Comments on: Top 10 Single Location Films

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:19:15 +0000

@rtm: I guess Titanic would count…I wonder if there’s a list of single transport films…where the characters remain in one vehicle the entire (or almost entirely) way through (Speed – bus, The Lady Vanishes – Train, Murder on the Orient Express – train, Collateral – car) – ohh, ideas, ideas!

By: rtm

rtm — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:52:03 +0000

Awesome idea for a list, Dan! Wow, the Breakfast Club… that was huge when I was growing up, yeah it deserves to be in this list. Would Titanic count? I mean the majority of the film is on that doomed ship.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:05:25 +0000

@Alex: Mallrats might well be appearing on a similar list that I’m working on at the moment – I’ll keep you posted. But I do agree that they force filmmakers to be more creative. I think that’s why I have such affection for them. I also like the fact everything has to take place on a small, intimate scale. It not only forces filmmakers to be creative but it also forces character interaction and an emphasis on story arc that cannot be governed by a lavish action sequence or anything that takes away from characters themselves.

@Aiden: Exactly. If I was to make a top 10 list of favourite films of all time, 12 Angry Men would have to be on it.

By: Aiden R.

Aiden R. — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:19:23 +0000

Dude, what an epic Top 10 list. Couldn’t even think of one off the top of my head but these are all great. Honestly, what’s not to love about 12 Angry Men?

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:42:09 +0000

This is a really great list! I love single-location films- they often force the filmmakers to be more creative. I dig most of the ones here (a couple I haven’t seen). EMPIRE RECORDS is another favorite, though it definitely isn’t as high caliber haha. And I assume MALLRATS would count.

By: It’s the Most Wonderful Posts of the Year « CyniCritics

It’s the Most Wonderful Posts of the Year « CyniCritics — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:05:54 +0000

[...] The Top 10 Single Location Films by The Top 10 Films- Dan has quite the website. Lately some of the lists have really intrigued me, but the one that may have took the most thought and research was this one. Reading it made me really think hard on some of the single location films I have watched and more importantly, all the ones I have tried to make, mostly due to being an amateur. Great list to look over. [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:53:18 +0000

There is a certain allure about the single location film that focuses attention more intently on the facets of what makes cinema so great (for me at least) – character and story. Some would argue that cinema can go further than what is ostensibly theatre where the limitations of the stage are rescinded in favour of the almost limitless cinematic stage. However, the films I’ve chosen for this list do both – they are both great character pieces and well-plotted stories that use their limited stage cinematically.

Thanks for the comment Ronan!

By: Ronan

Ronan — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 14:26:03 +0000

Great list Dan, well written and considerately put together. Of all the films I’ve seen, Rear Window and 12 Angry are two of the few that I remember distinctly. I don’t know whether it was becaause of the single location or the story, or the dialogue and the acting or the characters. I suspect it was a clever mix of each, but I think the fact that they were shot in one location encouraged me to focus more intently on what was going on and how it was represented and performed. I enjoy watching single location films as much as I enjoy watching epics like Lawerence of Arabia and such, when I’m watching them. But in terms of accessibility and appeal, the single serving plot location is preferable as it brings to the fore and emphasises my favourite aspects of a film, as opposed to scattering them sparsely across a longer film like “…butter scraped over too much bread”.

Like your site Dan, will return.

By: Lisa-Ann

Lisa-Ann — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:23:51 +0000

Wonderful list – I’ve never thought of this as a genre of films but now this has changed my mind. There’s quite a few films on here that I love and some I have to check out: Wait Until Dark, Lifeboat, and Sleuth.

By: Dean

Dean — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:52:46 +0000

What a great feature! Many films I have to check out. I love this site!