The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing

The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing
by Wendy Apple

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DVD details

Actor: Anthony Minghella, Jodie Foster, Kathy Bates, Michael Tronick, Zach Staenberg
Director: Wendy Apple
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Alan Heim
Producer: Barry Rebo
Producer: Jeff Pickett
Producer: Jennifer Waldo
Producer: Nick Ware
Producer: Nobuo Isobe
Writer: Mark Jonathan Harris
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video

DVD Reviews of The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing

DVD Review: Recommended for editing class
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a great introduction to what editors do to make movies. Film school, it's not. But it's a great overview of the evolution of editing. I used it in my beginning Final Cut class to introduce the students to the concept of editing and storytelling. Highly recommended.

DVD Review: The Editing Paradox
Summary: 3 Stars

As an aspiring film editor, I felt almost obligated to pick up "The Cutting Edge". I know for too long film editors are due for recognition for the work they put into making a film work.

The problem with "The Cutting Edge" is its presentation. While informative, it spends way too much time on the history and theory of editing rather that it's practice. This will leave newcomers to the art uninterested in the craft of editing, and the rest feeling as if they are the "converted" that is being "preached to".

This presentation is great for film students, teachers looking to enrich their curricula and those generally interested in the inner workings of Hollywood. If you're looking for a documentary on par with Discovery or the History Channel. Look elswhere.

DVD Review: An Eye Opener
Summary: 5 Stars

The name says it all. All of movie making is a kind of magic produced by very hard work. Editing is sometimes overlooked when people see and talk about films -- unfairly so. This DVD gives valuable information about the history of film editing and opens the eyes and mind to the subtleties of producing what we see on the screen.

DVD Review: A Motion Picture Editors Delight
Summary: 5 Stars

This is an Excellent review of film editing, it's history, techniques and a few of the main contributors in the industry over the years. If you love the art & craft of film / video editing, you'll love this.

This is to Film Editing, what Visions of Light is to Cinematography.

Yes.........it's worth it!

DVD Review: A good way to learn the craft
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

Description of The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie 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.

"Editing is what makes film a film." That audacious statement is made at the beginning of this 2005 documentary about the art of film editing. After listening to many editors and directors, movie novices as well as cinephiles may agree. Kathy Bates narrates this whirlwind history of the art punctuated by dozens of scenes to illustrate the effect of film editing in heightening reality and making a visceral impact on the filmgoer. In fact, the profession seems to be run on "a gut feeling" whether it's clipping a few frames, or 20 minutes of the final act (which we learn happened with Lenny). James Cameron illustrates the importance of a frame as we see a scene from Terminator 2 with 1 frame out 24 missing (24 frames representing one second of film). Or as Quentin Tarantino states, "musicians have notes, editors have frames." It's fascinating to see how editing--the process of assembling the film after it's been shot--can save films, make performances better, and become the ultimate jigsaw puzzle. The last concept is demonstrated as we return time and again to the most well-known editor of the time, Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The English Patient), as he edits a few scenes from Cold Mountain in front of us. We see how he works with light, covers mistakes, and controls emotion. For those who wished for a sequel to the excellent documentary on cinematographers, Visions of Light (1993), here's the next step (although made by different folks including first-time director Wendy Apple). Now, anyone want to tackle art directors? --Doug Thomas

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