The Cutting Edge The Magic Of Editing
Bullitt's dynamic editing, highlighted by its twisting, squealing, hill-leaping chase sequence that leaves viewers whooping and woozy, earned a 1968 Best Film Editing Oscar and helped make the film an action classic. How do film editors work this kind of magic? This fascinating program lets you in on the secrets. "What makes a movie a movie is the editing," says Zach Staenberg, Academy Award-winning* editor of the Matrix trilogy. Closeups, flashbacks, parallel action, slow motion, juxtaposition of images - these are just a few tools that make clips from Birth of a Nation to Pulp Fiction, The Battleship Potemkin to Gladiator indelible. Narrated by Kathy Bates and with interviews of a who’s who of contemporary directors and editors, The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is, shot for shot and frame after frame, reel magic.
Member Reviews
It's about time the Editor was recognized - Chuck_Bytes
Only true fans of film know how important the editing is, It could make or break a movie. This docu reveals some of the magic that is behind the true creation of a good movie. Although I thought this was more of a 'how to edit' it turned out to be a history of editing. Still worth viewing.An eye opening experience - dexx74
This is a must see experience of the world of film editing for those that are interested in more than the finished picture. This documentary shows that there is a whole world out there beyond what you see in the theatre and on DVD. This shows how film editing began, ideas and evolution into the standards that are around now. Although this show will not teach you how to become a film editor, it will give you ideas, enlighten your thoughts, expand your range of knowledge and entertain you with things in movie you never thought that was going on. It takes thought to edit films and this shows you why and how. A must see for those that want to know more than the finished product and how things came to be in the modern movie worked. Definitely recommended for those interested in history, present and future of films and editing.Hey! The camera moved! - JulioSof
Like "Visions of Light" before it, which celebrated cinematography, "The Cutting Edge" reveals the art of editing movies. And it truly is an art. For cinephiles and filmmakers, who know that what we see is what the editor wants us to see, this isn't news. For clueless moviegoers, however, "The Cutting Edge" may clarify misconceptions. David Lean didn't cut from that match to an Arabian desert. Stanley Kubrick didn't cut from a thrown bone to a spaceship. Their editors did.
For Lean and Kubrick, auteurs involved in all aspects of their films, that stretches the point. But there's no doubt that an editor's sense of narrative, performance and pacing can make or break a scene, sometimes an entire film. As the top tier editors and directors interviewed here admit, a good actor or director is only as good as the film's editor. The clips from films, showing how scenes are shaped, are craft lessons easy and entertaining to absorb. Actress Kathy Bates narrates.
This documentary is available singly or among the forgettable extras in the 2005 two-disc edition of the Peter Yates police procedural "Bullitt." That film is famous for its car chase over the hills of San Francisco. "The Cutting Edge" features the editing of that chase, as well as exciting sequences from other films, and alone is worth the price of the re-issue. It certainly is as interesting as anything in "Bullitt," which doesn't bear close scrutiny these many years later.
Member Reviews
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It's about time the Editor was recognized - Chuck_Bytes
Only true fans of film know how important the editing is, It could make or break a movie. This docu reveals some of the magic that is behind the true creation of a good movie. Although I thought this was more of a 'how to edit' it turned out to be a history ...An eye opening experience - dexx74
This is a must see experience of the world of film editing for those that are interested in more than the finished picture. This documentary shows that there is a whole world out there beyond what you see in the theatre and on DVD. This shows how film editing ...Hey! The camera moved! - JulioSof
Like "Visions of Light" before it, which celebrated cinematography, "The Cutting Edge" reveals the art of editing movies. And it truly is an art. For cinephiles and filmmakers, who know that what we see is what the editor wants us to see, this isn't news. ...