A Tribute to Thelma Schoonmaker '61

Films in Series:
My Voyage to Italy (1999) Nov 5 & 6
Goodfellas (1990) Nov 12
Kundun (1997) Nov 13
Raging Bull (1980) Nov 16 & 18
An Evening with Thelma Schoonmaker Nov 19
The Aviator (2004) Nov 17, 20

“Editing is really an art, not a craft.” Thelma Schoonmaker

“… Heroic Thelma Schoonmaker ’61, who picked up her second Oscar for her work on The Aviator. Since cutting her teeth on Woodstock, Schoonmaker has been one of the finest editors in the business for over 30 years, and her partnership with Martin Scorsese has led to brilliant films like Goodfellas and Raging Bull, for which she won her first Academy Award. Columbia can have Julia Stiles, Harvard can keep Natalie Portman, and NYU is more than welcome to the Olsen twins; we’re more than happy to count this fabulously talented and kick-ass lady as an alumna.”
Cornell Daily Sun, March 4, 2005

Born in Algiers, Algeria where her father worked for the Standard Oil Company, and raised on the island of Aruba, Thelma Schoonmaker came to Cornell with an interest in international relations, hoping to become a diplomat. She studied Russian and Government while here, and then, after graduating, she applied for an entry-level position with the State Department, but was turned down for being too idealistic. While doing graduate work at Columbia University, she responded to an ad that offered on-the-job training as a film editor, which led to a six-week summer course at New York University’s film school, where she met Martin Scorsese and helped him edit his student film. A few years later she edited his first feature, Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, but given that she wasn’t in the union, she couldn’t work with Scorsese again until Raging Bull, after he managed to get her into the union. She went on to win the Oscar for her work on the film and in a recent interview described her relationship with the classic film:

“The whole film for me is like my baby. It was a stunning piece of work, a complete and utter joy to work on, and I'm very proud of it.” In the same interview, Schoonmaker talked about her unique working relationship with Scorsese: “Marty was always a very gifted editor, but gradually what happened over the years is that I became more proficient and he began to rely on me more. But we've always had a collaborative relationship; it's never been ego-driven.”

In fact, when Thelma was at Cornell ten years ago and interviewed by the Cornell Daily Sun, she said that the two are “almost like one mind in the editing room,” and that she “learns something new with every movie she makes.”

Schoonmaker is truly one of the best in the business and has been honored as such with two Academy Awards: for Raging Bull (1980) and last year’s The Aviator (2004). She also received nominations for her work on Michael Wadleigh’s Woodstock (1971) and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) and Gangs of New York (2002).

In between editing Scorsese’s feature films, Schoonmaker has edited some of Scorsese’s documentary features, including A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, a British Film Institute/Channel Four co-production commemorating the centenary of cinema, and Il Mio Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy), a monumental introduction to postwar Italian cinema that is a marvel of editing artistry. According to Thelma, “When we did the one on the Italian film industry, I learned so much. To live with those films every day – those great masterpieces – and to learn from them and to try and sell them to the rest of the world was just wonderful. I just love working on those in between, and so there's no time for me to do anything else.”

But she actually does find time for more. In addition to her editing, she has done extensive work preserving and promoting the films and writings of her late husband, British director Michael Powell, whose work is featured in this calendar. Martin Scorsese introduced Thelma to the films of Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, and then to the director himself, around the time of Raging Bull, and the two were married in 1984. 2005 represents the 100th anniversary of Michael Powell’s birth, and celebrations of his life and work have been taking place throughout the year, from New York to Sydney to the Cannes Film Festival, from London to the Edinburgh Film Festival to California.

Thelma is currently working long hours on Martin Scorsese’s latest film, The Departed, a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, set in Boston. We look forward to its release and to more stunning editing from her in the years to come. We’re glad that the State Department turned her down for a job back in the 60s. The film world is a much richer and better place with her in it.

A Tribute to Thelma Schoonmaker ’61 was made possible with the support of the Atkinson Forum.

Images (from top to bottom): Thelma Schoonmaker '61; Kundun, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Aviator