Anne V Coates (1925-2018)
Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 8:22PM by Nathaniel R
One of Hollywood's most important artists has died. The film editor Anne V Coates who won both a competitive and an Honorary Oscar has died at the age of 92. Her career began in the editing room of 1940s pictures -- she worked on The Red Shoes (!!!) -- but it didn't take her long to become a lead editor. Her first lead editing gigs were in British cinema in the early 50s. Her career really came roaring to life with Lawrence of Arabia (1962) for which she won her first and only competitive Oscar...
Many famous films followed including Becket, Murder on the Orient Express, The Elephant Man, Greystoke, Out of Sight, In the Line of Fire, and on up through Fifty Shades of Grey which would be her last film. My personal favorite work of hers is that whip-smart, sexy, brisk, and shaded cutting job on Erin Brockovich (2000) for which she was mysteriously passed over for an Oscar nomination.
image via stay for the end credits
She even played an editor (uncredited) in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004, pictured above) which takes place in the Golden Age of Hollywood! And no, that wasn't an anachronism. Though we all know that Hollywood has problems with gender parity, including within editing, editing is, historically, one of the kinder professions to women within Hollywood. If you believe that Oscars have always reflected Hollywood at large -- people can only vote on what's made in a given year and on who made it -- consider that there was a female nominee for editing in the very first year of the category and a winner within six years. That's a far cry from, say, the cinematography category which just barely had its first female nominee this past season after 90 years of prizes !!!
Some of the most important and/or most celebrated editors of all time have been women: Thelma Schoonmaker, Verna Fields, Barbara McLean, Anne Bauchens, Dede Allen, Dorothy Spencer, Sally Menke, Viola Lawrence, etcetera... and Anne V Coates... well Anne V Coates stood tall among them. Michael Tronick, VP of the Academy's Board of Governors says that Coates 'belongs on the Mount Rushmore of editing'
By all accounts Coates was a beloved coworker, imaginative artist, and wonderful wit. She leaves a rich filmography behind. We thank her profusely.
Reader Comments (10)
She was incredible. RIP.
So many good movies on that list! Rest in Peace.
An incredible editor. Her work in Lawrence of Arabia, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, and The Elephant Man are some of the finest works in the art of editing.
The headline of the first obituary I read decribed her as the "Oscar-winning Editor of 50 Shades of Grey". Now this condensation of her body of work made me want to scream with anger.
God, the seduction scene in the hotel bar in Out of Sight is so brilliantly done - everything in that film is masterfully edited, but that sequence in particular, with the push and pull/ will they won’t they leading to release is so damn sensual
The Meryl Streep of editors.
Wonderful work on a childhood classic/piece of nostalgia, Masters of the Universe (1987).
She was a brilliant artist, a master of the editing craft. I especially admire her lovely work on Murder On the Orient Express. Be at peace.
What a genius, she edited so many of my favourite films, the fact that she only has one oscar is a bit of a travesty. Still, thank god they gave her one for Laurence of Arabia.
Arguably, Ingrid Bergman got an Oscar because of the editing of Murder on the Orient Express.
@IanO - here here. The whole movie is well put-together but that scene is an all-timer. I like to rewatch it out of context specifically BECAUSE of the editing.