Who Needs High-Tech Film Editing When There's the Thrill of the Single Shot?

Single shot movies are the definition of high tech editing since there is so much compositing to make the shots blend together to look like a single shot.

Movies like 1917 and Birdman (and perhaps even Rope, if I'm being pedantic) only have the illusion of a single shot.

The best true single shot movie I've seen is the German movie Victoria (2015), which really wouldn't have worked half as well if it was shot in a more traditional way.

The most spectacular single shot film I’ve ever watched is Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov. I have the dvd but it’s worth seeking in any available format.

+1. It's kind of jarring at first--I kept wanting to see some sort of cut or break from the action. Quite an accomplishment, though.

Also, and perhaps inspired by this movie, the pilot for Battlestar Galactica begins with a five- (?) minute-long single shot that introduces most of the lead characters.

Oh wow, I totally forgot about The 2000 movie Timecode! I saw that in an indy movie theater back in 2000, it was great! At the time it was super interesting an original.

The story structure makes it possible. Most stories don't have such a structure.