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Michael Kahn (film editor)

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Michael Kahn
Bornc. (1930-12-08) December 8, 1930 (age 94)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationFilm editor
Years active1964–present

Michael Kahn (born December 8, c. 1930)[1] is an American film editor known for his frequent collaboration with Steven Spielberg.

Early life

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Kahn was born to a Jewish family in New York City. While his birth year has been reported as 1935, Kahn said in 2015, when asked if he was 80, that his age at that point was "closer to 85."[1]

Career

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His first collaboration with Spielberg was for his 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He has edited all of Spielberg's subsequent films[2] except for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which was edited by Carol Littleton. Kahn has received eight Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing, and has won three times—for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), which were all Spielberg-directed films.

Kahn has edited digitally since at least Twister (1996), though he continued to edit on film with Spielberg long after most editors had stopped doing so.[3][4] In 2008, Kahn acknowledged that "people find it hard to believe that Steven and I still edit film on a Moviola and a KEM. [But] Steven feels film got us where we are today and he loves the smell of it and feel of it. We started that way and both really enjoy it."[5] George Lucas remarked "Michael Kahn can cut faster on a Moviola than anybody can cut on an Avid."[6] However, since The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011), Kahn has edited Spielberg's films on an Avid machine.[7]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Notes
1969 The Activist Art Napoleon
1970 Night Slaves Ted Post
1971 Touch Me Anthony Spinelli
1972 Wild in the Sky William T. Naud
Trouble Man Ivan Dixon
Rage George C. Scott
1973 The Spook Who Sat by the Door Ivan Dixon
1974 Black Belt Jones Robert Clouse
Truck Turner Jonathan Kaplan
Golden Needles Robert Clouse
Buster and Billie Daniel Petrie
Sidney Sheldon
The Savage Is Loose George C. Scott
1975 The Devil's Rain Robert Fuest
The Ultimate Warrior Robert Clouse
1976 The Return of a Man Called Horse Irvin Kershner
1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg
1978 Eyes of Laura Mars Irvin Kershner
Ice Castles Donald Wrye
1979 1941 Steven Spielberg
1980 Used Cars Robert Zemeckis
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Steven Spielberg
1982 Poltergeist Tobe Hooper
1983 Table for Five Robert Lieberman
Twilight Zone: The Movie Steven Spielberg Segment: "Kick the Can"
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Falling in Love Ulu Grosbard
1985 The Goonies Richard Donner
The Color Purple Steven Spielberg
1986 Wisdom Emilio Estevez
1987 Fatal Attraction Adrian Lyne
Empire of the Sun Steven Spielberg
1988 Arthur 2: On the Rocks Bud Yorkin
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Steven Spielberg
Always
1990 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall
1991 Toy Soldiers Daniel Petrie Jr.
Hook Steven Spielberg
1993 Alive Frank Marshall
Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg
Schindler's List
1995 Casper Brad Silberling
1996 Twister Jan de Bont
1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg
Amistad
1998 Saving Private Ryan
1999 The Haunting Jan de Bont
2000 Reindeer Games John Frankenheimer
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence Steven Spielberg
2002 Minority Report
Catch Me If You Can
2003 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Jan de Bont
Peter Pan P. J. Hogan
2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Brad Silberling
The Terminal Steven Spielberg
2005 War of the Worlds
Munich
2006 10 Items or Less Brad Silberling
2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles Mark Waters
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Steven Spielberg
2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Mike Newell with Mick Audsley and Martin Walsh
2011 The Adventures of Tintin Steven Spielberg
War Horse
2012 Lincoln
2014 Seventh Son Sergei Bodrov
2015 Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg
2016 The BFG
2017 The Post with Sarah Broshar[8]
2018 Ready Player One with Sarah Broshar[8]
2021 West Side Story with Sarah Broshar[8]
2022 The Fabelmans with Sarah Broshar[8]

Awards and nominations

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Kahn equaled the record for the most Oscar wins (three) in the Best Film Editing category, shared with Ralph Dawson, Daniel Mandell, and Thelma Schoonmaker. Furthermore, he had eight nominations in that category—a number surpassed only by Schoonmaker. All of Kahn's Oscars came from his work on Spielberg's films, which included Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). He has received six nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, winning for Fatal Attraction (1987) and Schindler's List.

Year Association Category Project Result Ref.
1977 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Close Encounters of the Third Kind Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Editing Nominated
1981 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Raiders of the Lost Ark Won
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Won
BAFTA Awards Best Editing Nominated
1984 BAFTA Awards Best Editing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Nominated
1987 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Fatal Attraction Nominated
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Editing Won
Academy Awards Best Film Editing Empire of the Sun Nominated
1993 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Schindler's List Won
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Won
BAFTA Awards Best Editing Won
1997 Satellite Award Best Editing Amistad Nominated
1998 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Saving Private Ryan Won
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Won
BAFTA Awards Best Editing Nominated
Satellite Award Best Editing Won
2005 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Munich Nominated
ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Editing War of the Worlds Nominated
2011 Annie Award Best Editing in a Feature Production The Adventures of Tintin Nominated
Saturn Award Best Editing Nominated
2011 ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic War Horse Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing Nominated
Satellite Award Best Editing Nominated
2012 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Lincoln Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing Nominated
2015 BAFTA Awards Best Editing Bridge of Spies Nominated
Satellite Award Best Editing Nominated
2016 Saturn Award Best Editing The BFG Won
2017 ACE Eddie Award Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic The Post Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Editing Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Editing Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Editing Nominated
2021 Critics' Choice Movie Award best Editing West Side Story Won


Kahn has been selected for membership in the American Cinema Editors (ACE).[9] In 2011, he received the Career Achievement Award of the American Cinema Editors. At the ceremony, Steven Spielberg said of editing: "this is where filmmaking goes from a craft to an art."[10] In November 2013, Spielberg created the Michael Kahn Endowed Chair in Editing at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in honor of Kahn. The first to be appointed to the position was Norman Hollyn.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tapley, Kristopher (December 9, 2015). "Editor Michael Kahn on 'Bridge of Spies' and Four Decades of Steven Spielberg Magic". Variety. "Q: Happy Birthday! You’re 80 years old today, is that right? A: No, closer to 85, actually!"
  2. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (December 8, 2015). "Editor Michael Kahn on 'Bridge of Spies' and Four Decades of Steven Spielberg Magic". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  3. ^ Davidson, Keay (June 1, 1996). Twister: The Science of Tornadoes and the Making of a Natural Disaster Movie. New York City: Gallery Books. p. XX. ISBN 0671000292. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  4. ^ King, Susan (April 8, 2018). "Film editor Michael Kahn on his long, award-winning work with Steven Spielberg". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Ian Freer (May 2008). "The Indiana Jones Diaries". Empire. p. 26.
  6. ^ Richard Corliss (March 14, 2006). "A Conversation with George Lucas". Time. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
  7. ^ Desowitz, Bill (January 2012). "Cinematic Siblings Still Thinking Analogue in a Digital World". Editors Guild Magazine. Motion Picture Editors Guild. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d McGovern, Joe (January 4, 2023). "How 'The Fabelmans' Pieced Together Steven Spielberg's Childhood With Editors Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar". TheWrap. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "American Cinema Editors > Members", webpage archived by WebCite from this original URL on March 4, 2008.
  10. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (February 19, 2011). "'Social Network' Wins Best Edited Dramatic Feature at ACE Eddie Awards". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. ^ "USC Trustee Steven Spielberg creates Michael Kahn Chair in Editing". University of Southern California. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Philadelphia, Desa (November 13, 2013). "Michael Kahn Honored at SCA". University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
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