Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
07-10-14, 02:01 PM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
The impending release of BOYHOOD, which was shot over a 12-year period, got me to thinking about all those thousands of B-movies that were shot in a week's time (e.g. most B-westerns), so I got to wondering how many famous films were shot in five days or less. I know that Roger Corman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) was shot in three days. And Corman's THE TERROR (1963) is often cited the same way, although that's misleading since only the studio portion with Boris Karloff took three days, while all the outdoor and second unit stuff was shot over a much longer period. I think Corman's A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) was shot in five days and, perhaps Edgar G. Ulmer's DETOUR (1945). Any others?
And then, that led me to wonder what the longest shoot for a single film was before BOYHOOD. I'm thinking offhand of films like CLEOPATRA, APOCALYPSE NOW and HEAVEN'S GATE, although I don't know the duration of those shoots off the top of my head. But there must be a whole bunch of troubled productions that started and stopped production over a period of years. I can't think of any offhand, but there were some that were discussed here in other threads not that long ago.
And then, that led me to wonder what the longest shoot for a single film was before BOYHOOD. I'm thinking offhand of films like CLEOPATRA, APOCALYPSE NOW and HEAVEN'S GATE, although I don't know the duration of those shoots off the top of my head. But there must be a whole bunch of troubled productions that started and stopped production over a period of years. I can't think of any offhand, but there were some that were discussed here in other threads not that long ago.
07-10-14, 02:10 PM
#2
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Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
Eraserhead. There's one particular point where Jack Nance walks through a door and literally ages 18 months, although the entire production was something like 5 years, off and on.
Eyes Wide Shut. I can't remember the details, but I remember discussions about how this production dragged on much longer than Cruise and Kidman ever expected.
Eyes Wide Shut. I can't remember the details, but I remember discussions about how this production dragged on much longer than Cruise and Kidman ever expected.
07-10-14, 02:30 PM
#3
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
I read about this one movie that was filmed all in one take, but it probably had a ton of pre-production associated with it.
07-10-14, 02:53 PM
#5
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
07-10-14, 03:09 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
Boyhood had a 4,200 day production schedule, but only 39 days of actual filming.
07-10-14, 03:14 PM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
As for one of the shortest, The Forbidden Dance was written, produced, and released in a little over 3 months.
Per Wikipedia
Per Wikipedia
Spoiler:
07-10-14, 03:18 PM
#10
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
It never happened, but Orson Welles at least discussed fixing up The Magnificent Ambersons 25 years after the fact with the same actors, now close to the actual ages they were made up to be in the latter part of the move (where most of the cuts were made). He did film Don Quixote over 15 or so years but that was never completed and released only in a compromised form; it probably can't be considered a "real" movie. But Othello was real and was filmed on and off for at least a couple of years starting in 1949 (released in May 1952).
Lawrence of Arabia filming took 17 months (May 15, 1961 to October 20, 1962); somewhere in the movie there's supposed to be a shot of Peter O'Toole in a scene, a quick cutaway to another shot, and back to O'Toole, but it's a shot taken more than a year later.
Lawrence of Arabia filming took 17 months (May 15, 1961 to October 20, 1962); somewhere in the movie there's supposed to be a shot of Peter O'Toole in a scene, a quick cutaway to another shot, and back to O'Toole, but it's a shot taken more than a year later.
07-10-14, 03:22 PM
#11
07-10-14, 04:00 PM
#12
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
07-10-14, 04:11 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Longest and shortest shooting times for films?
Eyes Wide Shut is recognized by Guinness as the longest continuous shooting period at 400 days, although that's not the entire shoot because principal photography began in November 1996 and ended in June 1998.
