After watching a great film, it is rare that we give conscious credit to the editing (which is actually a silent compliment to the editors). However, how the film was cut creates most of the powerful feelings we get while watching and is a major contributor to our final thoughts on a film. CineFix has put together what they believe to be the top 10 most effective editing moments of all time, and it's certainly worth noting the editing mastery at work.
Here is a list of the movies featured:
- City of God
- Bonnie and Clyde
- North by Northwest
- The Godfather
- Battleship Potemkin
- Psycho
- Un Chien Andalou
- Apocalypse Now
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Lawrence of Arabia
What are some of your favorite film edits of all time? Do you think editing played a role in why it's your favorite? Pulp Fiction is high on the list for myself.
I think editing is one of the most under appreciated elements of the filmmaking process, despite the fact that the editor defines the pacing, the dramatic momentum of the story and articulates the visual texture of the film in the way the material is intercut.
I think Memento by Christopher Nolan is a prime example of the power of editing. By taking a murder mystery and then cutting the story so it plays backwards it provides a truly unique cinematic puzzle for audiences to unravel that is completely dependent on how the editing is presented.
Great call on Memento!
While I agree that editing definitely isn't appreciated enough and Memento is undeniably prime example of great editing, we have to remember that big part of this "playing backwards" construction was already in the script.
There is a great documentary about feature film editing called "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing" from 2004. Worth a watch for anybody interested in this part of post production.