If you’ve watched the originalDaredevilseries or seen clips from it on YouTube, you’ve probably encountered what could be the series' defining moment. In the Season 1 episode “Cut Man,” Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) storms an apartment complex occupied by the Russian mob to save a young boy. What follows isa brutal, intense fistfight between Daredevil and the Russian mobsters that’s done in a single five-minute shot.
This moment was so good that future episodes ofDaredevilwould attempt to one-up it. Even Cox’s first full-fledged return to playing Daredevil inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawfeatures the Man without Fear taking on a group of henchmen in a hallway. It turns out thatbringing this fight sequence to life was a superheroic efforton the film crew’s part.
It Took an Entire Day for the ‘Daredevil’ Hallway Sequence To Be Filmed
“Cut Man"s hallway fight was baked into the DNA ofDaredevil, as creatorDrew Goddardscripted the first two episodes before turning showrunning duties toSteven DeKnight. “I got to the end of reading that Episode 2 thing and, you know, it was described as this long, continuous fight in a hallway. And I thought, oh, that’s great. I don’t know how the hell we’ll ever be able to do it, but that’s great,“DeKnight told/Filmwhen discussing the fight scene. He’d eventually find someone whocouldbring that sequence to life: stunt coordinatorPhilip Silvera. Silvera had previously worked on a host of superhero-themed projects, including brief roles inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier’s elevator escape sequence and choreographing the opening battle inThor: The Dark World.
But while those were big blockbuster films with months of prep time, Silvera and his teamonly had two days to rehearse the fight— especially since directorPhil Abrahamwas determined to capture the one-shot effect in Goddard’s script. “I think that helps for the tone of the show overall, because it let us slow down the fight and gave it this very grounded feeling to it all,” Silvera said in anEntertainment Weeklyinterview.
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How can anyone not be moved by that quiet scene?
The time crunch grew even bigger when it came to actually filming the fight. Abraham and cinematographerMatthew J. Lloydspent half of the shoot day figuring out all of the camera angles, meaning that Silvera and his teamhad only half a day to execute the fight scene. But the results are incredible to watch: the camera moves with Daredevil as he fights, even leaving some action off screen so viewers can listen to his struggles with the Russian gangsters. It also features some stealthy work on the part of Charlie Cox’s stunt double,Chris Brewster: whenever the camera panned to the shadows, Brewster and Cox would switch places with a speed that matched Matt Murdock himself. Silvera had nothing but praise for the working relationship between Cox and Brewster, tellingObserver.comthat Brewster would handle stunts that were too physically challenging for Cox.
The Hallway Sequence Establishes How Daredevil Is Different From Other Marvel Heroes
The hallway fight in “Cut Man” isn’t just a way to show off Daredevil’s skills but also emphasizes how he stands out from the rest of the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unlike Spider-Man, who possesses superhuman strength and speed in addition to his trusty spider-sense, or Ghost Rider — a being literally empowered by hell -Daredevil is just a man. Outside of his highly enhanced senses, he can bleed, and he gets hit just as hard as he gives. Silvera put it best: “This wasn’t your Iron Man, this wasn’t your Thor, your Captain America, this was a guy that, through sheer will and determination, he just keeps pushing through the pain of everything he goes through.” As the fight in “Cut Man” grows more and more intense, Daredevil grows more and more winded.
By the time he’s gotten to the final thug, he’s too winded to pull off any tricks — he just whales on the guy until he gets knocked out, falling forward in exhaustion after the final punch. Yet there’s alsoa deeply human element to Daredevilthat powers the series. In the final moments of “Cut Man,” he slowly approaches the door where the Russians’ young hostage is being hidden, then opens it and tells the boy, “You don’t have to be scared.” The image of Daredevil, beaten and bruised, yet still carrying a kid in a protective position, is just as impactful as any punch or kick; it shows that Matt Murdock cares about protecting the innocent.
‘Daredevil’ Season 3 Attempted To Bring the Biggest Hallway Battle Ever
With the hallway fight being a key establishing moment of whatDaredevilwould be about, Seasons 2 and 3 attempted to up the ante. Season 2’s “New York’s Finest” has Daredevil battling through an angry biker gang after an encounter with the Punisher (Jon Berenthal) goes south; further complicating matters is the fact that the Man Without Fear has a revolver duct-taped to one of his hands, and a chain wrapped around another — though he makes good use of the latter. It’s Season 3’s “Blindsided” that takes the cake with a single-shot sequencethat takes place over eleven minutes, as Matt Murdock has to fight his way through an entire prison under the thumb of his archnemesis, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). Unlike “Cut Man,” Murdock doesn’t have his Daredevil gear — and not only does he have to worry about the inmates, but also guards who are on Fisk’s payroll.
Season 3 showrunnerErik Olesonsaid that when “Blindsided” directorAlex Garcia Lopezpitched him the one-shot, he feared that Marvel Television higher-ups would balk at the idea. But while vice-president of programmingTom Lieberwas shocked at the scene’s length,he toldVulturethatthe cast and crew’s dedication convinced him to sign off on it:“Charlie was really excited about it,…Our camera [operator] was really excited about it. Alex was beaming about it. We were like, ‘We should just do it. We should just try it. We have to set them up for success with this.'”
A decade after it first showed up on Netflix, the hallway fight inDaredevilcontinues to be a high bar for superhero television, and the amount of work put into it is incredible. IfDaredevil: Born AgainshowrunnerDario Scardapanewants to create an experience thatbuilds upon the Netflix show, he should definitely take notes.
All episodes ofDaredevilare available to stream on Disney+.
A blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Matt Murdock fights the crime of New York as Daredevil.
