Incredible Behind-the-Scenes Look at Mendes' One-Shot '1917' Movie

"There is no better way to tell this story than with one continuous shot." Ohhhhh hell yes! Another one-shot movie coming up this year. Universal has debuted a fascinating behind-the-scenes featurette for Sam Mendes' new film 1917, set during World War I in the year 1917 - watch the first teaser trailer again. The war movie takes place over the course of one day, following soldiers on a "seemingly impossible mission" to deliver a message across enemy lines to stop an attack that will kill their own soldiers. With cinematography by Roger Deakins, of course. The excellent ensemble cast features: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, Andrew Scott, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, George MacKay, Teresa Mahoney, Dean-Charles Chapman, Daniel Mays, Adrian Scarborough, Justin Edwards, Gerran Howell, Anson Boon, and Richard McCabe. I love that they release these featurettes now, instead of saving them only for Blu-ray special features, because this looks magnificent. So much movie-making magic being shown! Wow.

Here's the official behind-the-scenes featurette for Sam Mendes' 1917, direct from Universal's YouTube:

You can still watch the first teaser trailer for Sam Mendes' 1917 here, to see the intense first reveal again.

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will put a stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers – Blake's own brother among them. 1917 is directed by Oscar-winning English filmmaker Sam Mendes, director of the films American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go, plus James Bond's Skyfall and Spectre previously. The screenplay is written by Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Produced by Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, and Jayne-Ann Tenggren; co-produced by Michael Lerman. Amblin + Universal Pictures will open Sam Mendes' 1917 movie in theaters everywhere starting December 25th, on Christmas Day, at the end of this year. Planning to go watch this in theaters?