Russell Crowe wanted epic Nuremberg scene shot in a day

Crowe said the actors wanted the four-day shoot to be condensed into one and it became one of the "most challenging" experiences he has had on set.

"It (was) probably one of the most challenging, thrilling and resonate days I've ever spent on a film set," he told Deadline.

"Michael and I knew each other from (Superman film) Man of Steel ... The courtroom scene was originally scheduled to be shot over four days. Michael and I discussed how there didn't seem to be natural stopping points. The scene was written like a duel, a fight sequence with concepts and philosophies as weapons ... 

"We had a chat with Jamie (director James Vanderbilt) and put forward the suggestion that we could play it as written. Seventeen pages in a day ... 

"No responsible production company is going to sensibly plan to hit a page count like that in a single day.

"As excited as he was about what we were suggesting, I think Jamie made some joking remark about how 17 pages in a day 'isn't humanly possible'.

"I deadpanned in return: 'Michael and I are from (Superman's home planet) Krypton'."

Shannon went on to reveal the pair didn't rehearse before going for their first take.

"The thing about a scene like that is that we're both trying to catch each other off guard," he said. 

"So there's an advantage to not knowing entirely what the other person's going to do beforehand ... So I think it's a perfect opportunity to not rehearse and to let people kind of live and die in the moment."

Director Vanderbilt revealed they were running 25-minute takes with four cameras to capture the courtroom scene and he credits the actors with making it work.

"(It) would be a challenge if you don't have Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon experiencing the ebb and flow," he said.

"It became this verbal gunfight."

Nuremberg - which also features Rami Malek and John Slattery - is due for release in November.