Top 10 Movies Told In Real Time

Set in a BMW over the course of one two-hour drive between Birmingham and London, this film follows Ivan Locke as he takes and makes a series of phone calls that have the potential to destroy the life he’s built for himself. Anchored by a stellar Tom Hardy performance, the movie sees the title character discover that a colleague he slept with went into premature labor the night before the biggest day of his career, so he travels to be with her instead of his family at home. It’s not an easy feat to pull off, and even though the film consists entirely of a driving man speaking on the telephone, many critics deemed “Locke” to be the most suspenseful movie of the year.

Shot documentary-style to heighten the reality of the tragic events, this pick chronicles the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 before it was crashed into a field, killing everyone onboard. Playing out in real-time from the moment the plane takes off, the movie alternates between the heroic passengers who overtook the terrorists, and air-traffic controllers attempting to make sense of the chaotic situation. Director Paul Greengrass had the daunting task of producing the first Hollywood film about the attacks, and he was praised for his ability to tell the story with dignity. Dedicated to the memory of those lost on 9/11, several family members of those died on the plane even attended the movie’s New York premiere.

Heavily influenced by themes of existentialism and feminism that were prominent in 1960s France, “Cléo from 5 to 7” begins with a singer awaiting the results of a medical exam that may reveal a cancer diagnosis. Cut into small chapters that only last a few minutes to emphasize its time structure, the stretch of the waiting period causes the viewer to examine mortality and death, the Algerian War, and making the most of one’s life, especially as a female in society. A unique take on the real-time format, it’s a classic of the French New Wave movement, and one of the most famous films by director Agnès Varda.

As its poster’s tagline reads, this four-time Academy Award winning Western tells the story, “of a man who was too proud to run!” Will Kane is a newly retired marshal of New Mexico territory, who has plans to settle down and live a quiet existence. That is, until he learns that an outlaw he sent to jail is due to arrive by train at noon – and that he’ll be seeking revenge. Thus begins the exhilarating countdown, leaving Kane only two hours to decide whether to flee, or stick around to find out who his real friends are. With an unforgettable final duel, this flick’s real-time format makes the suspense level rise with each passing minute.

Filmed in one continuous take throughout the corridors and galleries of the Winter Palace of the Russian State Hermitage Museum, this film fest favorite isn’t merely a technical achievement, but also a philosophical meditation on Russian history. A ghost serves as narrator, inviting the Steadicam to drift through the museum and witness three centuries of Saint Petersburg’s past. Due to the highly meticulous nature of the production, which employed over 2000 actors and 3 orchestras, it took Alexander Sokurov and his team four attempts to capture the film in one shot; the final time they had only preserved enough battery for one more take.

A night out clubbing takes a turn for the worse when Victoria, a Spanish émigré living in Berlin, gets caught up in a plot to rob a bank. Set within the morning hours between 4:30 and 7:00 AM, this high-intensity real-time drama also unfolds as one uninterrupted shot, receiving heaps of critical acclaim for managing to cover so much ground — going from a night club, to a café, to a parking garage, to a bank — in a single take. With only a 12-page script, director Sebastian Schipper promised to compose a jump cut version of the film as Plan B if he couldn’t achieve the extended take. He succeeded, however, and the film is all the more immersive for it.

This fast-paced German thriller is noted for its innovation, because it presents the audience with three potential outcomes based on three different dashes. The basic premise follows a German woman who must somehow obtain and deliver a large sum of money to her boyfriend, a small-time criminal, or else he’ll be killed. But as the three runs individually unfold, the filmmakers show us that even the smallest obstacles, like tripping over or leaping over a dog, can make a world of a difference. This race against the clock was nominated for over 40 awards, but unfortunately couldn’t rush its way to the Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category.

Based on a teleplay, “12 Angry Men” grants the audience a fly-on-the-wall perspective of a 12-person jury as its members struggle to come to a unanimous decision. Deep-seated themes of morality and reason come into play minute after minute, as the dozen must decide whether an 18-year-old boy is guilty of murdering his father, unable to leave the room without a consensus. Nominated for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Director at the Oscars, its one-room setting and tight script also set the stage for several knockout performances by its leads, including Henry Fonda who greatly affects the real-time events as they unfold. It was the first-ever feature film by Sidney Lumet, who would later return to the real-time technique with both “Fail-Safe” and “Dog Day Afternoon.”

A sequel to Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise,” this movie picks up nine years after Jesse and Céline spent a romantic night together in Vienna. Having vowed to cross paths in the future, they unexpectedly stumble across one another in a Parisian bookstore at a reading for the book Jesse wrote about their first encounter. The reunited couple spends the remainder of the day discussing the way their lives have unravelled while meandering about Paris in real-time; a feat which cinematographer Lee Daniel said was a major challenge when it came to matching the color of the skies from scene to scene. The fact that nearly a decade elapsed since the first film adds an authenticity to their feelings about relationships and aging.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

- “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975)

- “My Dinner with Andre” (1981)

- “Tape” (2001)

Filmed in just 10 extended takes, “Rope” follows two young men who strangle their former classmate to death and hide his body in a wooden chest, before trying to subtly conceal their crime during a dinner party. An Alfred Hitchcock classic, it was the second of the director’s ‘limited-setting’ pictures after “Lifeboat,” but “Rope” received considerably more attention not only because it was Hitchcock’s first Technicolor film, but also due to the novelty of it appearing to consist solely of one long shot. Although it wasn’t tremendously well received upon release, today it remains a marvel to watch; its real-time format rendering it one of the tensest works in The Master of Suspense’s entire oeuvre.