In a post titled “The Long Take” on his DAILY FILM DOSE blog, Alan Bacchus writes about the greatest long tracking shots in cinema. Clips for the most of the shots are included, as well.

In a director’s cinematic bag of tricks the long tracking shot is the boldest way of making a statement. It’s the flashiest and most attention-grabbing egotistical way of flexing one’s muscle. In most cases it’s a narcissistic maneuver, “look-at-me” filming technique, but rare ones, the best ones, serve to reflect and further the story in a way that can’t be reflected with traditional editing.

Flexing one’s muscle indeed. It’s not an easy thing to do.

The difficulty arises when the camera is forced to move which complicates the logistics ie. Focus changes, lighting changes and hiding production equipment.

My favorite long take is the final scene of Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger. It’s one of those “difficult” takes in that the camera goes out of a room through the window bars, into the courtyard, and back into the room from which it came to reveal the ending.

When I saw The Passenger during its theatrical re-release in 2005 I was haunted by and in awe of that final scene for days after. It’s a masterful piece of filmmaking and an inspiration to a visual artist like myself.