The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

Last updated
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
DVD cover of the movie The Cutting Edge- The Magic of Movie Editing.jpg
DVD cover
Directed byWendy Apple
Written by Mark Jonathan Harris
Produced byWendy Apple
Starring Zach Staenberg
Jodie Foster
Michael Tronick
Anthony Minghella
Sean Penn
Martin Scorsese
Steven Spielberg
Quentin Tarantino
Narrated by Kathy Bates
Cinematography John Bailey
Edited byTim Tobin
Music byNic. tenBroek
Production
companies
TCEP, Inc.
Distributed by Starz Encore
Release dates
  • October 12, 2004 (2004-10-12)(Hollywood Film Festival)
  • October 20, 2004 (2004-10-20)(Japan)
  • December 12, 2004 (2004-12-12)(United States)
Running time
97 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget<$1,000,000 [1]

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a 2004 documentary film about the history and art of film editing, directed by filmmaker Wendy Apple. The film brings up many topics, including the collaborative nature of filmmaking, female representation in the editing field, and emerging technologies of the 21st century. Clips shown in the documentary were taken from feature films of the past century noted for their innovations in editing, ranging from 1903's Life of an American Fireman to 2003's Cold Mountain .

Contents

The documentary was produced in response to the 1992 documentary film on cinematography, Visions of Light , and the lack of good documentaries focusing on film editors. Apple and her executive producer, Alan Heim, struck a deal with Warner Bros. to license nearly 300 film clips for free. The documentary was filmed all over California, featuring interviews with dozens of film editors, directors, actors, and producers. These interviews were later transcribed for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Cutting Edge premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival on October 12, 2004. The documentary later aired on the Japanese television station NHK on October 20, 2004, and was released on the premium cable channel Encore on December 12, 2004. The documentary was well-received for its choice of interviewees, especially with the stories of its director-editor collaborations. However, the film was criticized for its choice of recent films and an oversimplified history of film editing. In later years, the documentary was used for education of people learning to be film editors.

Synopsis

MartinScorsese(cannes).crop.jpg
Thelma Schoonmaker KVIFF (cropped).jpg
Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker are among the director-editor collaborators appearing in the documentary. They were interviewed in March 2004. [1]

The documentary features interviews with 30 contemporary film editors as well as 17 other individuals, including directors, actors, and producers. [2] Throughout these interviews, many personal stories between the directors and editors are mentioned, such as Steven Spielberg and the late Verna Fields, Quentin Tarantino and Sally Menke, Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, and Alexander Payne and Kevin Tent, among others.

The documentary also explores the history of editing techniques, bringing up pioneers of the field such as Edwin S. Porter, D.W. Griffith, Dziga Vertov, and Lev Kuleshov, the latter of whom innovated the Kuleshov Effect. [3] Editing techniques mentioned in the documentary include cross-cutting (shown through footage of Life of an American Fireman ), close-ups and cutting on action (shown through footage of Orphans of the Storm and The Matrix ), as well as jump cuts (shown through footage of Breathless ). Behind-the-scenes footage of The Matrix Reloaded and Cold Mountain is showcased; the latter depicts Walter Murch standing up while he edits the film.

The documentary also notes that many early film editors were women and that their tasks were seen as similar to sewing. In the words of editor Walter Murch, "you took these pieces of fabric...and you put them together". Since the rise of sound films in the 1930s, the editing field has become dominated by men since sound was seen as more technical and electrical. Despite this, some female editors thrived. The film highlights Margaret Booth's long career as a supervising film editor. The film also features interviews with several contemporary female film editors, such as Anne V. Coates, Tina Hirsch, Lynzee Klingman, Carol Littleton, Sally Menke, and Thelma Schoonmaker.

Near the end, the documentary cites filmmaking trends of the early 2000s. These include the prevalence of quicker-cutting editing and computer-generated imagery in films, as well as the use of these technologies to simplify both previsualization and the use of virtual actors. The documentary concludes by showcasing the importance of the collaboration between the director and the film editor, especially with editors essentially "re-writing" a film already shot. Examples the documentary brings up are Kevin Tent's cutting of Alexander Payne's Election after paying $75 to the director, Alan Heim's cutting of Bob Fosse's Lenny , and Richard Marks' and Walter Murch's cutting of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now . The documentary ends with a montage of film editors holding up their Academy Awards, as well as a speech by Robert Zemeckis after winning the "Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year" at the 2001 American Cinema Editors Awards. [4]

Production

Film editor Alan Heim (pictured in 2016) was the executive producer of The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. The Oscar winning Editor, Hollywood, Alan Heim at the Master Class on Film Editing, during the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2016), in Panaji, Goa on November 27, 2016.jpg
Film editor Alan Heim (pictured in 2016) was the executive producer of The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing.

The documentary was originally conceptualized by director Wendy Apple and executive producer Alan Heim in 2001 after being inspired by the 1992 documentary film Visions of Light . Apple attempted to find any books or documentaries about film editors, but could not find any useful sources. Heim, who was the president of American Cinema Editors at the time, told CineMontage Magazine that "[i]t's the editors' shot at getting some airtime." [1] In an attempt to secure the rights to the nearly 300 clips featured in the documentary, Apple and Heim were given the rights for free by Judith Singer. Singer, the head of clips at Warner Bros., thought the documentary was a great idea. Normally, the clips would have cost the production millions of dollars. [1]

The budget of the documentary was less than a million dollars. An additional $20,000 was added to secure the music rights, although the filmmakers had to remove a track from the 1980 film Raging Bull . The companies that helped fund the film included the Japanese broadcasting company NHK, the Dutch channel AVRO, the BBC, Warner Home Video, and Starz Encore. [1] NHK was particularly interested in the documentary because it was shot in high-definition. George Feltenstein, who led Warner Home Video, was extremely fascinated by the documentary due to the use of classic films. [1] The film also featured volunteer work from students at the University of Southern California as well as the sound department from the 2004 film, The Notebook . [5]

The documentary was shot in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, who were working on The Aviator at the time, recorded their interviews just as the film was locked in March 2004. [1] In an interview with CineMontage, Heim revealed that his favorite interview was with Steven Spielberg, who gave him around an hour of interesting stories for the documentary. [1] Apple recorded over a hundred hours of interviews and sent all the transcripts to the Margaret Herrick Library, which hosted research materials for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [1]

On March 22, 2004, the documentary was announced in a press release for the HD simulcast Encore HD. The press release writes, "Encore HD features star interviews, movie trivia between films, Encore original series geared towards movie lovers". [6]

Films examined

Cast

Every interviewee (listed alphabetically below) appears as themselves. [2]

Actress Kathy Bates narrates the documentary. [2] Editors mentioned in the documentary include Margaret Booth, Verna Fields, and Owen Marks.

Release

The Cutting Edge premiered as the Hollywood Film Festival's opening film on the night of October 12, 2004. [2] [7] The film was later screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 15–16, 2004. [8] Afterwards, the film had a special screening at the Museum of Television & Radio on December 9, 2004. Panelists for the museum screening included director Wendy Apple with editors Carol Littleton, Craig McKay, Thelma Schoonmaker, and Tim Tobin. [9] The documentary later premiered on Encore on December 12, 2004. [10] [11]

The special also premiered in Japan on October 20, 2004. It was broadcast on NHK as part of its Hi-Vision Special Feature  [ ja ] program. [12]

Reception

The film was well received for its choice of interviewees. Jim Hemphill of American Cinematographer praised the choice of the film's interviewees. He also compared The Cutting Edge to the 1992 documentary Visions of Light , calling both films "an entertaining and inspiring overview of the history of an art form." [13] Writing for High-Def Digest, Peter M. Bracke also praised the interviewees featured in the documentary. He also notes that it is the only high-definition bonus feature included in the Bullitt Blu-ray. [14] Scott Foundas of Variety gave The Cutting Edge a positive review, calling it "a lively, occasionally illuminating tour" through its choice of interviewees. Foundas especially praised the documentary for highlighting director-editor collaborations, such as director Bob Fosse and editor Alan Heim in their film Lenny . [2]

Critics also liked the personal stories and opinions told in the documentary. Gerald Perry of Boston Phoenix and Scott Foundas of Variety liked the lively stories of the profession throughout the movie, giving special note to Steven Spielberg's quote to editor Verna Fields upon cutting Jaws: "The shark would only look good at 36 frames, not 38 frames, the difference between something scary and a floating turd." [10] [2] Scott Foundas also humored Martin Scorsese's reaction to Goddard's Breathless , calling the use of jump cuts "too hip for me". [2] Christopher Null liked James Cameron's one-frame removal trick seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day . Null adds that the stories may be "all a little bit insidery and self-congratulatory," but they work well for the documentary. [15]

Matt Roush of TV Guide Magazine praised the documentary, calling it "a celebration and history of a highly technical yet fiercely intuitive craft". He gave the documentary a perfect 10/10 score. [16] Reviewing the DVD release of the film, Ken Korman of Sound & Vision praised the film, writing that it is more in-depth than many behind-the-scenes bonus features. He especially praised the documentary for letting editors speak, including Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese's editor. He ended his review by writing, "You'll come away with a deeper understanding of how movie magic is made, and you'll want to watch your favorites again with new eyes." Korman gave the overall film 4/5 stars. [17]

However, many critics felt that the history presented in the documentary was simplified. Scott Foundas noted that the choice of films weighed heavily towards the last thirty years. He also wrote that the film maintained "an academic distance" from film editing while not showcasing many possible ways to edit a single film. [2] In particular, critics did not like the documentary's focus on Walter Murch's work on Cold Mountain . Gerald Perry of the Boston Phoenix wrote that Murch was "a bit windy," [10] while Christopher Null wrote, "I can't help but wish it hadn't been a more exciting scene in a more noteworthy movie." In addition, Null criticized director Wendy Apple's mixed choice of movies, such as Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and XXX . But mixed with his praises towards the documentary, Null gave the film 3.5/5 stars. [15]

Legacy

The documentary was featured on several "must-watch" lists, including /Film [18] and 20 Minutos . [19] The American Cinema Editors features the entire documentary on the ACE Educational Center, which is a "curated collection of instructive videos and podcasts for those in the profession of film and television editing." [20] In an interview with KPBS in 2016, Alan Heim told Beth Accomando that the documentary had "taken me to Moscow and [...] Siberia. Willingly", adding that the film is "a very good teaching tool." [21] Srujana Adusumilli, who edited the 2023 Indian film Mem Famous, told The New Indian Express that the documentary inspired her to become a film editor. [22]

Home video

The documentary was originally included in a 2-disc release of the 1968 film Bullitt , [13] which was released on March 31, 2005. [23] The documentary was also included in the Blu-ray version of Bullitt, released on February 27, 2007. [14] [24] The documentary was later released as a stand-alone DVD by Warner Home Video on September 6, 2005. [17] [25] [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Award for Best Film Editing</span> Annual award for Best Film Editing

The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing. Only the principal, "above the line" editor(s) as listed in the film's credits are named on the award; additional editors, supervising editors, etc. are not currently eligible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Powell</span> English film director

Michael Latham Powell was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951).

<i>Bullitt</i> 1968 film by Peter Yates

Bullitt is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen as the title character, San Francisco police detective Frank Bullitt, who pursues a group of mobsters after they kill the witness he's been assigned to protect. The cast also features Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland and Norman Fell. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner was based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness by Robert L. Fish, under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike. The film was made by McQueen's Solar Productions company, with his partner Robert Relyea as executive producer. Lalo Schifrin wrote the original jazz-inspired score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final Cut Pro</span> Video editing software by Apple

Final Cut Pro is a professional non-linear video-editing application initially developed by Macromedia, and, since 1998, by Apple as part of its pro apps collection. Final Cut Pro allows users to import, edit, and process video footage, and output it to a wide variety of formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Murch</span> American film editor and sound designer

Walter Scott Murch is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. His work includes THX 1138, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather I, II, and III, American Graffiti, The Conversation, Ghost and The English Patient, with three Academy Award wins.

<i>Visions of Light</i> 1992 documentary film

Visions of Light is a 1992 documentary film directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels. The film covers the art of cinematography since the conception of cinema at the turn of the 20th century. It features numerous filmmakers and cinematographers as interview subjects, presenting their views and discussing the importance of cinematography in the craft of filmmaking.

Michael Kahn is an American film editor known for his frequent collaboration with Steven Spielberg. His first collaboration with Spielberg was for his 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He has edited all of Spielberg's subsequent films except for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which was edited by Carol Littleton. Kahn has received eight Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing, and has won three times—for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), which were all Spielberg-directed films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Sargeant (writer)</span> British writer (born 1968)

Jack Sargeant is a British writer specialising in cult film, underground film, and independent film, as well as subcultures, true crime, and other aspects of the unusual. In addition he is a film programmer, curator, academic and photographer. He has appeared in underground films and performances. He currently lives in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Schoonmaker</span> American film editor (born 1940)

Thelma Schoonmaker is an American film editor, best known for her collaboration over five decades with director Martin Scorsese. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four ACE Eddie Awards. She has been honored with the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1997, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2014, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne V. Coates</span> British film editor (1925–2018)

Anne Voase Coates was a British film editor with a more than 60-year-long career. She was perhaps best known as the editor of David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, for which she won an Oscar. Coates was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for the films Lawrence of Arabia, Becket (1963), The Elephant Man (1980), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Out of Sight (1998). In an industry where women accounted for only 16 per cent of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2004, and 80 per cent of the films had absolutely no women on their editing teams at all, Coates thrived as a top film editor. She was awarded BAFTA's highest honour, a BAFTA Fellowship, in February 2007 and was given an Academy Honorary Award, which are popularly known as a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, in November 2016 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The 57th ACE Eddie Awards of the American Cinema Editors were given on 18 February 2007 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The American Cinema Editors (ACE) gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1988.

Sarah Flack is an American film editor. She frequently worked with American independent film directors Steven Soderbergh and Sofia Coppola. Flack's work on Lost in Translation won her the BAFTA Award for Best Editing. The film went on to win numerous other awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and an American Cinema Editors Eddie award with Robert Pulcini for co-editing the HBO film "Cinema Verite".

Susan Elaina Morse is an American film editor with more than 30 film credits. She had a notable collaboration with director Woody Allen from 1977 to 1998. She's received nominations for an Academy Award, five BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Frank P. Keller was an American film and television editor with 24 feature film credits from 1958 - 1977. He is noted for the series of films he edited with director Peter Yates, for his four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing ("Oscars"), and for the "revolutionary" car chase sequence in the film Bullitt (1968) that likely won him the editing Oscar.

Post-classical editing is a style of film editing characterized by shorter shot lengths, faster cuts between shots, and containing more jump shots and close-ups than classical editing characteristic of films prior to the 1960s.

Lisa Fruchtman is an American film and television editor, and documentary director with about 25 film credits. Fruchtman won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for The Right Stuff (1983). With her brother, Rob Fruchtman, she produced, directed, and edited the 2012 documentary Sweet Dreams.

<i>In the Blink of an Eye</i> (Murch book) Film editing book by Walter Murch

In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing is a 1992 non-fiction filmmaking book on the art and craft of editing authored by Walter Murch. The book suggests editors prioritize emotion over the pure technicalities of editing. According to The Film Stage, the book “is often considered the essential literary source on film editing.”

The 70th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards were presented on January 17, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton, honoring the best editors in film and television of 2019. The nominees were announced on December 11, 2019.

<i>The Conversations</i> 2002 book by Michael Ondaatje

The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film is a book of interviews between novelist Michael Ondaatje and film editor and sound designer Walter Murch. Ondaatje met Murch when he was editing the adaptation of Ondaatje's novel The English Patient. Throughout the book, Murch offers insight into films he worked on, including The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux. The book is divided into five "conversations" and contains contributions from directors and producers Murch has worked with, including George Lucas, Coppola, Rick Schmidlin and Anthony Minghella and stills from the films discussed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Carroll, Tomm (November 1, 2004). "Editors Finally Get Their Close-Up: Alan Heim on 'The Cutting Edge'". CineMontage. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Foundas, Scott (October 15, 2004). "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  3. ↑ Hewitt, Chris (February 10, 2021). "What does a movie editor do? 7 great examples of their invisible art". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Zemeckis gets 'Golden Eddie'". The Hanford Sentinel. Associated Press. December 7, 2000. p. 2. Retrieved March 29, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Skweres, Mary Ann (January 15, 2005). "Alan Heim and The Cutting Edge". Below the Line. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Starz Encore Group Announces March 22 Launch of Encore HD". PR Newswire. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on March 11, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2024– via Yahoo!.
  7. ↑ Welkos, Robert W. (October 9, 2004). "Hollywood Film Festival gets Tinseltown's attention". The Los Angeles Times. p. 59. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ Eddy, Cheryl (October 13, 2004). "San Francisco Bay Guardian". Bay Guardian Co.. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  9. ↑ The Museum of Television & Radio – 2004 Report (PDF). 2004. p. 19. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Perry, Gerald (December 10, 2004). "Cuts Above – Anya at the MFA; The Cutting Edge on STARZ". Boston Phoenix. p. 49. Retrieved March 29, 2024– via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Urbani, Laura (December 11, 2004). "'Cutting Edge' brings film editors to forefront". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  12. ↑ "ハイビジョン特集 「カッティング・エッジ」". NHKクロニクル (in Japanese). October 20, 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Hemphill, Jim. "DVD Playback – Bullitt (1968) Special Edition". American Cinematographer. No. October 2005. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Bracke, Peter M. (February 27, 2007). "Bullitt Review". High-Def Digest. Archived from the original on August 28, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Null, Christopher (September 17, 2005). "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing". Contactmusic.com . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ Roush, Matt (December 12, 2004). "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing". TV Guide Magazine. 52: 69. It's a celebration and history of a highly technical yet fiercely intuitive craft, from D.W. Griffith's innovative use of close-ups and cross-cutting in the silent era to George Lucas's digital revolution...MY SCORE (0–10): 10/10
  17. 1 2 Korman, Ken (October 2, 2005). "DVD REVIEWS: The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing". Sound & Vision. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  18. ↑ Herbert, Jeremy (November 3, 2021). "15 Must-Watch Documentaries About Filmmaking". SlashFilm. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  19. ↑ Roldán, Eduardo (July 3, 2019). "Los 30 documentales sobre cine que tienes que ver". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Videos on Editing" . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Crew Call With Film Editor Alan Heim". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved April 1, 2024. It's a feature-length film, it was released on Starz the TV network and it's available somewhere in the world. It...has been used for teaching purposes all over the world. It's taken me to Moscow and [unintelligible] and to Siberia. Willingly. It's a very good teaching tool.
  22. ↑ Cherukuri, Abhilasha (May 18, 2023). "Srujana's journey from Engineering to editing films". The New Indian Express. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  23. ↑ Salas, Randy A. (May 25, 2005). "Double-dipping: Smark marketing or dirty pool?". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 19. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  24. ↑ McCutcheon, David (January 18, 2007). "McQueen Goes HD". IGN. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ "This week's new releases – The Cutting Edge". The Toronto Star. September 3, 2005. p. 236. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  26. ↑ ""The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing" DVD from Warner Home Video". Warner Bros. May 31, 2005. Retrieved March 30, 2005.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.