5 Iconic Clips From the Late, Legendary Film Editor Dede Allen

· Slap Shot (1977)

Allen was one of Hollywood's foremost practitioners of the jump cut, and probably my favorite use of the technique in all of her films occurred in George Roy Hill's classic hockey comedy. Look for it at the 1:41 mark. The cut brilliantly heightens the chaos of what preceded it by leaping ahead to the consequences, and the careful application of sound helps land the comic punch.

· Reds (1981)

Warren Beatty's Russian Revolution epic was the longest, most ambitious movie Allen edited in her career. Together they made a masterpiece, remembering that in the massive, globe-trotting scope of it all, the story of John Reed and Louise Bryant was a small one told most evocatively in the wordless exchanges like this one.

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Comments

  • SunnydaZe says:

    God bless the female editor! It is amazing there are many in an industry which has mainly been controlled by men.
    Ms. Allen also edited "The Breakfast Club" and "Let it Ride" (a personal favorite). The former managed to make five characters in a single environment the ironic film of its generation and the latter has multiple characters with multiple story-lines all happening at once practically in real time.
    Amazing lady.

  • John M says:

    With all due respect, Stu, that edit in SLAPSHOT isn't a jump cut. Not in the pure sense. It is funny, though.
    Also awesome? NIGHT MOVES. Very worth renting.

  • Jason Wells says:

    Beautiful. Just beautiful. Thank you.

  • Eyjafjallajökull says:

    Should've posted a clip from Slaughterhouse-Five. That's a real editing showcase.