Barry Malkin
Encyclopedia
Barry M. Malkin is an American film editor with about 30 film credits. He is noted for his extended collaboration with director Francis Ford Coppola
, having edited most of Coppola's films from 1969-1997. In particular, Malkin worked with Coppola on four of the component and compilation films of the Godfather Trilogy
, although he was not involved in the original 1972 film
. Roger Ebert
has written of The Godfather Part II, which Malkin edited, "... why is it a "great movie"? Because it must be seen as a piece with the unqualified greatness of "The Godfather." The two can hardly be considered apart ("Part III" is another matter). When the characters in a film take on a virtual reality for us, when a character in another film made 30 years later can say "The Godfather" contains all the lessons in life you need to know, when an audience understands why that statement could be made, a film has become a cultural bedrock."
on the film America, America
(directed by Elia Kazan
-1962), and became acquainted with editor Aram Avakian
, who was an occasional visitor. Malkin became Avakian's assistant editor on Lilith
(directed by Robert Rossen
-1964). Malkin got his first credits as a full editor on The Patty Duke Show
(TV) and on the "Z movie
" The Fat Spy
(1966). Francis Ford Coppola heard of Malkin from Avakian, who had edited Coppola's film You're a Big Boy Now
(1966); it turned out that Malkin and Coppola had been acquainted as teenagers growing up in the same Queens
neighborhood. Coppola engaged Malkin to edit his fourth film as director, The Rain People
(1969). He worked as an associate editor on two additional films edited by Robert Q. Lovett: End of the Road
(directed by Aram Avakian
-1970), and Cotton Comes to Harlem (directed by Ossie Davis
-1970). Malkin was the editor for the 1973 film directed by Avakian, Cops and Robbers.
for 1972. Production of a sequel, The Godfather Part II
, started in 1973. Malkin and Richard Marks
joined Zinner as co-editors. Godfather Part II, which was released in 1974 and enjoyed success comparable to The Godfather, is noted for its intercutting between two storylines, one from Sicily in the early 1900s, and a second contemporary story that follows the first film's action. Coppola subsequently asked Malkin to edit a television miniseries, The Godfather Saga
(1977), that was based on the two films. The miniseries incorporated scenes that could not be included in the original versions, and replaced the complex intercutting between time periods of the original films with a more straightforward chronological ordering.
Malkin was an additional editor for Apocalypse Now
(1979), and a supervising editor for the Coppola-produced film Hammett
(directed by Wim Wenders
, 1982). In this period, Malkin also edited Four Friends
(1981), which was directed by Arthur Penn
. Dede Allen
had edited Penn's films since Bonnie and Clyde
(1967), but was unavailable for this film. Stephen Prince has written of the contrast between them: "... the difference an editor makes on a director's films is evident by comparing his more linear approach to Dede Allen's fractured and off-center cutting".
(1984), which garnered the two editors a nomination for the Academy Award. Malkin also edited the film Big
(1988) that was directed by Penny Marshall
. By the end of the decade Coppola had agreed to make The Godfather Part III
(1990), and brought in Malkin, Lisa Fruchtman, and Walter Murch
to edit. Malkin and Murch then edited a compilation entitled The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 that was released to video in 1992. The compilation included footage from the theatrically released versions of all three films as well as additional footage. A 1993 review in Time
reads, "This trilogy has a novelistic density, a rueful, unhurried lyricism and a depth that, singly, the films could not achieve. Altogether glorious."
In the 1990s, in addition to his work with Coppola on Jack (1996) and The Rainmaker (1997), Malkin edited four films with director Andrew Bergman
. Their first film together, The Freshman
(1992), is to some extent a comic "sendup" of the original 1972 Godfather film, including a part played by Marlon Brando
. Malkin's most recent film is The Big Bounce
(2004), which was directed by George Armitage
.
for The Godfather: Part II (1974). He and Robert Q. Lovett were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for The Cotton Club
(directed by Francis Ford Coppola-1984). Malkin, Murch, and Fruchtman were nominated for the Academy Award for editing The Godfather Part III
(1990). Malkin has been selected for membership in the American Cinema Editors
.
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, having edited most of Coppola's films from 1969-1997. In particular, Malkin worked with Coppola on four of the component and compilation films of the Godfather Trilogy
Godfather Trilogy
The Godfather is a crime drama film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the novel by Mario Puzo about the fictional Corleone Mafia family.-Films:* The Godfather * The Godfather Part II...
, although he was not involved in the original 1972 film
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
has written of The Godfather Part II, which Malkin edited, "... why is it a "great movie"? Because it must be seen as a piece with the unqualified greatness of "The Godfather." The two can hardly be considered apart ("Part III" is another matter). When the characters in a film take on a virtual reality for us, when a character in another film made 30 years later can say "The Godfather" contains all the lessons in life you need to know, when an audience understands why that statement could be made, a film has become a cultural bedrock."
Early career
Malkin worked as an apprentice to editor Dede AllenDede Allen
Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors....
on the film America, America
America, America
America, America is a 1963 American dramatic film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, from his own book.-Plot:...
(directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
-1962), and became acquainted with editor Aram Avakian
Aram Avakian
Aram A. Avakian was an American film editor and director.Directed ground-breaking indie film End of the Road- Life and work :...
, who was an occasional visitor. Malkin became Avakian's assistant editor on Lilith
Lilith (film)
Lilith is a film written and directed by Robert Rossen. It is based on a novel by J. R. Salamanca and stars Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter and Gene Hackman...
(directed by Robert Rossen
Robert Rossen
Robert Rossen was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film All the King's Men won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while Rossen was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director...
-1964). Malkin got his first credits as a full editor on The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
(TV) and on the "Z movie
Z movie
The term Z movie arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopted to characterize low-budget pictures with quality standards well below those of most B movies and even so-called C movies...
" The Fat Spy
The Fat Spy
The Fat Spy is a 1966 Z movie that attempts to parody teenage beach party films. It was filmed at Cape Coral, Florida. It is featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Briefly released to theaters in 1966, it was rarely seen until the 1990s, when it was released to the public...
(1966). Francis Ford Coppola heard of Malkin from Avakian, who had edited Coppola's film You're a Big Boy Now
You're a Big Boy Now
You're a Big Boy Now is a 1966 film with Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Julie Harris and Karen Black, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola based on a 1963 novel, also titled You're a Big Boy Now, by David Benedictus....
(1966); it turned out that Malkin and Coppola had been acquainted as teenagers growing up in the same Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
neighborhood. Coppola engaged Malkin to edit his fourth film as director, The Rain People
The Rain People
The Rain People is a 1969 film by Francis Ford Coppola. Alongside Shirley Knight, leading players are James Caan and Robert Duvall, both of whom would later work with Coppola in The Godfather. Future film director and Coppola friend George Lucas worked as an aide on this film, and made a short...
(1969). He worked as an associate editor on two additional films edited by Robert Q. Lovett: End of the Road
The End of the Road (1970 film)
End of the Road is a 1970 film directed by Aram Avakian. It stars Stacy Keach and Harris Yulin. It was rated X for an abortion scene. It won an award at the 1970 Locarno International Film Festival. A nine-page Life Magazine article was published on Aram Avakian and End of the Road on November 7,...
(directed by Aram Avakian
Aram Avakian
Aram A. Avakian was an American film editor and director.Directed ground-breaking indie film End of the Road- Life and work :...
-1970), and Cotton Comes to Harlem (directed by Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
-1970). Malkin was the editor for the 1973 film directed by Avakian, Cops and Robbers.
The Godfather and the 1970s
The Godfather was extremely successful artistically and at the box-office; among other distinctions, it won the Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
for 1972. Production of a sequel, The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
, started in 1973. Malkin and Richard Marks
Richard Marks
Richard Marks is an American film editor with more than 30 editing credits for feature and television films dating from 1972. In an extended, notable collaboration , he has edited all of director James L...
joined Zinner as co-editors. Godfather Part II, which was released in 1974 and enjoyed success comparable to The Godfather, is noted for its intercutting between two storylines, one from Sicily in the early 1900s, and a second contemporary story that follows the first film's action. Coppola subsequently asked Malkin to edit a television miniseries, The Godfather Saga
The Godfather Saga
The Godfather Saga is a TV miniseries that combines The Godfather and The Godfather Part II into one film. It originally aired on NBC over four consecutive nights in November 1977...
(1977), that was based on the two films. The miniseries incorporated scenes that could not be included in the original versions, and replaced the complex intercutting between time periods of the original films with a more straightforward chronological ordering.
Malkin was an additional editor for Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
(1979), and a supervising editor for the Coppola-produced film Hammett
Hammett
Hammett is a 1982 homage to noir films and pulp fiction directed by Wim Wenders. The film is a fictionalized story about writer Dashiell Hammett, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Gores...
(directed by Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
, 1982). In this period, Malkin also edited Four Friends
Four Friends (film)
Four Friends is a 1981 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn. The semi-autobiographical screenplay by Steve Tesich follows the path of the title characters from high school to college during the often turbulent 1960s and beyond.-Plot synopsis:...
(1981), which was directed by Arthur Penn
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn was an American film director and producer with a career as a theater director as well. Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
. Dede Allen
Dede Allen
Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors....
had edited Penn's films since Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
(1967), but was unavailable for this film. Stephen Prince has written of the contrast between them: "... the difference an editor makes on a director's films is evident by comparing his more linear approach to Dede Allen's fractured and off-center cutting".
1980s and 1990s
During the 1980s Malkin edited six of Coppola's films, from Rumble Fish (1983) through The Godfather Part III (1990). He was joined by his former mentor Robert Q. Lovett for The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
(1984), which garnered the two editors a nomination for the Academy Award. Malkin also edited the film Big
Big
Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
(1988) that was directed by Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
. By the end of the decade Coppola had agreed to make The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...
(1990), and brought in Malkin, Lisa Fruchtman, and Walter Murch
Walter Murch
Walter Scott Murch is an American film editor and sound designer.-Early life:Murch was born in New York City, New York, the son of Katharine and Canadian-born Walter Tandy Murch , a painter. He went to The Collegiate School, a private preparatory school in Manhattan, from 1949 to 1961...
to edit. Malkin and Murch then edited a compilation entitled The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 that was released to video in 1992. The compilation included footage from the theatrically released versions of all three films as well as additional footage. A 1993 review in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
reads, "This trilogy has a novelistic density, a rueful, unhurried lyricism and a depth that, singly, the films could not achieve. Altogether glorious."
In the 1990s, in addition to his work with Coppola on Jack (1996) and The Rainmaker (1997), Malkin edited four films with director Andrew Bergman
Andrew Bergman
Andrew Bergman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. New York magazine in 1985 dubbed him "The Unknown King of Comedy".He graduated from Binghamton University and earned a Ph.D...
. Their first film together, The Freshman
The Freshman (1990 film)
The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, in which Brando parodies his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather....
(1992), is to some extent a comic "sendup" of the original 1972 Godfather film, including a part played by Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. Malkin's most recent film is The Big Bounce
The Big Bounce (2004 film)
The Big Bounce is a 2004 comedy caper film starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster and Morgan Freeman. It was directed by George Armitage and based on a novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard....
(2004), which was directed by George Armitage
George Armitage
George Armitage is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer who got his start as part of the stable of up-and-coming filmmakers who broke into the business thru Roger Corman's New World Pictures...
.
Awards
Malkin, Marks, and Zinner were nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best EditingBAFTA Award for Best Editing
The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
for The Godfather: Part II (1974). He and Robert Q. Lovett were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
(directed by Francis Ford Coppola-1984). Malkin, Murch, and Fruchtman were nominated for the Academy Award for editing The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...
(1990). Malkin has been selected for membership in the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors 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 itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
.
Filmography (as editor)
The director for each film is indicated in parenthesis. Filmography based on Oldham's book and the Internet Movie Database.
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Rumble Fish Rumble Fish is a 1983 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the novel Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay.... (Coppola-1983) The Cotton Club (film) The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines... (with Robert Q. Lovett) (Coppola-1984) Peggy Sue Got Married Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school... (Coppola-1986) Gardens of Stone Gardens of Stone is a 1987 film by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel of the same title by Nicholas Proffitt.A drama, it stars James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones and D. B. Sweeney.-Plot:... (Coppola-1987) Big Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight... (Marshall Penny Marshall Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley... -1988) New York Stories New York Stories is a 1989 anthology film; it consists of three shorts 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 second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by... (1989) (segment "Life without Zoe") The Godfather Part III The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire... (with Lisa Fruchtman and Walter Murch Walter Murch Walter Scott Murch is an American film editor and sound designer.-Early life:Murch was born in New York City, New York, the son of Katharine and Canadian-born Walter Tandy Murch , a painter. He went to The Collegiate School, a private preparatory school in Manhattan, from 1949 to 1961... ) (Coppola-1990) The Freshman (1990 film) The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, in which Brando parodies his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.... (Bergman Andrew Bergman Andrew Bergman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. New York magazine in 1985 dubbed him "The Unknown King of Comedy".He graduated from Binghamton University and earned a Ph.D... -1990) Honeymoon in Vegas Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 comedy film directed by Andrew Bergman and starring Nicolas Cage, James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parker.-Plot:... (Bergman-1992) It Could Happen to You (film) It Could Happen to You is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It is the story of New York City police officer who wins the lottery and splits his winnings with a waitress . The movie bears a striking resemblance to an actual event as documented by Snopes... (Bergman-1994) The Rainmaker (1997 film) The Rainmaker is a 1997 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon. Coppola wrote the script, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham.... (with Melissa Kent) (Coppola-1997) Isn't She Great Isn't She Great is a 2000 American biographical film.A highly fictionalized account of the life and career of best-selling author Jacqueline Susann, the Universal Pictures release focuses on her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with press agent... (Bergman-2000) Lucky Numbers Lucky Numbers is a 2000 comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal.-Plot:... (Ephron Nora Ephron Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in... -2000) The Big Bounce (2004 film) The Big Bounce is a 2004 comedy caper film starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster and Morgan Freeman. It was directed by George Armitage and based on a novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard.... (Armitage George Armitage George Armitage is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer who got his start as part of the stable of up-and-coming filmmakers who broke into the business thru Roger Corman's New World Pictures... -2004) |