Summary

• Hidden camera cuts in 1917 create seamless transitions, cleverly obscured by soldiers ing, explosions, and objects in the environment.
• Director Sam Mendes and the production team meticulously planned the intricate choreography and timing to pull off the one-shot illusion flawlessly.
• 1917, inspired by real WWI stories, showcases the incredible talent of the cast and crew in delivering a harrowing yet visually stunning cinematic experience.

Sam Mendes' epic WWI movie 1917 is not an entirely true story, but it's inspired by the real experiences of soldiers and battles of WWI.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins and the rest of the production crew incorporated similar elements to what director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki did for their movie, Birdman. Filming one long take is an extremely difficult process that requires extensive rehearsing from all parties involved. There have been several famous one-shot scenes including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the first season of True Detective, but to convince audiences that an entire movie has been filmed in one-shot required another level of planning and execution from both the director and 1917's talented cast.

1 Schofield And Blake Come Out Of The Bunker After Receiving Their Orders

Cut occurs at the 8:17 mark

The first hidden cut in 1917 comes right after the two soldiers are tasked with their mission. Lance Corporals William Schofield and Tom Blake, played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, are summoned into the bunker of their commanding officer, and given orders to deliver a message to stop another British battalion's coming battle with German forces, a mission they must carry out on foot due to communication lines being cut. As Schofield and Blake leave the bunker, the screen momentarily goes black before they re-emerge into the trench, and it's here that the first camera cut of 1917 takes place.

2 Soldiers ing In Front Of The Camera In The Trench

Cut occurs at the 9:03 mark

As Schofield and Blake walk through the trench to deliver the orders they've received, some other soldiers also in front of the camera, walking in the opposite direction. This obscures Schofield and Blake from the audience's view for a split second and allows for 1917's next hidden cut. While the screen doesn't go black, allowing for an obvious moment of transition, one soldier covers the entire screen for a brief moment as he es the camera, which is where the cut occurs.

3 Camera Spins As Schofield And Blake March Through The Trench

Cut occurs at the 9:43 mark

As Schofield and Blake continue through the trench to communicate their orders, there is a camera spin as part of an ongoing dialogue exchange. This also serves to facilitate the movie's next cut, which is barely detectable. The frenetic movement of the trenches, through which hundreds of soldiers are ing while still dozens more stand in place, allows for Mendes and his crew to further draw the audience's eye away from the hidden cuts.

4 Repeat of Soldiers ing In Front Of The Camera In The Trench

Cut occurs at the 12:32 mark

The same trick that was used to set up 1917's second hidden cut is repeated one more time in the trench, with some other soldiers once again ing in front of the camera to momentarily obscure the main action from the audience's view. As before, this allows for the movie's next camera cut. This time there are only a few soldiers as opposed to an entire group, which makes the transition even more difficult to catch. Once again, Mendes uses motion to distract the viewer's eye from the transition, to even greater effect this time.

5 A Burned Tree Trunk Covers The Screen In No Man's Land

Cut occurs at the 21:12 mark

In much the same style as the soldiers ing the camera in the trenches, Mendes and his crew used objects in No Man's Land to obscure Blake and Schofield and allow for a transition. At one point as the two soldiers make their way across the eerily quiet devastation of No Man's Land, the camera finds itself close against a burned-out tree trunk, and the tree covers almost the entire screen as Blake es behind it. This allows for a very quick and clever hidden cut that can be viewed on any of the VOD platforms 1917 is streaming on.

6 The Hill That es In Front Of Schofield And Blake Further Into No Man's Land

Cut occurs at the 23:05 mark

Schofield and Blake's trek across No Man's Land is one of the most harrowing scenes in 1917 simply due to how unsettling the atmosphere is. The ground is strewn with dead and rotting bodies, and what were once fertile green fields have been transformed into a hellscape of craters and mounds. One such mound that Schofield and Blake behind obscures the camera entirely for a second, and eagle-eyed viewers will notice it as one of the more easy-to-spot moments of transition. While not every object that obscures the camera hides a cut, many do.

1917 is streaming on Netflix as of June 1st, 2024.

7 Schofield And Blake Walk Into The German Bunker After Crossing No Man's Land

Cut occurs at the 25:42 mark

After Schofield and Blake make their way across the mud-soaked wasteland, they find the deserted German trench on the other side of No Man's Land. The two young soldiers seek to enter the bunker cut into the trench, which will provide them some temporary cover from being spotted by any planes flying overhead as they attempt to continue their mission. As they enter, the screen once again briefly goes black and hides a cut in a similar manner to the one that occurred when they left General Erinmore's bunker.

8 A Rat Triggers An Explosion In The Bunker

Cut occurs at the 28:02 mark

Schofield and Blake's brief respite from the threats they face outside is ended thanks to a massive rat. As the rat drags its food away from the two soldiers, it triggers a trip wire and sets off a bomb, which leaves Schofield buried under a pile of rubble until Blake digs him out. The explosion puts a big flash onscreen to hide the characters and setting from view. This easy tactic for disguising camera cuts was repeated numerous times throughout 1917, but this is the most easy-to-spot example of it.

9 The Wreckage Of A Tank es In Front Of The Camera

Cut occurs at the 33:42 mark

1917's next cut comes as Schofield and Blake continue their trek after leaving the bunker. They're greeted by the deserted German fortified position, which is little more than a massive hollowed out space loaded with spent artillery shells and defunct military equipment. The scene provides some much-needed perspective on the sheer volume of artillery that was used in WWI, and how No Man's Land came to look so decimated. As they cross the area, a demolished tank es in front of the camera, blocking them from the audience's view, and hiding another easy-to-spot transition.

10 A Half-Demolished Brick Wall Obscures Blake As He es Through It

Cut occurs at the 38:04 mark

As Schofield and Blake continue onward, the two soldiers encounter the remnants of a French farmhouse, which stands deserted. There is a small orchard of cherry trees in the front of the farmhouse, surrounded by a tall brick wall. The wall is crumbling everywhere and the cherry trees are destroyed, surely due to artillery or small arms fire from a recent skirmish. Blake and Schofield approach the door in the wall, and as Blake es through it the camera moves simultaneously behind the brick wall, hiding the transition.