Editing technique · used in 13 films
Alternating between simultaneous lines of action in different places or worlds. The cuts build suspense or draw a comparison between the threads.
Examples
Louis Malle · 1958
The film cuts between Julien trapped in the elevator, Florence searching Paris for him and the young couple joyriding in his car. Each thread shows what the others cannot know, so the tension builds from the gaps.
Where to see it: The night: While Julien is stuck, Florence wanders Paris, and Louis and Veronique race the stolen car.
Robert Altman · 1971
The film cuts between the gunfight outside, the townspeople fighting the church fire and Mrs. Miller lying in an opium den. The cuts show how nobody around McCabe notices what is happening to him. It makes his death feel even lonelier.
Where to see it: The climax: as the townspeople rush to put out the burning chapel, McCabe is hunted through the snow. Meanwhile Mrs. Miller lies sedated in an opium den.
Alejandro González Iñárritu · 2006
The film cuts between Morocco, Japan, San Diego and Mexico. The cuts let you compare people who have never met. Fear and worry in one place echo in another.
Where to see it: Four settings: the film alternates between the shot tourist in Morocco, the nanny and the children near Tijuana, the goat-herders and the deaf girl in Japan.
Paul Greengrass · 2006
The film keeps cutting between the ground and the plane. In control rooms, people try to understand what is happening in the sky. On the plane, passengers know nothing until their phone calls arrive. The two halves never meet, and that separation builds the tension.
Where to see it: The passengers' phone calls. While controllers keep tracking the plane, passengers learn from relatives that other planes have hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Peter Jackson · 2009
The film moves back and forth between Susie's In-Between and the real world where her family searches. Her view is always a step apart from theirs. You feel the gap each time it cuts.
Where to see it: Jack's search: Susie watches her father look for her while she can do nothing to reach him.
Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer · 2012
The editing jumps between eras at moments of tension, so rising danger in one story feeds the others. The cuts carry you toward several climaxes that land together.
Where to see it: Climaxes: Near the end, the six stories cut back and forth as each reaches its turning point.
Tony Gilroy · 2012
The film keeps cutting between Cross in the wilderness and the officials in Washington who are shutting down the program. The two lines show the same problem from opposite ends. Cross is a loose end, and the office is where that loose end gets decided.
Where to see it: Alaska and Washington. Cross survives a drone strike while the officials back home decide to erase the program.
Woody Allen · 2016
On New Year's Eve, Bobby hosts his nightclub in New York and Vonnie is at a party in Hollywood. The film moves between them as the new year arrives. Both look distant to the people next to them.
Where to see it: The New Year's Eve ending. Bobby and Vonnie ring in the new year in different cities, each with a faraway look.
Ridley Scott · 2017
The film switches between Paul in captivity and Gail and the negotiator in Rome and elsewhere. You know how he is suffering while they argue over money. That gap is where most of the tension comes from.
Where to see it: The negotiation: While Paul is held in southern Italy, scenes cut to Gail and Fletcher Chace trying to bring the kidnappers and Getty to terms.
John Krasinski · 2021
The finale splits the family into three places at once. Cutting between them lets each danger rise alongside the others, so you never get a moment to relax.
Where to see it: Three-way finale: Evelyn rescues Marcus and the baby, Regan broadcasts from the radio station, and Marcus uses a portable radio to weaken the alien at the foundry.
Ridley Scott · 2023
The film trades battle scenes with scenes of Napoleon and Joséphine arguing, courting and drifting apart. The two strands feel connected, as though his private need for her pushes him to larger conquests. It is one way to read the film.
Where to see it: The return from Egypt: After the Battle of the Pyramids, Napoleon hears of Joséphine's affair and returns to France.
Kathryn Bigelow · 2025
The film cuts between the Situation Room, the Pentagon, STRATCOM in Nebraska, Fort Greely in Alaska and the President's helicopter. Each place sees only part of the picture. The cuts show how a crisis is made of many people who each know a little.
Where to see it: The cross-cut moment: With the missile nearing Chicago, the film moves among Walker in the Situation Room, Baerington racing to the PEOC and the President being airlifted on Marine One.
Joe Carnahan · 2025
The film cuts between the men in the water and the search for them. You know help is moving, but not whether it will arrive in time. The cuts also bring in the families on shore.
Where to see it: The night search cutaways. The film cuts from the men in the water to a night search by men on a boat and a night scene with the men's family.
Questions