15 Great Films That Let Your Eyes Do The Editing

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Created by Igor_Brynner.

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Since the birth of cinema the average shot length (ASL) of films has been getting shorter and shorter, and when we talk about ASL (if you don’t know) we’re talking about how long a shot lasts before cutting. The lower the ASL, the more separate shots a film contains. To give you a practical example, Spun (Jonas Åkerlund, 2002) has an ASL of around 1.2, meaning that the average duration of a shot before cutting is a mere 1.2 seconds long, whereas Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) has an ASL of around 12.4.

As a general guideline, ASLs for all films were much longer in the past, and over the decades people like Barry Salt have done exceptional work tracking the changing form of cinema, and looking at how films feature more and more cuts, and shorter and shorter takes as the medium has developed.

Editing is something that we’ve become impatient for these days: we see the object, recognise its significance, and move on as quickly as possible. And this is something we’re taught to do: ‘keep it tight’, ‘cut, cut, cut’ and so on. But there’s an interesting conversation to be had about what happens when an audience is presented with a sustained frame, one that they are allowed to edit with their eyes by choosing where to look.

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  1. 1 new

    La sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon

    1895 — a.k.a. Leaving the Factory, in 10 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Freaks

    1932, in 19 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Citizen Kane

    1941, in 39 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Rope

    1948, in 10 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Screen Test: Jane Holzer (Toothbrush)

    1964, in 0 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Screen Test: Freddy Herko

    1964, in 0 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Screen Test: Dennis Hopper

    1964, in 0 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Screen Test: Billy Name

    1964, in 0 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Screen Test: Ann Buchanan

    1964, in 0 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Screen Test #1

    1965, in 0 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    Screen Test #2

    1965, in 0 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Screen Test: Paul America

    1965, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Screen Test: Edie Sedgwick

    1965, in 0 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    Screen Test #4

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Screen Test #3

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Screen Test: Susan Bottomly

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Screen Test: Richard Rheem

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Screen Test: Nico

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Screen Test: Mary Woronov

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Screen Test: Lou Reed (Coke)

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Screen Test: Ingrid Superstar

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Screen Test: Helmut

    1966, in 0 top lists
    Check
  23. 23 new

    Edvard Munch

    1974, in 9 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Herz aus Glas

    1976 — a.k.a. Heart of Glass, in 1 top list Check
  25. 25 new

    Opening Night

    1977, in 4 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Koyaanisqatsi

    1982, in 12 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Drowning by Numbers

    1988, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Timecode

    2000, in 1 top list Check
  29. 29 new

    Russkiy kovcheg

    2002 — a.k.a. Russian Ark, in 9 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Elephant

    2003, in 10 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Caché

    2005, in 15 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Paranormal Activity

    2007, in 3 top lists Check
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Last updated on Jan 26, 2020; source