Here comes the pain.

Feeding off Nic Cage’s dickish-but-funny vapors the opening sequence to Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes impresses as bits of narrative register and bullets fly. The sequence plays continuous but reportedly has eight cuts. Where are they?

Afton Grant, from the Steadicam resource site Steadishots:

The full opening sequence continues for almost 13 minutes but the first 7 minutes contain the best examples of the Steadicam work by McConkey. Within the full 13 minutes, there are 8 well hidden cuts, mostly in either whip pans or something crossing full frame.

This shot, and the sequence as a whole, are excellent examples of a director’s vision, and understanding of the tool. Add to that vision, a great amount of trust and collaborative respect for an operator, and you get a shot that people talk about for years to come.