I found the video, The Way Things Go, to be very surprising in how well it was able to hold up for such a long time. Each action has a consequence on the next action, and yet they are all connected so well, and the precision and timing of each action that occurs is nearly flawless.
The chain reaction that is caused from the precise relationship of each object to the next is something that must have taken a very long time to perfect. Several variables must have gone into play, and they all had to connect in a way that could keep the chain going.
I especially liked how liquid chemicals and fire played such a large role in this. The one constant that seemed to recur throughout the reaction was that liquids could be counted on to go in a very specific direction and to carry a specific weight. As more liquid collided with the next object in the reaction, the pressure is what allowed the chain reaction to continue.
Gravity, though, probably had the largest role to play. Each action was connected through gravity, because each object’s weight could be counted on to have the same relationship to gravity over and over again, and this was critical to the entire chain reaction so that both cause and effect could take place.