading Alaska and running the KGB still, you're probably too busy to oversee a film...

Okay, to the point. This film was done in one continuous shot. 90 minutes. No cuts. One walk though. No do overs. Okay, we watched the making of and they agreed to start over if the first 20 minutes went wrong. They did this twice and realized that they were going to run out of batteries, so they had to go balls to the wall. 2000 extras who had to dress in various period costumes that spanned nearly 300 years. Not a single one of them was allowed to jump up and down in the background and yell, "Hi Mom!" or flash a not-so-clever tattoo. Watch it and have your faith in humanity restored just a little. At least believe that it can happen for 90 entire minutes.