• View
• Edit
• History
• Source
• Backlinks
• Set Attributes

• login

Tokyo Driving Sequence is a term coined by John Walthall to describe any prolonged, irrelevant sequence in a film or television program, especially one that is repetitious.

To qualify as a Tokyo Driving Sequence, the scene or scenes must be long, contain absolutely no matter that advances the plot or drives characterization, minimal or no dialogue, and be primarily mood or effect-creating in intention.

The name is derived from an infamous montage sequence from the 1972 science-fiction film Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. In this nearly four minute long conceit the viewer sees a first person view of a car driving through 1970s downtown Tokyo, accompanied by electronic sound effects. The scene has no relevance to the plot or characterization whatsoever.