Great Editing

[Nicholas Bierzonski]

I have to add to your list:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Finale)
Psycho (Shower Scene)

I am still blown away by the editing Mr. Hitchcock did with that shower scene. It still holds up today even though it was cut old school with a razor blade! I humbly bow before his mastery and prowess. This scene gives us all something to strive for and measure our own skills against.

-Nicholas Bierzonski
Senior Editor/DVD Author/Java Boy
http://www.finalfocusvideo.com

[Rocco Rocco]

I’m a sucker for sharp, stylish POW-WOW cuts, more so than the stuff you learn at film school about tension.

Some of the films I watch over and over again because of the editing:

U-Turn
City of God
Hot Fuzz
Domino
Dear Zachary (doc)
Dog Town n Z Boyz (doc)
and….
Top Gear (British TV show)

[Trent Whittington]

RUN LOLA RUN – the german version, great for editing analysis 😉

Trent Whittington – Currently studying Associate Degree in Digital Television

[Arnie Schlissel]

In no particular order:

Zulu: Great sound design (many years before it was even called that!), great battle scenes, fantastic climax.

Intolerance: One of the first classics of the silent era. A complex structure of interwoven story lines that’s still easy to follow.

M: One of the most chilling scenes of it’s day is when the shadow of the “child murderer” stalks his victim.

The Third Man: Beautifully photographed, structured and paced.

Wings: The first movie to ever win the “Best Picture” Oscar. Still some of the best aerial combat scenes ever filmed, and very cute VFX scene (“Bubbles!”).

The Searchers: There’s a reason so many great directors love this film. It’s another example of beautiful photography, solid structure and good pacing.

Foreign Correspondent: Perhaps my favorite Hitchcock film, with some of the snappiest dialog on the screen outside of Preston Sturges or Ben Hecht.

I could go on, but I feel like I’m starting to babble!

Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/

[Grinner Hester]

While I have always loved enhanced chopping like in Snatch, by far the best edits are those never detected.
at least in a story where people are suppose to be following the story.

[Nicholas Bierzonski]

I thought I should add Citizen Kane to this list. You could learn alot from this movie just by studying the audio editing. Welles background on stage and radio gave him an deep understanding of timing and pacing. It’s wonderfully executed.

-Nicholas Bierzonski
Senior Editor/DVD Author/Java Boy
http://www.finalfocusvideo.com

[Jonathan Fraser]

Amen to that. When was the last time anyone watched “Children of Men”?

[Bj Ahlen]

[Nicholas Bierzonski] “I am still blown away by the editing Mr. Hitchcock did with that shower scene. It still holds up today even though it was cut old school with a razor blade! I humbly bow before his mastery and prowess. This scene gives us all something to strive for and measure our own skills against. “

Yep. Especially since Hitchcock “did the cuts in pre-production.”

He was mortally afraid that “the suits” would screw up his artistry, so he planned his shooting so carefully that, after each scene was shot, there was no footage available to reasonably cut it in any other way than he had planned it.

This is something to remember for filmmakers who are concerned about their productions becoming “lamp posts” for producers eager to mark their territory.

[Jason Diebler]

I can’t believe U-Turn made Rocco’s list, that’s great, most people hate that movie… one of my favorites.

My top movie for editing is “Requiem for a Dream” – that movie will give you nightmares, mostly thanks to the startling editing.

Children of Men was great, but I give it props for cinematography – what incredible long takes.