QUORA QUESTION
Who are the greatest Film Editors?
MY ANSWER
Five of my favorite editors:
Walter Murch
No explanation needed, but here are the fundamentals. Wrote the definitive book on editing, In The Blink Of An Eye. Invented the field of sound-design, and cut sound for Gimme Shelter, American Graffiti, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and The Godfather: Part II. Picture edited Apocalypse Now, Ghost, The English Patient, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.Anne V. Coates
Ms. Coates was a credited motion picture editor for almost sixty years. She edited Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, What About Bob?, and Out of Sight. Talk about range!Sam O’Steen
He had a long career and was nominated for three Oscars. It’s crazy that he never won. Some of his credits: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cool Hand Luke, The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, Silkwood. He was the main editor for Mike Nichols and Roman Polanski at the height of their careers.Ralph Rosenblum
In my opinion, the two great books on editing are Walter Murch’s In The Blink Of An Eye and Ralph Rosenblum’s When The Shooting Stops… The Cutting Begins. Some of Ralph’s credits include Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Pawnbroker, A Thousand Clowns, The Producers, and Annie Hall. With regards to editing, The Pawnbroker and Annie Hall were both groundbreaking films when they were released.Susan E. Morse
Susan took over as Woody Allen’s editor after Ralph Rosenblum. She cut most of Woody Allen’s classics including Manhattan, Zelig, and Hannah and Her Sisters. Before she started working with Woody Allen, Susan E. Morse cut The Warriors and now she’s cutting the TV show Louie.
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