Long-term construction in the cinema: 10 films, each of which was filmed for more than 10 years

It usually takes a director a year or a year and a half to make a film and release it. During this time, individual scenes are filmed, editing, dubbing is performed, special effects and computer graphics are added. This deadline includes time for additional filming and corrections for unforeseen circumstances. But sometimes it takes a lot more time to make a film, and our today's review includes films that have been filmed for a decade or even more.

Roar, 1981, USA, directed by Noel Marshall

Filming lasted for 11 years

This picture is not for nothing called the most expensive home video in history. Director Noel Marshall and actress Tippy Hedren kept a real lion at home, who just lived with his family, like some kitten. But after the number of lions in the house increased to six, neighbors began to complain about the owners and they had to move to a distant farm in the desert. It was then that they were struck by the idea of filming a picture of the unity of man and nature, which was planned to be filmed in three months. And then circumstances intervened in the process. The actors in the film were periodically ill and hospitalized with injuries, the set was destroyed by a flash flood, and everything had to start from scratch after four years. Financially, the film was a complete flop, and critics did not appreciate this "long-term construction".

Shoah, 1985, France, Great Britain, directed by Claude Lanzmann

Filming lasted 10 years

Claude Lanzmann's Holocaust documentary is 9 hours and 26 minutes long and includes numerous interviews and conversations with Jewish survivors. It took the director more than six years to collect material, recordings were made in 14 countries, and the process had to be suspended due to lack of funding or threats to the creator of the picture. Once the interlocutor even beat up Claude Lanzmann, noticing that he was filming in secret. Either way, the effort was worth it: The Shoah won the New York Critics' Award and BAFTA.

"On the Silver Planet", 1987, Poland, directed by Andrzej uławski

Filming lasted 12 years

In order to shoot his fantastic film, the director had to leave Poland for France, because censorship would not have allowed him to realize all the ideas. Later, the country's leadership convinced Andrzej uławski to return so as not to lose a large-scale project. The director returned and worked on the film for two years. Exactly until one of the officials saw a political motive in the film and demanded to destroy all the footage. Zhulavsky again left for France, but the members of the film crew were able to save the film and secretly smuggled it to France, where filming ended.

Boyhood, 2014, USA, directed by Richard Linklater

Filming lasted 12 years

The director originally planned to shoot the film over the course of 12 years to tell the story of how the relationship between children and parents develops as a child grows up. The film was shot twice a year, and the script was written on the go. Nevertheless, the film's success was overwhelming: one Oscar and six nominations.

"Anna: from 6 to 18", 1993, Russia, director Nikita Mikhalkov

Filming lasted 12 years

The director filmed the stages of growing up of his own daughter for 12 years, another year was spent on editing and preparing the film for release. Every year, Anna answered the same questions, and all her words were viewed through the prism of time and events taking place in the country. By the way, Anna Mikhalkova herself does not like this film and calls it a dissection of her personal life.

Time Travel, 2016, France, Germany, USA, directed by Terrence Malik

Filming lasted for 13 years

The director of the documentary invited the audience to travel with him to the past and see how the Universe was born and developed. For Terrence Malick, Time Travel is a dream that took him almost 30 years to achieve.

The Evil Within, 2013, USA, directed by Andrew Getty

Filming lasted for 13 years

The director, who began filming the horror film in 2002, based the film on his own nightmares, and his personal mansion served as the scenery for the film. The process turned out to be so extended in time due to Getty's abuse of alcohol and illegal substances, and he often spent money not on production, but on his own pleasures. By the way, he never saw the result of 13 years of work, he died due to internal bleeding caused by an ulcer, which led to drug use. The film was finished without Andrew Getty.

"Bloody Tea and Red Thread", 2006, USA, directed by Christian Sedjawski

Filming lasted for 13 years

The difficulties of filming puppet animation usually lead to the fact that only short films are shot in this technique. But the director and artist Christian Sedzhavski filmed 71 minutes of screen time for 13 years, and as a result, she said: this is only the first part of the trilogy.

"Courtesan", 1972, India, directed by Kamal Amrohi

Filming lasted 14 years

The director of the film decided to create a masterpiece for his wife Mina Kumari, deciding that such a work would be worthy of her talent and his all-consuming love. Filming, which began in 1958, lasted 6 years, and then was suspended due to the divorce of the director and actress. Meena Kumari refused to continue working on the film until Kamal Amrohi divorced her. The ending of this story is tragic: the picture was nevertheless finished, but soon after its appearance on the screen, the performer of the main role died due to cirrhosis of the liver diagnosed in her.

"Lake of Fire", 2006, USA, directed by Tony Kay

Filming lasted 16 years

The director intended to illuminate the problem of abortion from different angles in his documentary. But collecting opinions and different points of view took him many years. At the same time, financing was carried out from the creator's own funds, in total, Tony Kay spent six million dollars on "Lake of Fire".

Science fiction is one of the most popular trends in cinema. And it is not surprising, because it is so interesting to plunge into the world, created by the fantasy of the screenwriter, and see what our reality could be if life on Earth were a little different.