Thelma Schoonmaker (; born January 3, 1940) is an American

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

, known for her over five decades of work with frequent

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

. She started working with Scorsese on his debut feature film ''

Who's That Knocking at My Door ''Who's That Knocking at My Door'', originally titled ''I Call First'', is a 1967 American independent drama film written and directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune. It was Scorsese's feature film directorial deb ...

'' (1967), and has edited all of Scorsese's films since ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: My ...

'' (1980). Schoonmaker has received eight

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for Best Film Editing, and has won three times—for ''Raging Bull'', '' The Aviator'' (2004), and ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...

'' (2006), which were all Scorsese-directed films.

Early life

Schoonmaker was born on January 3, 1940, in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

(then part of

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

), the daughter of American parents, Thelma and Bertram Schoonmaker. Bertram, descended from the New York Dutch Schoonmaker political family, was employed as an agent of the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

and worked extensively abroad. The Schoonmakers were evacuated to the United States shortly after the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1941, the family moved to the Dutch-

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of Aruba, where Schoonmaker's father continued to work for Standard Oil and her mother ran nursery schools. Schoonmaker was primarily raised in Aruba, in a community she described as "a colony of expatriates from over the world"; she also spent part of her childhood in Portugal. Schoonmaker did not live in the United States until she was an adolescent in 1955, and was initially alienated and dumbfounded by American culture. Schoonmaker was interested in a career in international diplomacy and began attending

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1957, where she studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

. When she graduated from Cornell in 1961, she began taking

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

tests in order to apply for positions in the U.S. government.Daniel Aloi
"Thelma Schoonmaker '61 to talk movies Nov. 19 at Cornell"
cornell.edu; accessed February 26, 2018. Politically inclined and opinionated, Schoonmaker was opposed to the Vietnam War and supported the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. She passed the State Department exams but failed the final "stress test" when she expressed distaste for the South African policy of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, a stance which did not sit well with those administering the tests.

Career

While taking a graduate course in primitive art at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Schoonmaker saw an advertisement in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that offered training as an assistant

. She responded to the advertisement and got the job. The job entailed assisting an "

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

" who was randomly cutting frames from classic European films (such as those by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

and

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

), so that their length would conform to the running times of U.S.

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

broadcasts. She signed up for a brief six-week course in filmmaking at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where she came into contact with young

, who was struggling to complete his film '' What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?'' A

negative cutter Negative cutting (also known as negative matching and negative conforming) is the process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor. Original camera negative (OCN) is cut with scissors and ...

had butchered his film, not leaving enough negative frames to allow for hot splicing, so a film professor asked her to help Scorsese. Schoonmaker edited Scorsese's first feature film, ''

'' (1967). At NYU, Schoonmaker also met filmmaker

Michael Wadleigh Michael Wadleigh, (born September 24, 1942, in Akron, Ohio), is an American film director and cinematographer renowned for his groundbreaking documentary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, ''Woodstock''. Biography A native of Akron, Ohio, Wadleig ...

and later edited his influential music festival documentary, ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

'', on which Scorsese also worked. Her first major film editing work on ''

'' gained Schoonmaker an

nomination for Best Editing. Her use of

superimposition Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Graphics In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to t ...

s and freeze frames brought the performances in the film to life, and added to the movie's wide appeal, thus helping to raise the artistry and visibility of documentary film-making to a new level. The early period of Schoonmaker's career was difficult. Despite being an Oscar nominee, Schoonmaker could not work on feature films unless she became a member of the

Motion Picture Editors Guild The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG; IATSE Local 700) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States. The Moti ...

. The union's entry requirements included spending five years as an apprentice and three as an assistant, which Schoonmaker was unwilling to meet. Schoonmaker remarked, "And I just couldn't see why I, who had been a full editor and had been nominated for an Academy Award, should suddenly have to become an apprentice. ...And of course, ''they'' couldn't see the sense of why I, who had never been in the union all those years and had never paid dues all those years and had never served my time in their sense, should be allowed as a full editor. So it was quite understandable on both sides. It was just insane." Consequently, Schoonmaker did not work with Scorsese in a formal capacity in the 1970s; however, she did make an uncredited contribution to ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

''. Scorsese had decided not to edit the picture during principal photography, but to save all the editing until shooting had wrapped. Unfortunately, this left him very little time to cut the picture, as Columbia's contract stipulated that a finished cut had to be supplied by the middle of February. Scorsese brought in Schoonmaker to help. At one point, Steven Spielberg visited Scorsese and chipped in with some contributions toward the final edit. In the 1980s, with Scorsese's help, Schoonmaker was finally admitted to the union. The two collaborated on ''

'', which garnered Schoonmaker an

Academy Award for Best Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, ...

Personal life

She was introduced to

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

by Scorsese and London-based film producer Frixos Constantine. The couple were married from May 19, 1984, until his death in 1990. The couple had no children.Chris Tilly
"Thelma Schoonmaker Q&A"
, TimeOut.com, September 26, 2005. Since Powell's death, Schoonmaker has dedicated herself to preserving the films and honoring the legacy of her husband, who directed many classic films, including '' The Red Shoes''.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1967) *''

'' (1980) *'' The King of Comedy'' (1982) *'' After Hours'' (1985) *''

The Color of Money ''The Color of Money'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. Th ...

'' (1986) *''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

'' (1987) - music video *'' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) *''

New York Stories ''New York Stories'' is a 1989 American anthology film consisting of three segments with the central theme being New York City. The first is ''Life Lessons'', directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The s ...

'' (1989) segment "Life Lessons" *''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' Wis ...

'' (1990) *'' Cape Fear'' (1991) *''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine ''Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Apple ...

'' (1993) *''

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

'' (1995) *''

Grace of My Heart ''Grace of My Heart'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit, and John Turturro. The film charts the music career of Denise Waverly ...

'' (1996) *''

Kundun ''Kundun'' is a 1997 American epic biographical film written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. Ten ...

'' (1997) *''

Bringing Out the Dead ''Bringing Out the Dead'' is a 1999 American psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Connelly. It stars Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, V ...

'' (1999) *''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book ''The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' (2002) *'' The Aviator'' (2004) *''

'' (2006) *''

Shutter Island ''Shutter Island'' is a novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, published by HarperCollins in April 2003. It is about a U.S. Marshal who goes to an isolated hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient who is ...

'' (2010) *''

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

'' (2011) *'' The Wolf of Wall Street'' (2013) *'' Bombay Velvet'' (2015) *''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...

'' (2016) *''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book ''The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It wa ...

'' (2017) with Claire Simpson *''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book '' I Heard You Paint Hou ...

'' (2019) *''

Killers of the Flower Moon ''Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI'' is the third non-fiction book by the American journalist David Grann. The book was released on April 18, 2017 by Doubleday. ''Time'' magazine listed ''Killers of the Fl ...

'' (2023)

Other credits

*'' The Kids Are Alright'' (1979) (special consultant) *''

'' (1970) (assistant director & editor) *''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

'' (episode: "

", 2010) (consultant)

Accolades

With eight Academy Award nominations, Schoonmaker tied with Michael Kahn for being the most-nominated editor in Academy Awards history. Tied with Kahn,

Daniel Mandell Daniel Mandell (August 13, 1895 - June 8, 1987) was an American film editor with more than 70 film credits. His first editing credit was for '' The Turmoil'' in 1924. From '' Dodsworth'' (1936) to ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959), Mandell worked for Sa ...

, and

Ralph Dawson Ralph Dawson (April 18, 1897 in Westborough, Massachusetts – November 15, 1962) was an American film editor who also did some acting, directing, and screenwriting. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing four times, and won ...

, she also holds the record for the most wins in the category of Best Editing, with three. In 2012, the

published a list of the 75 best-edited films of all time based on a survey of its membership. Three films edited by Schoonmaker with Scorsese are on this list: ''Raging Bull'' (1980), listed first, ''Goodfellas'' (1990), listed fifteenth, and ''Hugo'' (2011), listed sixty-ninth. Only

George Tomasini George Tomasini (April 20, 1909 – November 22, 1964) was an American film editor, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who had a List of film director and editor collaborations, decade long collaboration with Film director, director Alfred Hitchco ...

, the editor of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's films in the 1950s, has more appearances on this list.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Other awards and nominations *1981 – ''

'' (1980) (won)

American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...

ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film *1982 – ''Raging Bull'' (1980) (won) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *1984 – '' The King of Comedy'' (1982) (nominated) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *1991 – ''

'' (1990) (nominated) American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film *1991 – ''Goodfellas'' (1990) (won) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *1993 – '' Cape Fear'' (nominated) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *1992 – Gotham Below the Line Award (won) *1996 – ''

'' (1995) (nominated) American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film *2000 – Hollywood Film Festival – Hollywood Film Award (won) *2003 – ''

'' (2002) (won) American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic *2003 – ''Gangs of New York'' (2002) (nominated) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *2003 – ''Gangs of New York'' (2002) (won)

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

s Golden Satellite Award Best Film Editing *2004 – ''AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert De Niro'' (2003) (TV) (2004) (nominated) Emmy Award – Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special *2005 – '' The Aviator'' (won) American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic *2005 – ''The Aviator'' (nominated) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *2005 – ''The Aviator'' (nominated) Satellite Awards Golden Satellite Award Best Film Editing *2005 – ''The Aviator'' (nominated) OFCS Award – Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Editing *2007 – ''

'' (nominated) American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie – Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic *2007 – ''The Departed'' (nominated) BAFTA Film Award – Best Editing *2007 – ''The Departed'' (nominated) OFCS Award – Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Editing *2007 – Made an honorary

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Canterbury Christ Church University *2014 – 71st Venice International Film Festival – Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement *2017 –

American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award The American Cinema Editors (ACE) gives one or more Career Achievement Awards each year. The first awards were given in 1988. Article indicates that Milford received the ACE Career Achievement Award in 1987; the actual award year appears to be 1988. ...

*2019 –

BAFTA Fellowship The BAFTA Fellowship, or the Academy Fellowship, is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in recognition of "outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image". The award is t ...

References

External links

*

at Encyclopedia.com
"Thelma Schoonmaker: From 'Raging Bull' to 'Silence
��January 26, 2017 interview on ''

Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was to "Get inside the ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoonmaker, Thelma Living people 1940 births Algerian people of American descent American Cinema Editors American film editors American women film editors American people of Dutch descent Artists from New York City BAFTA fellows Best Editing BAFTA Award winners Best Film Editing Academy Award winners Columbia University alumni Cornell University alumni French people of American descent French people of Dutch descent People from Algiers