The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing Reviews

• Does not live up to billing

  
  By A22C6UNCS5K2A8 on 2005-09-20
  I'm a filmmaker, university film instructor, and author/writer of film topics. I was excited to hear about this DVD because, to quote it's own blurb "this fascinating program lets you in on the secrets..." of film editing I had presumed. I expected an educational presentation that would dissect the cuts and the tricks, and show the development of a scene from the multiple takes and camera angles, and how an editor selects, massages, and makes it come together visually and aurally. There is a little of that... maybe 10%. The rest of it is talking heads about the "secrets" and the pontificating by directors and editors about how amazing they both are. Good Grief! Save me the self-aggrandizement. I think you've heard the adage: "Don't tell me, show me." There is far too much talking head about what is done, but there are no examples of scenes "in process" but only the final cut. The examples are only referential. Very disappointing. And Tarantino's gushing and hugging his editor has nothing to do with how editing works. This is a blatant ACE promotional piece masking as a documentary. Especially disappointing was the Sharon Stone crotch shots from Basic Instinct that destroys the DVD for high schools and makes it inappropriate for most other audiences. Even the director admits that the inclusion of these shots was NOT at the editor's discretion, but was his intent all along, no doubt to get at the audience's "basic instincts." The shots have everything to do with the story... but little to do with a secret of editing... more to do with the secrets and tricks of marketing. I had hoped to use this in my classes, but I cannot. I am returning the two I ordered. Can't use 'em.
  
  

• This is a fascinating documentary

  
  By A3JNVI7XF1LE4A on 2005-08-03
  if you are interested in the art of film. Note that this is the same documentary that was included as an extra in the recent DVD of Steve McQueen's "Bullitt" so if you already have that DVD, you don't need this. Of course, if you want to spend a few extra bucks, you can get this some documentary and a kick butt Steve McQueen movie to go with it.
  
  

• Nice intro to editing

  
  By A11SLSXFK8SWIX on 2005-10-04
  It's NOT a technician's viewpoint of how to edit. It IS a great overview of the history of editing style and film. If you have never looked took film history classes, this may be the best intro to the art of editing I have seen. It is interesting for non-editors and editors alike. I watched the cable version several times, learning new things each time. It was especially interesting to see how and when editing broke the rules and forged new styles. It has made me much more connected with the art of my craft. WHhen I watch old movies now, I can place them in the correct "editing era" easily. I am now ordering the DVD since it supposedly has some extra material not covered in the broadcast version, and since it has already proven to be a good review for watching multiple times. The material on the relationships between director and editor are also very interesting to me. I would say that things I learned in this one video have improved my editing style by double.
  
  

• Not enough Technique!

  
  By A3OIHEXH86Q35M on 2006-04-26
  This DVD is a nice overview of editing history but the time spent with the talking heads (especially the "I love editing/editors" segments) could have been put to better use showing more sequences of editing choices and how the final selection was made to what effect. When one watches a program/film on editing, isn't the point to LEARN more than to be entertained? I wanted a film that explained the language of editing, the aesthetic/artistic process, the technical process and the end result on film viewer/reader so that my literature class could learn more about the unique elements of film as an artform in our examination of interpreting theme from narrative forms (including narrative film). Years ago, I could just copy segments from my VHS tapes to show my students exactly what I wanted so we didn't use two full class meetings with filler and still need to view something else to discuss lighting, sound and mise-en-scene!
  
  

• Hey! The camera moved!

  
  By A31D8QKJXU93BT on 2005-09-15
  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.
  
  
  
• History, Tribute & Technique
  By A2XZA4NQFSMJAO on 2006-02-26
  As a wannabe short film maker (animations, mostly) I was hoping for some nifty tips on editing technique. I got some, but I also got a lot of history and tribute to various editors of yore. All very interesting, and I enjoyed the entire film, but it is not a course on editing. That might make it more interesting to a wide audience of movie enthusiasts.
  
  
• A useful historic overview
  By A390QRUYZC3NM on 2006-11-04
  Although I had hoped, judging from the title, that this movie would delve into the craft of editing, which it really doesn't, it does offer an interesting historic overview of the increasingly important role of the editor. The interviewed editors and directors are all leading Hollywood folks, and it's Hollywood's history all the way. One could spend lots of time reviewing the many clips from major films that are used as illustrations and learn a lot from them.
  What I liked least, is the high percentage of violent and fast-cut film clips used. Towards the end, several editors speak about how today's youger generations can follow ad absorb the sensory overload, and "that's what they want." Well, that's Hollywood for you.
  
  
  
• A decent introduction to the importance of the movie editor
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2007-07-31
  "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing" is a 2004 documentary celebrating the first century of film editing. Those expecting a fitting counterpart to "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" are going to be a bit disappointed because this documentary is not on that same level. What you will find is part history lesson on the development of movie editing and part introduction to the things film editors do. The emphasis at the beginning is all about cutting, but we will learn that film editors make a lot of other decisions and there are lots of film editors and directors appearing as talking heads to explain these things with accompanying examples from lots of classic (and not so classic) films. Quentin Tarantino speaks to the importance of a single frame and his reasons for deciding to work with a female film editor, and Steven Spielberg talks about the objectivity of the film editor. But you have to wish that this documentary could have let these points be made by the film editors themselves since one of the premises here is that film editors are often forgotten when people think about how a film is made.
  
  The history lesson begins with not only the creation of movie editing when Edwin Porter, one of Thomas Edison's employees, first cut scenes together to create a story in 1903, first in "The Life of an American Fireman" and then the more famous "Great Train Robbery." A theoretical distinction between the polar approaches of D.W. Griffith's seamless editing, as in "The Birth of a Nation," versus the more manipulative approach of Russian documentary filmmaker Dziga Vertov and his team in "Man with a Movie Camera" and later Sergei Eisenstein in "Battleship Potemkin." The history of film editing seems to come down to certain individuals who were in the right place at the right time, but there is also the interesting observation that originally women were film editors because the task was seen as being akin to knitting, and it was not until sound was introduced and the process became so "technical" than men started doing the job instead. Ultimately the goal in this documentary is not just to be informative but to persuade viewers that after the director and the stars the film editor is the most important person involved in the production of a film and in creating "the final script."
  
  Sections are devoted to the general idea of cutting action, suspense, or sex, as well as cutting for the studios or to make the actor a star. At one point "The Rules" are established, and then the documentary looks at how successful film editors have broken all of those rules. Specific examples of editing that look at the specific choices that were made are fairly rare in this documentary. There is a brief example from "Home for the Holiday" where we actually get to see some of the choices for cutting a scene where a turkey falls on Cynthia Stevenson, but usually all you get is the editor describing after the fact what they did, as with Walter Murch and the hotel sequence at the start of "Apocalypse Now." There are a couple of choice examples of how sound comes into play with Pietro Scalla in "Black Hawk Down" and Tina Hirsch in "Dante's Peak," that helps to expand our notion of film editing. Then you have the extreme case of Alan Heim convincing director Bob Fosse to cut 20 minutes following the climactic courtroom scene in "Lenny" to get to Bruce's death. The problem is every time you get one of these specific examples you want more and the documentary is more likely to get back to a general topic (I was waiting for a section on the concept of American montage exemplified by the baptism scene in "The Godfather," but that never came). Still, you do get a decent introduction to the topic.
  
  
• Power of the Cut!
  By AW5IN2UE4T0M on 2007-04-04
  There is much you can say about this except Awesome! It is great to see some of the behind the scenes that is needed to understand what an editor does. I have to admit, I didn't have any idea as to what the editors job was and now I do. Wonderful story told the way it should. There are some foul mouth parts but the message that it gives is worth it. If you are a video production instructor, this is a MUST HAVE resource.
  
  
• not disappointed
  By A2R5718RT2SQVN on 2006-03-03
  I wanted this DVD for my high school video class. It served us well! They enjoyed it, and learned some at the same time. I learned some aspects of edting that I didn't even know, including the history of editing. It was a great buy for me.
  
  
• great documentary
  By A15QH7MLLIXXPE on 2007-01-16
  It's one of a kind doumentary about editing. It enhances the importance of the craft in the making of movies. It covers the history and different cutting styles, interviews and plenty of film clips. I was hungry for more, so far there is not another documentary on the subject.
  
  
  
• Just like film school.
  By A3CX4SPIEQFAEL on 2006-07-31
  This DVD goes over many examples used in film school. It has many good examples of films to review. And interesting takes on editing.
  
  
  
  
• Better than expected
  By A3NGVZVYD69JOS on 2007-04-04
  A surprisingly entertaining piece. Made editing more of an art than a technical undertaking.
  
  
• cutting edge dvd
  By A1A7YTW9VOAA0T on 2007-05-09
  As a Media teacher, this DVD is an excellent resource for my students - it outlines the history of narrative through montage, from its earliest days, through 'important' developments of such directors as Griffiths and Eisenstein. It also explores the function of a variety of styles and techniques that have become conventions in specific genres. Perhaps most valuably it has some of the 'greats' of directing and editing discussing the editing process. While it is Amero-centric in terms of its subject matter, it is entirely appropriate for my students.
  
  
• Fun and Informational DVD
  By A1510G54NK6W0 on 2007-08-05
  I taught Video Editing for the New York Film Academy this summer and used this video in my class. It is very informational and fun to watch. I especially enjoyed the portion on the history of film and editing.
  
  
• Easy to relate to this DVD
  By A2QDPJRVXL7P4F on 2007-08-14
  I highly recommend this DVD to all amateur film makers, movie buffs who want to learn about the magic of film editing, and film students.
  
  I first started filming home movies using Super 8 film some thirty years ago! I remember loving editing my movies. At first, I used to cut portions of the film that were out of focus or were too jerky. Then I learnt to cut and mix film together, creating a more dramatic movie. Sometimes I would cut scenes from Hollywood movies into my home made movies. As I became older and more proficient in movie editing, I started adding sound and music. It was fun, and all techniques I used were self-learnt.
  
  I have gone a long ways since those days of cutting film. I now shoot my home made movies in digital format and use my computer to edit and create my movies. Obviously, I now have more powerful editing tools, and the process has become so much easier.
  
  Why do I relate the above story about myself? I really relate to this DVD and how film editing has evolved throughout the years. This DVD is a great history of film editors and their methods, and if like me you once worked with film, you will relate to and truly enjoy this DVD.
  
  Film making was born the same year the Wright Brothers took to the sky. No one thought film making would survive. Scenes were shot until either the film maker got bored shooting the scene or the film ran out. For example, film makers would shoot a train passing by, or people walking or playing. Remember that in the beginning film was black and white and silent. Why would people watch a film when they can see the same events for real; in color and with all the natural sounds? Edison thought film making will be just an amusement, with a very limited life, and nothing more. However, his associate thought otherwise. He was the first to actually edit film, and thus produce a story. For example, the film would show firemen running out of their fire department, and then cut to a lady in distress in a burning house. The film would then cut again to the firemen racing to their cars, and then once again to the poor lady in distress. This would go on until the firemen finally reach the burning house and save the lady. Through editing, it was now possible to tell a story. Overnight, film making was viewed in a different light.
  
  At first, all film editors were women. Editing, or cutting, was viewed as knitting. The Film house would decide on the editing of the movie, not the editors, producers, or directors. When sound was introduced to films, men, viewed as more technical, started taking jobs as editors.
  
  Close-ups at first were shunned. Who would want to see a close-up of the actor's face? People paid money to see the whole actor from head to toe, not just his face. It took pioneering editors to introduce close-ups in movies. Close-ups enabled actors to show emotions. This was an instant hit in movies, and many editors followed suit.
  
  At first, all editors worked in the background, never credited with their work and remaining unknown to the public. Yet it is the editors who make a movie into a movie. A movie can fail to relate the emotions of a character if the editing is lousy. For example, in Bonnie and Clyde, the scene where Clyde tells Bonnie that he is a bank robber is edited in a way to show the emotions and eroticism of the characters. The camera shows a close-up of the gun, then a close-up of the face of Bonnie looking down at the gun, then up at Clyde, then a close-up of Clyde. Imagine that same scene if it were one camera shooting the whole scene in one shot, with no close-ups, and in one angle. It would be hard for the characters in such a shot to show us their emotions. Editing therefore makes a big difference in bringing characters to life. It is no wonder that editing is viewed as the soul of the movie!
  
  Film editing also allowed fascist states to use film for propaganda purposes. One such film was filmed for Hitler, using smart editing techniques to show Hitler as a god. Editing allowed the film to shift from Hitler giving a speech, to German parachutists jumping from a plane, to peasants supporting Hitler, and back to Hitler giving his speech. This editing technique gave strong emotions to viewers of the film. The US also used film to encourage its nation to war in its documentary, `Why we go to war'.
  
  Film editors had specific rules to work with when editing and those rules were never to be broken. For example, a shot would show an actor driving to his house, then getting out of his car, walking towards his front door, where he meets his wife on the porch. All those shots are filmed from head to toe so to speak. Then the actor will speak with his wife, and only then we would see a close up of the actors face, then a close up of the actor's wife, then a wide shot of both of them talking together. No editors deviated from this system...but not for long. Again, pioneering editors decided to tell a story in a different way, and broke all accepted and traditional editing methods. Slow motion was introduced in films like the `Terminator' with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Freezing a frame for a second or two was also a technique used in film to emphasize a moment, like in the movie `Out of sight' with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. Such freezing frames heightened the sexual moment between two characters. Editing techniques were also used to make a scene erotic but not sexual, or sexy but not erotic. For example, is it sexier to see a full frontal nude scene of an actor or an implied nude scene? I would choose the latter.
  
  Editors then started experimenting with chase scenes, a pretty difficult technique to master. `Bullitt's' dynamic editing, for example, with its action-packed chase sequence, earned a 1968 Best Film Editing Oscar. Similarly, `Matrix' with Keanu Reeves used dynamic editing in its chase sequence. These were methods unknown to earlier editors. Zach Staenberg, Academy Award-winning editor of the Matrix trilogy, says, "What makes a movie a movie is the editing." Tarantino only begins to make a movie when he enters the editor's room: A movie in not yet a movie before the editing process.
  
  As technology progressed, newer editing techniques were used. For example, flashbacks, parallel action, juxtaposition of images etc... The use of a green background screen allowed film editors flexibility unseen in earlier movies. `Star Wars', for example, uses a green screen to add actors to animated backgrounds. Computer generated animation also allowed film editors to take a movie to new heights unseen before.
  
  It took a while for editors to become appreciated, and when they did, the Oscars finally rewarded them with their little statues.
  
  This is really a great DVD that will trace the history of film editing. There are interviews with such notables as Spielberg and Tarantino among a few. I really enjoyed watching it, and I'm sure you will too.
  
  
  
• Great Insights
  By A3MP26DE9314PC on 2007-08-27
  A wonderfully informative introduction to the crucial art of movie editing which uses examples from film history to illustrate its points. An exemplary documentary which gets one under the glittering surface of movie magic and shows how great a contribution the film editor makes to the realisation of a director's dream. A must-have for anyone interested in movies and their apparent "magic".
  
  
• Movie editors come out of the closet
  By A20EEWWSFMZ1PN on 2007-10-27
  This documentary is a general overview of how film cutters evolved into film editors and took their place among the giants of the film industry.
  
  We are introduced to methods and philosophies used down through the ages and the metamorphosis from celluloid to digital recordings.
  
  As informative as this documentary is it suffers from sound-bite-itus instead of concentrating on one person or thought, we are leaped back and forth trough a collage of people, techniques, and time. This method of presentation can become quite boring after a time. Still the documentary (that only shows highlights and nothing practical) is worth viewing.
  
  
  
• very good teaching aid
  By A2IR6H9VDBMMHH on 2008-01-07
  The DVD is very good teaching material. It presents the evolution of editing with relevant examples. I recommend it without hesitation for anyone who wants to get familiar with the basics of editing.
  
  
• Excellent
  By A1WHZG9N7TH5BJ on 2008-01-18
  I first saw this video in class. It is an excellent video for those who are interested in being in the film industry. I liked it so much I had to buy it to add to our collection at home.
  
  

• Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography
• A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
• In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Edition
• The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
• Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know