Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

How this film uses it

The famous 'single-take' look is really a series of shots joined so you can't see the joins. The cuts are hidden in dark frames and behind passing objects. The seams are real. Nevertheless, time seems to run without a break, and that shows you how Riggan can't escape his own performance.

Where to see it

Riggan leaving the theater. The camera follows him from backstage through the theater and into the streets of New York in what looks like a single continuous take.

How this film uses it

Riggan talks with his Birdman voice, which you hear and the other characters don't. These conversations work like scenes of a man confronting himself in a mirror. The superhero persona is the crowd-pleasing self he is trying to escape.

Where to see it

Riggan in his dressing room. Birdman's voice pushes him toward spectacle and away from the literary ambition that threatens to expose him.

How this film uses it

Antonio Sanchez's drum score runs through much of the film, as if a live drummer were playing just off screen. Its rhythm reflects Riggan's anxiety and the restless energy of the theater.

Where to see it

The backstage corridors. The camera tracks Riggan through them while Sanchez's drums keep pace with his nervous energy.

How this film uses it

The film uses Riggan's Birdman franchise as a stand-in for the dominance of superhero movies. It treats spectacle culture as the enemy of authenticity, and it treats legacy as the real superpower artists are addicted to.

Where to see it

The Times critic announcing she will destroy the play without seeing it. The scene is about cultural gatekeeping, which turns relevance into a game where one person's win is another's loss.