Genres

Visitors Review

Woodyanders 2013-05-20 11:36:30

An amazing and informative documentary on the invisible art

This excellent, engrossing and extremely illuminating documentarycovers the evolution of the crucial craft of film editing from thesilent era to the modern age. Editors initially started out as key, butanonymous contributors to motion pictures who in the 40's and 50's hadto staunchly adhere to certain strict guidelines. D.W. Griffith playeda substantial part in developing editing as a significant component ofmovies. The Russian filmmakers of the 20's and the French New Wavedirectors of the 50's further revolutionized editing by willfullybreaking certain established rules. Many different aspects of filmediting are extensively covered in fascinating detail: montage,juxtaposition, jump cuts, creating a rhythm, the challenge of cuttingchase sequences, the importance of sound, the powerful fusion of soundand image, fragmenting time and space, the difficulty of cutting sexscenes, and the contemporary style of rapid-fire fast cutting.Moreover, we learn that the editor is the most objective person to workon a movie, plays a major role in telling the story, and often worksvery closely with the director in the post-production process. Suchfamous directors as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, QuentinTarantino, and James Cameron discus the necessity of editors in thewhole film-making process. Editors Sally Menke (who was specificallyhired by Tarantino to cut "Reservoir Dogs" because he thought a femaleeditor would be more nurturing), Dede Allen, Mark Goldblatt, ZachStaenberg, Craig McKay, Michael Tronick, Donn Cambenn, Alan Heim, andespecially Walter Murch all relate great stories about editing variouspictures. Kevin Tent in particular has a choice anecdote about how hepaid director Alexander Payne 75 dollars to cut a specific sequence in"Election" a certain way that wound up being used in the finishedfeature. George Lucas hits the nail right on the head when he describesediting as "visual poetry." Kathy Bates provides the perfectly soberand respectful narration. Essential viewing.

2013-05-19 21:48:04

This is a fascinating documentary

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.

2013-05-01 01:33:57

not disappointed

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) 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.

2013-04-30 10:09:54

Edgy and educational

I have enjoyed showing this DVD to students that are interested in editing. It's educational AND edgy. Not rated for children though! It does have violent scenes, so be sure to watch it yourself before showing it to your audience.

2013-04-16 10:07:22

4 1/2 stars but get this documentary as an extra on "Bullit"

Released in 2005, it is a well done inside look about the importance of the editor in filmmaking. Numerous editors are interviewed consistent with the movies they worked on. Nearly every top director is also in the film giving their insights into the editor's role. This doc is a must for anyone really interested in how motion pictures are made as well as showing snippets of some of the best movies ever made going back to the silent era.This doc is shot in high definition and is in Dolby Digital 5.1. Be sure to buy the "Bullit" Blu ray or DVD rather than the stand alone package. It's cheaper and you get one of the best action movies ever made.

2013-04-16 02:04:12

great documentary

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.

2013-03-25 15:50:15

Excellent, informative, and entertaining

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) Great piece on the history and evolution of film editing. Invaluable short introduction to the importance of this process from some of the top filmmakers and editors.

2013-03-24 23:56:45

A useful historic overview

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) 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.

mgoodwin88 2013-03-22 10:39:18

first rate documentary

This is a first-rate job of work, one of the best documentaries onfilm-making that I've ever seen, opening up the fascinating world offilm editing by letting great editors and directors speak to usdirectly about the mysteries of film cutting--supported by illuminatingexamples drawn from real films. I can't praise too highly thethoughtful choice of speakers, from Thelma to Dede to Walter Murch andon down the line. Nice to see director Joe Dante too. I wasparticularly pleased at the inclusion of early film editing examples,such as Dziga Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera and, of course, thedown-the-stairs sequence from Potemkin. (The film includes a fewsequences from later films that echo the Potemkin sequence, but I betthere's at least five examples they missed!) Bravo! Michael Goodwin

2013-03-22 07:44:23

cutting edge dvd

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.

2013-03-20 16:34:30

very good teaching aid

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.

2013-03-19 22:34:01

4 1/2 stars but get this documentary as an extra on "Bullitt"

Released in 2005, it is a well done inside look about the importance of the editor in filmmaking. Numerous editors are interviewed consistent with the movies they worked on. Nearly every top director is also in the film giving their insights into the editor's role. This doc is a must for anyone really interested in how motion pictures are made as well as showing snippets of some of the best movies ever made going back to the silent era.This doc is shot in high definition and is in Dolby Digital 5.1. Be sure to buy the "Bullitt" Blu ray or DVD rather than the stand alone package. It's cheaper and you get one of the best action movies ever made.

2013-03-18 00:29:58

A decent introduction to the importance of the movie editor

"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.

2013-03-17 17:03:02

Not enough Technique!

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!

2013-03-16 23:08:22

History, Tribute & Technique

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) 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.

2013-03-16 09:15:42

Great Insights

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) 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".

2013-03-15 16:37:40

Excellent

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.

2013-03-14 22:22:34

A good way to learn the craft

This review is from: The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing (DVD) This film is a great way to see much of the work that goes into the editing side of movie making. From looking at what happens when bad edits are made to seeing Jim Cameron show what would happen if he just made 1 frame subtractions to shorten a movie. It covers many ways of editing from the do it yourself type at home to using Final Cut to make cold Mountain and being completely digital in production. a who's who of directors talking about their editors. A must own for anyone who aspires to make a movie.

james higgins 2013-03-14 09:12:16

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

This is a must see documentary for any serious film buff. For all youfolks out there that dismiss older films, you may be surprised by yourfavorite directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, StevenSpielberg and James Cameron praising the magnificence of silent filmsand many classics. Without these classics and the skill involved inmaking them, today's movies wouldn't be what they are. A brilliant andinformative documentary. It very thoroughly explores a movie art formthat is often not understood and certainly unappreciated. The editingof a film is very instrumental in its success. However, not many peopleappreciate it.

2013-03-14 02:41:30

Movie editors come out of the closet

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.