James Vanderbilt, the director of the film Nuremberg, revealed that the courtroom scene between Michael Shannon (Robert H. Jackson, the US lawyer central to prosecuting Nazi war criminals) and Russell Crowe (Adolf Hitler’s henchman, Hermann Göring) was a cumbersome 25-minute single take.
Vanderbilt shared with The Hollywood Reporter: “… We set up, and we were doing 25-minute takes with no cuts, and they were word-perfect every time because we took all the real transcripts.”
He continued, “After the first take, the entire courtroom of extras applauded Michael and Russell. Just watching those two gentlemen put on a master class…. I’ve never shot a 25-minute take in a movie in my life. I don’t think I ever will again. That, I think, was one of the most amazing [experiences].”
Praising Crowe’s Commitment
The 49-year-old director highly praised his colleague, Russell Crowe, for his deep commitment to the role: “… he fully committed and invested in the movie and did an incredible amount of research. He travelled around Germany to the different places in [Göring’s] childhood. He really put himself in depth to it.”
James Vanderbilt concluded: “And I’m just eternally grateful for the commitment he put into this film and the work he did because he’s Russell forever. He doesn’t necessarily need to do that anymore, but he was as hungry as an actor as I’ve ever seen anyone, and that was a true gift.”
