Twilight for the Gods

The Art and History of Film Editing

Jack Tucker

Narrated by Tracy Tupman

Available from Audible

Book published by Cognella Academic Publishing

Twilight for the Gods: The Art and History of Film Editing is a passionate exploration of the important role played by editing in the process of film-making and a functional guide to using editing most effectively.

The book explains how an editor is, in many ways, responsible for the final rewriting of a script — and that editing is in reality a pictorial form of writing.

Filled with examples from well-known films, the book explores all aspects of film editing from the first flash of inspiration to the latest technological advances. Readers will learn about the early history of editing, the impact of television, the influence of the French New Wave, and liquid editing. The book also discusses working with directors, making the first cut, and cutting room etiquette.

Written by an editor with fifty years of experience in the field, Twilight for the Gods is well suited to courses on media editing. The book is also an excellent reading selection for classes dealing with film history.

Jack Tucker is an Emmy-nominated member of American Cinema Editors, who was also the first recipient of the Robert Wise Award for Promoting the Art and Craft of Film Editing. He is an award winning film editor and has produced, directed, and served as sound editor on dramatic and documentary films including Winds of War, Shogun, and Days of Thunder. Mr. Tucker is the founder of Cinemaeditor Magazine and a past officer of the American Cinema Editors. He teaches at California State University, Long Beach, and has lectured at Chapman University, CSUN, Ohio University, UCLA, and the Inner-City Filmmakers program.