now that FURIOSA is out on VOD I wanted to clarify what I meant by "mini-oners," IE Spielbergian shots that effortlessly combine multiple setups but aren't full-bore tracking shots, by sharing some of the best in the movie, starting with this one:
FURIOSA (shockingly) begins with a series of longer-takes, with Miller instantly differentiating the visual language and rhythm from the cut-cut-cut kineticism of FURY ROAD. This shot begins as a close-up before craning to an epic tableau, the visual climax of the opening scene:
This shot of Dementus casing Gastown might be one of the most Spielberg-feeling shots of the movie, beginning as a tight medium, moving into a two-shot, craning into a wide, tracking forward with a group, then craning over a cliff-face into another huge wide shot:
This shot is only 15 seconds long, but FURIOSA has many (many) dozens just like it, the camera effortlessly snaking through the action with total clarity. The "stowaway" set-piece is almost all shots just like this one, it's an action masterpeice but also of shot design:
I also have to reshare this clip, which has already widely circulated Twitter:

but one of my favorite oners in FURIOSA is immediately after the vehicular acrobatics of that "stowaway" set-piece, Miller hits the emergency break (sorry) with a near minute-long take to capture Furiosa confronting the loneliness of The Wasteland in a way only a longer take can:
The sneakiest mini-oner in FURIOSA might be this one, which begins as a two-shot of Jack and Furiosa, only to glide between Immortan Joe's entourage mid-debate, constantly reframing speakers. It's the most old-school "moving master" style shot in the film, down to a profile view:
I wanted to save the longest, most complex and possibly best "oner" (also **SPOILERS**) in FURIOSA for last, which tracks from a defeated Furiosa and Jack into Dementus' monologue, then their embrace, followed by his torture by motorcycle, to Furiosa strung up. It's extraordinary

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More from @metaplexmovies

Mar 13
is it safe to say that I thought DUNE: PART TWO was exhilarating and rousing cinema but sometimes at the cost of over-simplifying the moral complexity of the book, and at its worst felt like a didactic caricature of radicalized belief rather than a moving deconstruction of it
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SORCERER is as much a horror movie as THE EXORCIST. Friedkin's hyper-vivid, totally tactile sense of cinematic style makes his nightmares feel real, every location oozing expressionist threat, danger and malice. Sections of it are among the most physically intense I've ever seen.


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Jun 19, 2023
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Jun 18, 2023
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