Review of The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) by Walter M — 10 Aug 2010

[font=Century Gothic]"The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing" is a mildly interesting documentary about the art and history of film editing, starting with its invention which made narrative films possible. It is fascinating that women were many of the pioneers in this field. Film clips are shown, of course, along with directors and editors discussing their special relationships.(I would have liked to have seen a director like John Sayles who edits his own films, so I could compare approaches.) And there is also footage of veteran editor Walter Murch working on "Cold Mountain." What the documentary describes is how an editor shapes a film through pacing and how the editing can manipulate an audience which can be both bad and good. "Schindler's List" is an example of a movie where the audience is told what to feel while Michael Haneke excels by constantly challenging the audience's expectations.[/font].

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[font=Century Gothic]However, the documentary is sadly only told from the viewpoint of Hollywood films with nothing about foreign or independent films(Nothing on "Memento."), except as innovators like Vertov, Godard and Eisenstein.(And as long as we're talking innovators, where's "Citizen Kane?") For example, there is a huge difference in the pacing between "What Time Is It There?" and "Moulin Rouge"(2001) which was apparently edited in a wood chipper. Yes, digital effects are neat toys but they are no substitute of the humanity of real actors. And it does not touch on the thorny subject of where a film is taken out of a director's hands and re-edited without his permission.[/font].