WTF | October 16, 2007 | 9 comments

The best unedited fight sequence ever

source: http://youtube.com/watch?v=K06wDn3XsZE

sumfight
This is the most impressive fight sequence I have ever seen that contains no edits. From the movie "The Protector", featuring Tony Jaa (of Ong Bak fame), this stedicam shot lasts over 3 min. I wonder how many times it took to get this shot right! Simply amazing!

After watching the behind the scenes extras on the DVD, here is some additional info that filmmakers and martial arts film fans may appreciate:

The director calls this "the most dangerous long take scene ever." A 4 minute stedicam shot featuring a variety of martial arts.

The crew spent over 1 month preparing and choreographing before they were able to get a perfect shot. When it came time to shoot, they could only do 2 takes per day because of the set repairing and prop replacement that needed to be done. It took 5 takes to get it right. A foreign cameraman was needed because the stedicam mount was built for american / european operators who are typically much larger than asian operators.

The foreign operator they hired could only do two flights of stairs at a time and simply gave up. They decided to use a Thai stedicam operator who physically prepared for a month for this job.

The reason the shot is 4 minutes is because reels of 35mm film are only about 4 min in length.

They shot the first take which had a number of problems with stuntmen cues, and even a stuntman bumping into the stedicam operator. After choreographing more dynamic action, an increase of extras and improving the set, the next take they did was 17 days after the first take.

The second take was better but when the stuntman was supposed to be thrown from the 3rd story, the safety mattress was not completely in place yet so Tony Jaa stopped the shot and saved the stuntman's life.
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9 comments // The best unedited fight sequence ever // Video

  • ametska
    • 0
      ametska  

    • This was soo impressive to watch the steady cam work alone is Fantastic and to say that it was choreographed well is and understatement. It truly is a well done and well thought out work of cinema.

    • 4 years ago
  • AshleyMaria
    • 0
      AshleyMaria  

    • This is amazing. I love how the camera gives everyone's point of view, not just the main guy.

      This type of technique reminds me of the last scenes of Children of Men when they are running through the city with the baby.

    • 4 years ago
  • mkinney
  • sumfight
  • jennatar
    • 0
      jennatar  

    • I will see your Best Fight Sequence Ever, sir, and raise you, uh, the Worst Fight Sequence Ever.

      (As for the original post: I love Tony Jaa and his apparent ability to scamper up walls and defy gravity.)

    • 4 years ago
  • sumfight
  • jblue62
    • 0
      jblue62  

    • This is film! The first time I saw this I was sure it was HD. This is an amazingly choreographed sequence. So well done. I'd love to see this in every film.

    • 4 years ago
  • Tori
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