10 Genius Editing Decisions That Made Movie Scenes Great

Nicolas Roeg's 1973 horror masterpiece Don't Look Now is iconic for many reasons, not least its highly innovative editing style, with editor Graeme Clifford frequently employing non-linear editing to keep viewers uneasy while presenting them flashes of the grim eventual fate awaiting protagonist John Baxter (Donald Sutherland).

But the movie's shining achievement is an unforgettable mid-film sex scene between John and his wife Laura (Julie Christie).

While the overwhelming majority of cinematic sex scenes are chronologically straightforward and, honestly, rarely do much to stray from the expected, in this case the sex is intercut with footage of the pair getting dressed for dinner, which actually occurs after they've had sex.

Though an uncommonly raw sex scene on its own merits, the dreamlike editing style also underpins one of the film's main themes: the fleeting nature of time and our perception of it.

This is especially relevant given that, unknown to the audience at the time, John's strange visions throughout the film are actually premonitions of his own death and funeral.