Passages: Film editing pioneer Dede Allen

Dede Allen, the film editor whose pioneering work on movies such as “The Hustler” and “Bonnie and Clyde” brought a new approach to shaping the look and sound of American movies, died Saturday in Los Angeles at 86 after a stroke.

Allen was nominated for Academy Awards for 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde”, 1975’s “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Reds” in 1981 and “Wonder Boys” in 2000.

Allen was the first American to embrace European methods of editing by beginning sequences with close-ups or jump cuts and using the sound from the next shot while the previous scene was still playing.

Many of her techniques are now standard in modern filmmaking.

Associated Press