RIP Dede Allen

The editing master, Dede Allen, has passed way at 86 years old. In an obit in the LA Times, Bonnie and Clyde director Arthur Penn said of Allen:

“She was just an extraordinary collaborator, and in the course of editing that film, I came to develop confidence in Dede … Indeed, she wasn’t an editor, she was a constructionist.”

The Times says of Allen:

Allen was the first film editor — male or female — to receive sole credit on a movie for her work. The honor came with “Bonnie and Clyde,” a film in which Allen raised the level of her craft to an art form that was as seriously discussed as cinematography or even directing.

Allen departed from the standard Hollywood way of cutting — making smooth transitions starting with wide shots establishing place and characters and going on to medium shots and finally close-ups — by beginning with close-ups or jump cuts. Although these editing methods had been pioneered by the French new wave and some British directors, Allen is generally credited with being the first to use and shape them in American film.

Dede Allen was nominated most recently for Wonder Boys. Though I had just started blogging Oscar then she was not on my radar, nor anyone else’s. Wonder Boys was up against Traffic for editing and being that Traffic was the stronger Best Pic contender, it had the easy edge. Combine that with the fact that Traffic was the strong Best Picture contender to take that award, and maybe it deserved it. Allen was nominated only for Reds and Dog Day Afternoon.

She should have been nominated for editing The Hustler and Bonnie and Clyde.