Annual award for best film editing
Thelma Schoonmaker (left) and Columba Powell (right) at the2009 Cannes Film Festival . Schoonmaker is among the deans of film editing; Powell is the son ofMichael Powell , a prominent film director to whom Schoonmaker was married until his death in 1990.Conrad A. Nervig was the inaugural winner, winning forEskimo King Solomon's Mines Ralph E. Winters .TheAcademy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with theAcademy Award for Best Picture . For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing.[ 1] [ 2] above the line " editor(s) as listed in the film's credits are named on the award; additional editors, supervising editors, etc. are not currently eligible.[ 3]
The nominations for this Academy Award are determined by a ballot of the voting members of the Editing Branch of the academy; there were 220 members of the Editing Branch in 2012.[ 4] [ 3] British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA); nominations for theBAFTA Award for Best Editing are done by a general ballot of academy voters, and the winner is selected by members of the editing chapter.[ 5]
This award was first given for films released in 1934. The name of this award is occasionally changed; in 2008, it was listed as theAcademy Award for Achievement in Film Editing .
Four film editors have won this award three times in their career:
To date, three film directors have won this award:James Cameron ,Alfonso Cuarón , andSean Baker , for the filmsTitanic Gravity Anora David Lean ,Steve James ,Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (under the alias "Roderick Jaynes"),Michel Hazanavicius ,Jean-Marc Vallée (under the alias "John Mac McMurphy"), andChloé Zhao have been nominated for editing their own films as well, with Cameron, Cuarón, and the Coens each being nominated for the award twice. Also, Best Film Editing winner,Walter Murch , although known for film editing and sound, directed the Oscar nominatedReturn to Oz The English Patient
Additionally, former film editorsRobert Wise (nominee forCitizen Kane Hal Ashby (winner forIn the Heat of the Night Francis D. Lyon (co-winner forBody and Soul Somebody Up There Likes Me I Want to Live! West Side Story The Sound of Music The Sand Pebbles The Andromeda Strain Bound for Glory Coming Home Crazylegs
Superlatives taken from a document published by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences .[ 8]
Winners and nominees [ edit ] These listings are based on the Awards Database maintained by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences .[ 9]
indicates the winner
Year Film Nominees 1960 (33rd) The Apartment Daniel Mandell The Alamo Stuart Gilmore Inherit the Wind Frederic Knudtson Pepe Viola Lawrence andAl Clark Spartacus Robert Lawrence 1961 (34th) West Side Story Thomas Stanford Fanny William H. Reynolds The Guns of Navarone Alan Osbiston Judgment at Nuremberg Frederic Knudtson The Parent Trap Philip W. Anderson 1962 (35th) Lawrence of Arabia Anne V. Coates The Longest Day Samuel E. Beetley The Manchurian Candidate Ferris Webster The Music Man William H. Ziegler Mutiny on the Bounty John McSweeney Jr. 1963 (36th) How the West Was Won Harold F. Kress The Cardinal Louis R. Loeffler Cleopatra Dorothy Spencer The Great Escape Ferris Webster It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Frederic Knudtson (posthumously ) ,Robert C. Jones andGene Fowler Jr. 1964 (37th) Mary Poppins Cotton Warburton Becket Anne V. Coates Father Goose Ted J. Kent Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte Michael Luciano My Fair Lady William H. Ziegler 1965 (38th) The Sound of Music William H. Reynolds Cat Ballou Charles Nelson Doctor Zhivago Norman Savage The Flight of the Phoenix Michael Luciano The Great Race Ralph E. Winters 1966 (39th) Grand Prix Fredric Steinkamp ,Henry Berman ,Stewart Linder andFrank Santillo Fantastic Voyage William B. Murphy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Hal Ashby andJ. Terry Williams The Sand Pebbles William H. Reynolds Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Sam O'Steen 1967 (40th) In the Heat of the Night Hal Ashby Beach Red Frank P. Keller The Dirty Dozen Michael Luciano Doctor Dolittle Samuel E. Beetley andMarjorie Fowler Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Robert C. Jones 1968 (41st) Bullitt Frank P. Keller Funny Girl Robert Swink ,Maury Winetrobe andWilliam Sands The Odd Couple Frank Bracht Oliver! Ralph Kemplen Wild in the Streets Fred R. Feitshans Jr. andEve Newman 1969 (42nd) Z Françoise Bonnot Hello, Dolly! William H. Reynolds Midnight Cowboy Hugh A. Robertson The Secret of Santa Vittoria William A. Lyon andEarle Herdan They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Fredric Steinkamp
Year Film Nominees 1990 (63rd) Dances With Wolves Neil Travis Ghost Walter Murch The Godfather Part III Barry Malkin ,Lisa Fruchtman andWalter Murch Goodfellas Thelma Schoonmaker The Hunt for Red October Dennis Virkler andJohn Wright 1991 (64th) JFK Joe Hutshing andPietro Scalia The Commitments Gerry Hambling The Silence of the Lambs Craig McKay Terminator 2: Judgment Day Conrad Buff ,Mark Goldblatt andRichard A. Harris Thelma & Louise Thom Noble 1992 (65th) Unforgiven Joel Cox Basic Instinct Frank J. Urioste The Crying Game Kant Pan A Few Good Men Robert Leighton The Player Geraldine Peroni 1993 (66th) Schindler's List Michael Kahn The Fugitive Dennis Virkler ,David Finfer ,Dean Goodhill ,Don Brochu ,Richard Nord andDov Hoenig In the Line of Fire Anne V. Coates In the Name of the Father Gerry Hambling The Piano Veronika Jenet 1994 (67th) Forrest Gump Arthur Schmidt Hoop Dreams Frederick Marx ,Steve James and William HaugsePulp Fiction Sally Menke The Shawshank Redemption Richard Francis-Bruce Speed John Wright 1995 (68th) Apollo 13 Mike Hill andDaniel P. Hanley Babe Marcus D'Arcy andJay Friedkin Braveheart Steven Rosenblum Crimson Tide Chris Lebenzon Seven Richard Francis-Bruce 1996 (69th) The English Patient Walter Murch Evita Gerry Hambling Fargo Roderick Jaynes Jerry Maguire Joe Hutshing Shine Pip Karmel 1997 (70th) Titanic Conrad Buff ,James Cameron andRichard A. Harris Air Force One Richard Francis-Bruce As Good as It Gets Richard Marks Good Will Hunting Pietro Scalia L.A. Confidential Peter Honess 1998 (71st) Saving Private Ryan Michael Kahn Life Is Beautiful Simona Paggi Out of Sight Anne V. Coates Shakespeare in Love David Gamble The Thin Red Line Billy Weber ,Leslie Jones andSaar Klein 1999 (72nd) The Matrix Zach Staenberg American Beauty Tariq Anwar andChristopher Greenbury The Cider House Rules Lisa Zeno Churgin The Insider William Goldenberg ,Paul Rubell andDavid Rosenbloom The Sixth Sense Andrew Mondshein
Shortlisted finalists [ edit ] Finalists for Best Film Editing were selected by branch members, who voted for ten finalists which were screened to determine the five nominees.[ 13]
Year Finalists Ref 1967 Bonnie and Clyde Camelot The Graduate Sofi ,Thoroughly Modern Millie [ 14] 1968 The Fixer The Lion in Winter Rachel, Rachel Star! The Thomas Crown Affair [ 15] 1969 Anne of the Thousand Days Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Cactus Flower Gaily, Gaily Marooned [ 16] 1970 Catch-22 Five Easy Pieces The Great White Hope A Man Called Horse Ryan's Daughter [ 17] 1971 Carnal Knowledge Fiddler on the Roof Mary, Queen of Scots Nicholas and Alexandra Sunday Bloody Sunday [ 18] 1972 Avanti! Ben Butterflies Are Free Man of La Mancha 1776 [ 19] 1973 The Iceman Cometh Jesus Christ Superstar The Paper Chase Paper Moon Papillon [ 20] 1974 For Pete's Sake The Front Page The Godfather Part II Hearts and Minds The Taking of Pelham One Two Three [ 21] 1975 Funny Lady The Hindenburg The Other Side of the Mountain Rollerball The Sunshine Boys [ 22] 1976 King Kong Midway The Omen The Seven-Per-Cent Solution Silver Streak [ 23] 1977 Black Sunday The Deep The Goodbye Girl Islands in the Stream Saturday Night Fever [ 24] 1978 The Brink's Job Foul Play Grease Heaven Can Wait Hooper [ 25] 1979 The China Syndrome The Electric Horseman A Little Romance Norma Rae 10 [ 13]
Multiple wins and nominations [ edit ] The following editors have received multiple nominations for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. This list is sorted by the number of total awards won (with the number of total nominations listed in parentheses).
^ Harris, Mark (January 6, 2008)."Which Editing is a Cut Above?" .The New York Times . Ordinary People Jeff Kanew was not nominated for Best Editing.^ Dimond, Anna (December 13, 2013)."Why Editing Nominations Predict the Best Picture Oscar" .Variety . ^a b "Rule Thirteen—Special Rules for the Film Editing Award" .79th Academy Awards Rules for Distinguished Achievements in 2006 . Archived fromthe original on July 18, 2010.Robert Parrish was nominated forAll the King's Men (1949) with a credit as an "editorial consultant".^ "Academy Branches" .Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . February 2012. Archived fromthe original on February 24, 2012.^ "Orange British Academy Film Awards: Rules and Guidelines 2008-2009" (PDF) . British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on July 28, 2011.^a b "FILM EDITING FACTS: MOST NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS" (PDF) . Oscars.org. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2020 .^ Tibbs, Ros (February 8, 2023)."The youngest Oscar winner in every Academy Award category" . Far Out. RetrievedFebruary 23, 2023 . ^ "Film Editing Facts" (PDF) .Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . March 2012. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on November 13, 2013. RetrievedMarch 1, 2012 .^ "The Official Academy Awards Database" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. RetrievedMarch 20, 2022 .^ "Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees" .Los Angeles Times . RetrievedJanuary 8, 2018 .^ Hipes, Patrick (January 23, 2018)."Oscar Nominations: 'The Shape Of Water' Leads Way With 13" .Deadline Hollywood . RetrievedJanuary 23, 2018 . ^ Hipes, Patrick (January 22, 2019)."Oscar Nominations – The Complete List Of Noms" .Deadline Hollywood . RetrievedJanuary 22, 2019 . ^a b Champlin, Charles (January 5, 1980)."Oscar Prunes the Candidates" .Los Angeles Times .ProQuest 162681439 . RetrievedJanuary 19, 2025 . ^ "A Whisker-Close Oscar Race" .Variety . January 17, 1968.ProQuest 1032453132 . RetrievedJanuary 30, 2025 .^ "Sizing Up This Spring's Oscarcade" .Los Angeles Times . January 22, 1969.ProQuest 962941007 . RetrievedJanuary 26, 2025 .^ "Preliminary Selections in Eight Oscar Races" .Los Angeles Times . January 15, 1970.ProQuest 156340844 . RetrievedJanuary 25, 2025 .^ "First Screenings in Oscar Races" .Los Angeles Times . January 11, 1971.ProQuest 156692669 . RetrievedJanuary 23, 2025 .^ Miller, Alice (January 16, 1972)."Preliminaries Start in Oscar Screenings" .Abilene Reporter News . RetrievedJanuary 21, 2025 . ^ "Oscar Contenders Set for Screening" .The Hollywood Reporter . January 5, 1973.ProQuest 2920199679 . RetrievedJanuary 21, 2025 .^ "5 Branches List Choices for Oscar Nominations" .Los Angeles Times . January 14, 1974.ProQuest 2931982095 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025 .^ "Screenings Open Oscar Bids" .The Hollywood Reporter . January 10, 1975.ProQuest 2931982095 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025 .^ "Oscar's Craft Nod Prelim Choices" .Variety . January 14, 1976.ProQuest 1286013473 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025 .^ "Early Selections for Oscars Noted" .Los Angeles Times . January 8, 1977.ProQuest 158174773 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025 .^ "Films Eligible for Technical Oscars" .Los Angeles Times . January 6, 1978.ProQuest 158545635 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2025 .^ Champlin, Charles (January 6, 1979)." .Los Angeles Times .ProQuest 158821566 . RetrievedJanuary 19, 2025 .
1934–1975 1976–present Best Film Editing became Best Editing in 1999
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