Quentin Tarantino Reveals His Pick for Cinema’s Best Long Take
Quentin Tarantino singles out a standout scene from Paper Moon as the finest long take ever filmed, focusing on a raw, two-minute exchange between a father and daughter.
Long takes are having a bit of a moment again, with recent series like Adolescence using single-shot episodes to ramp up the tension and keep punters glued to the screen. But the technique’s been around for yonks, and few know its ins and outs better than Quentin Tarantino. While some reckon the most technically impressive effort is the 2002 Russian film Russian Ark, which managed a 96-minute unbroken Steadicam shot through the Hermitage Museum, Tarantino’s not so easily swayed by sheer scale.
That Russian epic, filmed in just one day after years of planning and a handful of failed attempts, wrangled 2,000 actors across 33 rooms. It’s a wild achievement, no doubt, and the sort of thing that gets film buffs talking. But for Tarantino, the heart of a great long take isn’t about technical wizardry or massive set pieces. He’s more interested in what the camera can capture between people, especially when emotions are running high.
What Makes a Long Take Stand Out?
In his review of Paper Moon, Tarantino couldn’t help but show off his knowledge of the craft. He said,
“And for all the cinematic virtuousness of some of the other seventies movie brats, especially when compared to Bogdanovich, the single greatest long take of their cinematic collective isn’t any of DePalma’s over hill and under dale Steadicam and crane combinations, or even Scorsese’s magnificent and witty tour through the Copacabana leading up to Henny Youngman in Goodfellas (though that’s pretty spectacular, as is the crane that ends up behind the bucket of blood in Carrie).”
He’s clearly seen his fair share of clever camera moves, but none of them quite hit the mark for him.
So, what does? Tarantino points to a scene in Paper Moon from 1973, starring real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal. The film follows their characters, Moses Pray and Addie Loggins, as they run cons across 1930s Kansas. The moment Tarantino rates above all others is a two-minute, single-take shot inside a car, where the pair argue, fall out, and then patch things up, all while driving through a stark landscape.
The Power of Simplicity
He describes it like this:
“For me, it’s the car mount single take two-shot of Ryan O’Neal’s driving Moses Pray and overall-wearing, shotgun-riding tyke Tatum O’Neal’s Addie Loggins, as they bicker, fight, break up and then, finally, get back together (‘I guess we’ll just hafta’ keep on veerin’).”
The scene’s strength lies in its simplicity. There’s no fancy camera trickery, just a raw, unbroken look at a father and daughter working through their issues in real time.
As they talk about what to do with the money they’ve just swindled, the tension builds. Moses’s frustration spills over, and Addie holds her ground, the two trading barbs as the car rolls on. The dialogue is sharp and quick, with both characters giving as good as they get.
“You got an excuse for everything!”
Moses snaps, only for Addie to fire back,
“Because you blame me for everything!”
It’s a heated exchange, but by the end, they’ve found a way forward together.
Why Tarantino Rates It Above the Rest
For other directors, capturing that kind of emotional back-and-forth might take an entire film. But Peter Bogdanovich, the director of Paper Moon, nails it in just two minutes. The long take doesn’t just show off technical skill; it lets the audience sit with the characters, feeling every beat of their argument and reconciliation. That’s what makes it stand out for Tarantino – not the length or the logistics, but the honesty and vulnerability on display.