Has editing progressed less than all other aspects of filmmaking?

[Gerald Lovell]

The cutter did the donkey work. Skilled donkey work, but still donkey work. The editor made the decisions and then told the cutter to do it

Steve

Thanks for that info.

[OurBovinePublic]

Do you think the editing of any timeperiod (the 1920's, 1960's eg) would hold up with todays audiences? Or has it progressed to a point where even if we dont fully understand it or expect a certain level of quality from our editiors?

[will.15]

Certainly people today can watch an old movie and accept it. Personally, I think contemporary editing has ruined the effectiveness of slapstick comedy. The old classic style was a passive camera following the pratfall. Now they stage everthing like an action movie with quick cuts, which makes it less funny. There are some directors whose editing is nothing extra special, like that guy with the hard name who directed The Sixth Sense.