Some Cutting Remarks: Seventy Years a Film Editor

by Ralph E. Winters

Recounts the life of two-time Academy Award winner, Ralph E. Winters, whose career spanned two-thirds of the 20th century. Drawing from his own ascent through MGM studio system, Winters guides the reader through a history of American film editing, beginning with its earliest days when film was torn by hand.

An essential, entertaining nuts-and-bolts look at the mechanics of editing, as well as Hollywood life alongside such luminaries as Billy Wilder, Sam Zimbalist, and Blake Edwards―a must have for film buffs and moviegoers alike.

152 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2001

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short/quick read, this books gives less insight into the art of an editor than it does into the broad strokes of an editor's role, with a sprinkling of how the office politics played out through the Hollywood Studio Period on through the 1970s. Winters's tone is always positive and upbeat, which makes the reading whiz by. Don't expect to learn anything about editing if you have ever cut any scope of picture. But it was enjoyable to hear the stories of how the studio system worked back in the day.