Slumdog. Both The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which were both still great movies, were overlong and needed some major trimming done in areas, a problem a well-edited film should not have. Frost/Nixon and Milk were alright, but not cut together in such a way as to have exceptionally memorable editing.
I’m going Slumdog on this one. I was amazed at the chaotic smoothness of it all.
Dario
One feels tempted to go with The Dark Knight here, with an action film winning last year and all, but last year’s best Picture winner was a slow-paced film without showy editing bravures, and Slumdog Millionaire, this year’s likely Best Picture winner, is (reportedly) wildly cut, with both breathtaking short and beautifully long shots, so I suppose it will take Editing too. However, they might feel like responding to the criticism over The Dark Knight’s snub in the major categories by awarding it here. I don’t see the others sneaking past, even though Milk may as well deserve it.
I haven’t seen Frost/Nixon, and it definitely seems there’s room for exciting editing of a fictionalized interview (with the tense back-and forth of the protagonists). Is it cut well?
Gary
The Dark Knight. No question. The opening is amazing – Boom! we open up and we’re right into the action. The end. Amazing! The bat-pod rides into the light an it cuts to black. Just amazing editing. The rythm of the film is amazing; it’s constantly moving, and it’s amazing to see that there are no gimicky editing moves; the editing moves that we’ve seen in almost all movies is not evident in The DArk Knight – there are no DISSOLVES, SPEED-UPS, SlOW-MOS, etc. to do that for a 2 and a half hour movie is incredible. It’s edited cleanly. In Slumdog you get all the cheap music video editing moves (speed-ups, slow-mo, dissoleves, etc.) TDK does not have any of those editing cheap moves. The Dark Knight deserves it. I don’t think I have ever seen a film where it doesn’t use slow-mo, and dissolves. The Dark Knight is the first.
Brady
Dario, I would say no. I found the pacing of Frost/Nixon to be listless and uninspired. But, I’ll openly admit that I found the film to be unbelievably over-rated. I go with Dark Knight on this one, not only for its frequently exciting pace, not only for effectively establishing a mood of disquiet and terror, but also for some cutting choices that really make Jonathan Nolan’s script pop.
Example: Alfred saying, “We burned the forest down.”, followed by an immediate cut to a close-up of Harvey Dent’s burned and bandaged face.
malevolentmuse
Slumdog without question. The kinetic energy in the first flashback alone is deserving.
Robert Hamer
Surprised at the support for The Dark Knight in this category.
The way that Milk was edited with archive footage was brilliant, but I’m gonna have to go with Slumdog here.
This is an important category to many of us because it feels like the real Best Picture field. None are bad choices for an editing nomination.
Judging these things can be subjective, but I feel FROST/NIXON is the film least dependent on its editing — it’s taut and not wasteful, but I can’t point to a single sequence where I was enthralled by its shot-for-shot delivery.
Compare to, say, the anatomy of an injury sequence in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, a glorious anomaly in a somewhat lingering film. Had the rest of the film maintained that rhythm…
I’m glad others appreciated MILK’s seamless use of archival footage. It’s sort of an underrated skill.
I think the winner of this category will come down to either THE DARK KNIGHT or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, and either would be worthy. Bear in mind that the editing skills are a bit more overt in the latter film.
red_wine
Milk. There was a lot of material to be presented, both archival footage and the footage shot by the director. And Milk plays out and builds like a revolution or a sweeping episode of history and those always require good editing.
But Slumdog will win.
Speaking English
“MILK.” Utterly seamless, fluidly and perfectly paced.
James W.
It became for me a real toss-up between The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire. I appreciate more than the kinetic energy of the opening Mumbai sequence, but the way they cut back and forth in time so seamlessly where certain looks spark something in the audience members mind.
The Dark Knight provided for me the most joyful cinematic experience of 2008. The pace of that chase sequence with the Batpod was well-worth the nomination, alone. The rest of the film speeds along like a bullet.
James W.
I forgot to mention, I ended up going with The Dark Knight.
Speaking English
Remember, “most cuts” is not synonymous with “best edited.”
For me, the editing was actually one of TDK’s weaker spots. A little too choppy in some of the action sequences, and while Nolan and his co-writers should take most of the blame for that messy final act, the editing did little to fix the damaged rhythm of the piece.
I like the film, before anyone jumps down my throat.
i agree with guy. slumdog will take this. it has equal parts music vid editing, exciting chase scenes, riot scenes, lowkey romantic scenes… it’s a nice mixture of several editing styles in one seamless movie.
I think “The Dark Knight” is a great movie, but it struggles to maintain visual coherence at times, especially in the preposterous sonar sequence in the warehouse in the final act (I saw it three times in theatres and got confused each time). “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s editing was flashy without being ostentatious, but if forced to pick I’ll go with “Frost/Nixon”. It’s a dialogue-driven film, but it’s so well-paced that it feels like an action movie; for a true story it’s somehow incredibly suspenseful.
Comments
25 responses to “POLL: Who deserves it? — BEST FILM EDITING”
Gotta go with Milk on this one.
Slumdog. Both The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which were both still great movies, were overlong and needed some major trimming done in areas, a problem a well-edited film should not have. Frost/Nixon and Milk were alright, but not cut together in such a way as to have exceptionally memorable editing.
Definitely Slumdog.
Kinda wish they had nominated In Bruges.
I’m going Slumdog on this one. I was amazed at the chaotic smoothness of it all.
One feels tempted to go with The Dark Knight here, with an action film winning last year and all, but last year’s best Picture winner was a slow-paced film without showy editing bravures, and Slumdog Millionaire, this year’s likely Best Picture winner, is (reportedly) wildly cut, with both breathtaking short and beautifully long shots, so I suppose it will take Editing too. However, they might feel like responding to the criticism over The Dark Knight’s snub in the major categories by awarding it here. I don’t see the others sneaking past, even though Milk may as well deserve it.
It’s the battle of the clichГ©s: the Best Picture vs. the action film, and it’s been known to swing both ways (Titanic, The English Patient, Chicago in the former case, Black Hawk Dawn, The Matrix, The Bourne Ultimatum in the latter).
I haven’t seen Frost/Nixon, and it definitely seems there’s room for exciting editing of a fictionalized interview (with the tense back-and forth of the protagonists). Is it cut well?
The Dark Knight. No question. The opening is amazing – Boom! we open up and we’re right into the action. The end. Amazing! The bat-pod rides into the light an it cuts to black. Just amazing editing. The rythm of the film is amazing; it’s constantly moving, and it’s amazing to see that there are no gimicky editing moves; the editing moves that we’ve seen in almost all movies is not evident in The DArk Knight – there are no DISSOLVES, SPEED-UPS, SlOW-MOS, etc. to do that for a 2 and a half hour movie is incredible. It’s edited cleanly. In Slumdog you get all the cheap music video editing moves (speed-ups, slow-mo, dissoleves, etc.) TDK does not have any of those editing cheap moves. The Dark Knight deserves it. I don’t think I have ever seen a film where it doesn’t use slow-mo, and dissolves. The Dark Knight is the first.
Dario, I would say no. I found the pacing of Frost/Nixon to be listless and uninspired. But, I’ll openly admit that I found the film to be unbelievably over-rated. I go with Dark Knight on this one, not only for its frequently exciting pace, not only for effectively establishing a mood of disquiet and terror, but also for some cutting choices that really make Jonathan Nolan’s script pop.
Example: Alfred saying, “We burned the forest down.”, followed by an immediate cut to a close-up of Harvey Dent’s burned and bandaged face.
Slumdog without question. The kinetic energy in the first flashback alone is deserving.
Surprised at the support for The Dark Knight in this category.
The way that Milk was edited with archive footage was brilliant, but I’m gonna have to go with Slumdog here.
MILK.
Milk
Milk. Slumdog 2nd.
Slumdog, no question. Dark Knight was seamless, Curious Case was fluid, but I credit Joseph with the phrase “chaotic smoothness” for Slumdog.
This is an important category to many of us because it feels like the real Best Picture field. None are bad choices for an editing nomination.
Judging these things can be subjective, but I feel FROST/NIXON is the film least dependent on its editing — it’s taut and not wasteful, but I can’t point to a single sequence where I was enthralled by its shot-for-shot delivery.
Compare to, say, the anatomy of an injury sequence in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, a glorious anomaly in a somewhat lingering film. Had the rest of the film maintained that rhythm…
I’m glad others appreciated MILK’s seamless use of archival footage. It’s sort of an underrated skill.
I think the winner of this category will come down to either THE DARK KNIGHT or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, and either would be worthy. Bear in mind that the editing skills are a bit more overt in the latter film.
Milk. There was a lot of material to be presented, both archival footage and the footage shot by the director. And Milk plays out and builds like a revolution or a sweeping episode of history and those always require good editing.
But Slumdog will win.
“MILK.” Utterly seamless, fluidly and perfectly paced.
It became for me a real toss-up between The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire. I appreciate more than the kinetic energy of the opening Mumbai sequence, but the way they cut back and forth in time so seamlessly where certain looks spark something in the audience members mind.
The Dark Knight provided for me the most joyful cinematic experience of 2008. The pace of that chase sequence with the Batpod was well-worth the nomination, alone. The rest of the film speeds along like a bullet.
I forgot to mention, I ended up going with The Dark Knight.
Remember, “most cuts” is not synonymous with “best edited.”
That’s correct, English, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen to go hand in hand from time to time.
For me, the editing was actually one of TDK’s weaker spots. A little too choppy in some of the action sequences, and while Nolan and his co-writers should take most of the blame for that messy final act, the editing did little to fix the damaged rhythm of the piece.
I like the film, before anyone jumps down my throat.
Anyway, from these nominees, “Slumdog” all the way. The subtlest contender isn’t always the best.
Definitely “Milk”.
i agree with guy. slumdog will take this. it has equal parts music vid editing, exciting chase scenes, riot scenes, lowkey romantic scenes… it’s a nice mixture of several editing styles in one seamless movie.
I think “The Dark Knight” is a great movie, but it struggles to maintain visual coherence at times, especially in the preposterous sonar sequence in the warehouse in the final act (I saw it three times in theatres and got confused each time). “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s editing was flashy without being ostentatious, but if forced to pick I’ll go with “Frost/Nixon”. It’s a dialogue-driven film, but it’s so well-paced that it feels like an action movie; for a true story it’s somehow incredibly suspenseful.