The car ambush scene from Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian 2006 film Children Of Men was recently picked by Michael Harvkey as one of the ten best long tracking shots ever filmed (violence, language and spoiler warning).
It’s a riveting piece of cinema (although not without its detractors) that takes place almost entirely within the confines of a compact Fiat Multipla, custom rigged to within an inch of its life with an Oscar-worthy combination of tracks, swivel head and camera:
The car ended up being a special purpose car, built with a rig developed by Gary Thieltges of Doggicam Systems. It was piloted by a stunt driver lying near flat in front with space for another at the other end when driving in reverse. The car ‘shell’ was mounted to appear normal but with a complete rig overhead allowing the director and DOP to travel along above the actors.
What’s perhaps most interesting in light of Harvkey’s list is that despite appearances, the shot is actually an elaborate special effect, stitched together by the boffins at Double Negative from six takes filmed at four locations.
The rest of the list is worth a look too, with the work of Scorsese, Tarantino, Godard, Altman and Welles among the other picks.
