The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Directed by

Wendy Apple

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 39m

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 112 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary explains how film editing works and why it matters. It talks to many editors and shows clips from famous movies to illustrate the craft.

informativeretrospectiveappreciativediscussion-drivennostalgiceducationalbehind-the-scenes

What happens

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. 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• A Decade Under the Influence (2003)
• For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009)
• The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004)
• A Century of Cinema (1994)
• Women Who Made the Movies (1990)
• Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' (2000)
• Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood (2004)
• Side by Side (2012)