Image via BAFTA.
Earlier this year, on January 3rd, film-editor Thelma Schoonmaker celebrated her 80th birthday.
Schoonmaker is the long-time editor for American director, Martin Scorsese (“I only work with Marty”), and some of his signature cinematic moments would surely have not been possible without their collaboration. With three Oscars (and eight nominations) over a prolific career, Schoonmaker is one of the most important editors in modern America cinema.
Starting their work together in the late 1960s, Schoonmaker has edited every (if not a majority of) Scorsese film since 1980’s ‘Raging Bull.’
I’ve always loved ‘Raging Bull’ because it is a boxing film that is not about boxing. While I love boxing films proper, their fight scenes have a tendency to take on some repetitive elements (this is by no means intended to slight any innovations in plenty of my favorite boxing movies).
Starting with storyboard-driven Scorsese and his cinematographer Michael Chapman, the boxing scenes in ‘Raging Bull’ have a surreal quality through their camerawork. On top of the imaginative viewing experience already the monochromatic palette yields, these scenes leave real-world elements behind. And it totally works.
Image via Pinterest.
Working in conjunction with the camera and sound, the cuts in this scene transform a boxing match into an in-depth character examination. Repetition, rhythm, and motif combine for a driving message of the film’s thesis.
I’ve often heard that films are truly made in the edit. With his love for editing, Scorsese is all the more smarter for enlisting someone of Schoonmaker’s caliber, rather than editing himself, for instance, which he could likely do fine.
There is something about her process and the nature of their work together that elevates the material. It is also a testament to the collaborative nature of filmmaking as a process and the primacy of the editor in that process.
On ‘Raging Bull,’ Schoonmaker described the process: “working on [the film] was heaven…Everything was just pure gold about that movie.” On the extensive kitchen dialogue scenes, Schoonmaker was able to lift single-camera coverage of an improvisational Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro to not only a scene with clarity, but one that brings out the inherent drama of the characters. It is like watching a play.
While Scorsese’s long-takes are rightly admired, I’ve always loved his montage, often with contemporary music and voice-over. More than simply style, these refined editing scenes provide the film’s with panache and spark. Looking back at my clear memories of Scorsese film’s, I believe it has to do with these cross-cutting scenes. Whether in ‘Casino’ or ‘The Departed’, these scenes contribute to the world-building—the viewer sees the flow of the times, the characters, and the settings they inhabit. The music and style makes it memorable. As a visual medium, this overarching style, or artistic snap, is important. The camera direction of Scorsese and the cuts of Schoonmaker combine to make a whole much greater than the sum of its parts.
On smaller films too, such as ‘The King of Comedy,’ Schoonmaker displays the diversity of her talents through restraint and simplicity, which allows comedic moments to play hilariously. And the awkwardness of the character shines through.
Her most recent work on ‘The Irishman’—which clocks in at over 3 hours—is seamless, and makes Scorsese’s meditative, steady film pass by with ease. With a variety of tempos throughout, I left the film with a mix of emotions and reflections on the meaning. The film entertained me, too. I watched it twice.
Scorsese’s films have always had a rhythmic feeling to me. It’s something beyond words or technical explanation, the duo have a natural spark that they applied to the work. The films move and sway, like a dance. Whether through practice or a gift—likely a combination of both—Schoonmaker clearly has a prerequisite understanding of timing, emotion, and feel, qualities that make her an excellent editor.
A unique and talented voice, Thelma Schoonmaker and her contribution to cinema exemplify the understated power that editing has on the viewed experience of a film, and just how important editing is as a craft.
- JG
Some videos on Schoonmaker and her workflow, career, and considerations below, as well as some interviews.
“There’s a great deal of mystery in film editing, and that’s because you’re not supposed to see a lot of it. You’re supposed to feel that a film has pace and rhythm and drama, but you’re not necessarily supposed to be worried about how that was accomplished. And because there is so little understanding of what really great editing is, a film that’s flashy, has a lot of quick cuts and explosions, gets particular attention…but for me, and for a lot of editors and directors, the more interesting editing is not so visible. It’s the decisions that go into building a character, a performance, for example, or how you rearrange scenes in a movie, if it’s not working properly, so that you can get a better dramatic build.”