Worst edited movies?

[Scott Davis]

Star Wars Episode 3. It was about a 2 1/2 hours to long.

[Mark Suszko]

I’m going to say “Shane” the famous western. Particularly for the barfight sequence; the continuity is all over the map, the cameras cross the line of action without reference, it’s just horrible.

I like to think I learn even more from bad movie editing than from watching the good stuff. great edits are so transparent, you feel them, not notice them. bad edits are blatant lessons in what not to do. I look at brilliant editing and despair that i could have done as well; I look at horrible editing and say to myself “I know exactly how they could have fixed that, made it better”.

[Bob Cole]

For sheer brilliance in editing: Sliding Doors, a movie with Gwyneth Paltrow about two different futures, based on whether her character makes or just misses the subway (she finds her no-good boyfriend in bed with another woman in one version, and just misses that discovery in the other). The two stories are intercut and interwoven brilliantly. Critics weren’t wild about it but they aren’t always right.

Speaking of “crossing the line:” My favorite moment, direction- and editing-wise, was that when Paltrow breaks up with her boyfriend in a very violent way, the viewpoint abruptly cuts across the 180 plane. It gives the viewer a physical jolt not unlike the shock that the betrayed character is feeling.

[Robert Bec]

what about the part at the service station in romeo & juliet i think at the start with the gun fight and the way it was edited was great and introduced the characters

[Chris Bové]

[mark suszko] “bad edits are blatant lessons in what not to do.”

Yup. Definitely learned more from crap than from gold.

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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
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[Grinner Hester]

Rent a movie calle The King of the Lost World.
Dude, it’s so bad it’s really fun to watch. Worst editing I have seen (including Shane’s weird bar fights) and has to be the most poorly directed flick I have ever seen.
My wife couldn’t hang through it but I was so entertained by it’s badness, I beleieve I got my money’s worth.
Lots of what not to dos in this one. Mainly in aidio editng. Be prepaired to hang on to the remote the whole time because levels are all over the place. The acting is hilarious. If I were still in college, this would have to be in the wake and bake collection.
I give two very enthusiastec thumbs up for worst job in all catagories.

[John Cuevas]

I just saw King Kong, I don’t think they even hired an editor(3:07)

[Grinner Hester]

lol
some movies are obviously made to take a big loss.

[Mike Cohen]

visit ifilm.com – the rubbish that people call independent films – unmotivated edits, really poor dialogue, worse sound – walter murch couldn’t save these things – there are a few gems.

i will give SW Ep III kudos for doing a couple of wipes which were motivated by action crossing the screen, rather than the usual variety at the end of a scene – there is one where chewbacca crosses the screen and he becomes the wipe.
aside from that, it has been said many times that Lucas edits on the word, and uses few cutaways during dialogue.

Agree with Sideways – aside from some T&A, pretty much the worst movie ever made.

Recently saw Elephant – beautifully photographed, with some interesting editing concepts.

I’ll be on the lookout for bad editing now that I’m thinking abou it.

Mike

[Chaz Shukat]

Anyone see that Brazilian movie City of God? The first time feature editor won an Oscar? I thought he did a fantasitc job, especially on the opening montage. What do you think?

Chaz S.