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A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished through the use of a dolly or Steadicam. Some films, like Rope, Russian Ark, Before Sunset, Elephant, and Irréversible are composed entirely of long takes, while others like Goodfellas, Boogie Nights, Touch of Evil, The Player are well-known for a specific long take or two within otherwise more conventionally edited films.

The term "long take" is used because it avoids the ambiguous meanings of "long shot", which can refer to the framing of a shot, and "long cut", which can refer to either a whole version of a film or the general editing pacing of the film. However, these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably with "long take".

Film and television productions with notable long takes

11 Minutes Ago - Shot in eight 11 minute takes
2001: A Space Odyssey most of the film is shot with unusually long takes
Angel - episodes directed by Joss Whedon often feature long takes, for example near the beginning of episode 5.1)
Bande à part (the famous Madison dance shot)
Before Sunset
The Bonfire of the Vanities - the opening scene feautures a long take with a moving camera
Boogie Nights - from the outside to the inside of the disco, approximately 3 minutes.
Breaking News - the opening shot is approximately 7 mins long
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - episodes directed by Joss Whedon often feature long takes; the musical episode features a long tracking shot with dancing passers-by
Chelsea Girls
Children of Men
Citizen Kane - the flashback depicting Kane's childhood features a long take with deep focus
City of Hope
Clerks - The conversation between Dante Hicks and Caitlin Bree at the RST Video is a long take of over five minutes; it was taken on the first night of filming
Code Unknown
Cul-de-Sac
Damnation
Elephant
Empire
Firefly - episodes directed by Joss Whedon often feature long takes
Funny Games
Gerry
Gertrud
Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Goodfellas - a long take as Ray Liotta's character enters a nightclub
Hard Boiled - a 2-minute action sequence including gun battles and a journey in an elevator
A History of Violence - the first scene is a long take
Husbands and Wives
I Am Cuba
Irréversible
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
Kadosh
La Captive
Last Days
The Life of Oharu
Magnolia
The Magnificent Ambersons - in Orson Welles's film many sequences are shot in long takes, perhaps the longest being Aunt Fanny's breakdown, where Tim Holt urges Agnes Morehead to pull it together as he leads her though the Amberson mansion by her shoulders
Menace II Society
The Mirror
Oldboy - an action scene several minutes long involving many participants is filmed in a single take
Platform
The Player - the opening shot is 8 minutes long and moves through a Hollywood studio; one character, Walter, talks with two other characters about famous "long shots" in film history, mentioning Orson Welles' six and a half minute take in Touch of Evil and a shot in The Sheltering Sky
Primer
The Passenger
Rear Window
Rope - consists of only 10 takes, the edits between half of which are hidden, sometimes making two or three takes look continuous to the untrained eye
Russian Ark - a 96 minute film consisting of one single long take, made possible with the use of digital cameras
Satantango-a film consisting of 150 shots in a 7 1/2 hour running time. Most shots are on average 5 minutes long.
"Scarface (1932)" - the opening shot
Serenity - The shot near the beginning of the movie introducing the audience to the main characters over the main titles seems to last roughly four and a half minutes, but is actually broken into two; the break is disguised by a whip pan when Nathan Fillion's character goes up the stairs
Sleep
Snake Eyes - the shot at the beginning is seemingly 15 minutes long, although it contains several edits disguised by whip pans
Songs from the Second Floor
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - the opening shot is a 76 second long take of the Battle of Coruscant; it is over two and a half minutes if one includes the film's opening crawl.
Sunrise - a long take follows the Woman from the City as she walks into the moonlit field to meet with the Husband
Taste of Cherry - filmed almost entirely in long takes
Tenebrae
The Third Man - the final sequence involves a long take as Alida Valli's character walks up a road toward Joseph Cotten's
Through the Olive Trees
Timecode - four 90-minute long takes were filmed simultaneously and are presented on screen as such, using a split-screen effect
Tom-Yum-Goong - a long take of 3:46 takes place where Tony Jaa ascends a multi-leveled building via circular ramps and incapacitates numerous gang members in elaborately choreographed fight sequences that send men flying off tiers and Tony Jaa positioning himself in one instance, above a doorway, all without a change of shot.
Touch of Evil - the opening features a six and a half minute long take with a moving camera
Ulysses' Gaze
Under Capricorn
War of the Worlds - the car shot during the family's escape is 2½ minutes long, and the camera travels in, out and around the vehicle (assisted by visual effects)
Wavelength - a 45-minute long take of a slow zoom in toward a picture on a wall
Week End - a 10-minute tracking shot along a traffic jam
Werckmeister Harmonies-a film with only 39 shots in a 145 minute running time.
The West Wing
The X-Files, episode "Triangle" - filmed in four takes, each eleven minutes long
Yi-Yi

Directors known for long takes

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 *''[[Rear Window]]''
 *''[[Rope (film)|Rope]]'' - consists of only 10 takes, the edits between half of which are hidden, sometimes making two or three takes look continuous to the untrained eye
-*''[[Russian Ark]]'' - a 2-hour film consisting of one single long take, made possible with the use of [[digital camera]]s
+*''[[Russian Ark]]'' - a 96 minute film consisting of one single long take, made possible with the use of [[digital camera]]s
+*''[[Satantango]]''-a film consisting of 150 shots in a 7 1/2 hour running time.  Most shots are on average 5 minutes long.
-*''[[Satantango]]''
 *"[[Scarface (1932 film)|Scarface (1932)]]" - the opening shot
 *''[[Serenity (film)|Serenity]]'' - The shot near the beginning of the movie introducing the audience to the main characters over the main titles seems to last roughly four and a half minutes, but is actually broken into two; the break is disguised by a [[whip pan]] when [[Nathan Fillion]]'s character goes up the stairs
@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 *''[[Wavelength (1966 film)|Wavelength]]'' - a 45-minute long take of a slow zoom in toward a picture on a wall
 *''[[Week End]]'' - a 10-minute [[tracking shot]] along a [[traffic jam]]
+*''[[Werckmeister Harmonies]]''-a film with only 39 shots in a 145 minute running time.
 *''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]''
 *''[[The X-Files]]'', episode "Triangle" - filmed in four takes, each eleven minutes long