Stunts › Sequences › 1917 (2019) ›
Trench traversal + ridge run
Sam Mendes' apparent-single-take coverage required the stunt unit to choreograph multi-minute traversals of a fully-built No Man's Land trench set, with performers landing precisely at marked positions for each blocking change. The set was rigged top-to-bottom for falls, fire stings, and impact reaction shots; performers had to reset between takes because each take ran the full length of the sequence in real time.
Credits
Stunt team
Coordinator
Rigging
Equipment + technique
Decelerator descender
Mfr BD Stunt RiggingCapacity 400 lbPre-rigged at multiple trench-wall positions for sandbag-impact falls.
Fire-sting harness
Nomex-lined inner harness + per-performer gel application for the burning-corpse shots.
Floor mat array
Padded-foam flooring across the trench bed, dressed over to read as duckboard on camera.
Mounts
- Continuous-cable trolley along the trench-top for the steadicam-relay handoff
Safety
Officer + bulletins
Bulletins observed
- SAG-AFTRA Bulletin #11 (Fire / Burns)
Rigging glossary
8 rigs used in this sequence
Each entry explains how the rig works mechanically and the safety bulletin that governs it. Click through for the full glossary detail.
wire
Wire-flying rig
The harness-and-pulley system that lifts a performer through prolonged airborne action — the workhorse rig of the post-Crouching Tiger martial-arts era.
wire
Descender wire (controlled rappel)
The single-line rig used for sustained vertical descents at narrative speed — the rig under most "elevator shaft" and "skyscraper window" frames.
fire
Gel suit (full-body burn rig)
The protective layer worn under flammable garments for full-body burn gags. The standard rig for any "stunt performer engulfed in flame" frame.
fire
Propane bar / fuel-fed burn
Costume-routed propane tubing that produces a sustained, controllable flame for shots where the performer must remain on-camera and burning for more than 30 seconds.
References
Further reading
- 1917: how the long-take stunt unit workedfxguidefxguide
- Roger Deakins on shooting 1917American Cinematographerinterview