The power of editing: a case study

It's Saturday. You've got some extra time on your hands. Take 5 minutes or so and check out the video below. In it 2 cuts of the same film are compared side by side to reveal just how much a film's entire look and feel can be altered in the editing room. The comparison is presented under the banner "What is Neo-realism?" and that's fine because it does an excellent job laying bare the particulars of that genre, but it could just as easily be titled "What is Editing?"

The film being dissected is a 1950s bittersweet romance by Vittorio De Sica originally entitled "Terminal Station". In De Sica's original cut on the left care is taken to stress that the principal characters are players on the larger human stage. It's the European way, the more "artistic" mindset if you will: let the shot linger, pay homage to those other bodies taking up screen space. By comparison the cut on the right was done by American studio honcho David O. Selznick (who renamed the film with the much more moralistic title "Indiscretion of an American Wife") and his agenda is entirely different. Extras? Nobody's paying to see a bunch of extras! Why hold that shot when you could cut it in half and still get the message across that they walked through the restaurant? It's the "time is money" ethos. A shorter film can play more times in a day and bring in more $$$$.

Selznick was of the opinion that Americans were not only more judgmental than Europeans but that they went to the movies to be 'entertained' not 'enlightened' and subsequently they wanted to see stars and exotic locales while De Sica was of the opinion that art takes time and audience members reasons for going to the movies were as varied as the audience members themselves.

"Right" is a matter of opinion in this case but I'm thrilled someone took the time to put this piece together and would love to see many more like it. Enjoy.