Fine Cuts: Interviews on the Practice of European Film Editing, 2nd Edition

Introduction

If I were writing the history of film editors in the United States, I might start with a photo that shows D.W. Griffith with a certain Rose Smith. It was her husband, James Smith, who as his editor was credited by Griffith as being an essential part of the team, from as early as 1909 through all the major films. This couple often worked together on Griffith’s pictures, and Rose had small parts in some of the films.

James Smith might be the name given to all editors in the first decades of cinema, since they were largely anonymous and hardly ever named on screen.

Despite their anonymity I have managed to search out a few representatives of the hidden art from the first half of the 20th century in Europe.

Esther Tobak: Editing with ...