Peter Zinner (July 24, 1919 – November 13, 2007) was an Austrian-American film editor. Following nearly fifteen years of uncredited work as an assistant sound editor, Zinner received credits on more than fifty films from 1959 to 2006. His most influential films are likely The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, both of which appear on a 2012 listing of the 75 best edited films of all time compiled by the Motion Picture Editors Guild.The Godfather was listed sixth, and The Godfather: Part II was listed twenty-second. See
Early life He was born in Vienna, Austria, and studied music there in the TheresianumAt this time in the 1930s, the Therasianum was one of the finest Gymnasien in Vienna; see Zinner received his degree in 1937 (his Maturajahr); see and at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Following the occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, Zinner and his parents, who were Jewish, emigrated. They went first to the Philippines, and in 1940 to the United States. As a young man, Zinner worked in Los Angeles as a taxi driver and occasionally as a pianist at screenings of silent films.
Career In 1943, Zinner became an apprentice film editor at the 20th Century Fox Studios. He became an assistant sound-effects editor at Universal Studios in 1947. Much of his work as an assistant sound and music editor is uncredited; he worked with composers Miklós Rózsa, Jacques Ibert, André Previn, Adolph Deutsch, and Bernard Herrmann on films including Quo Vadis (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Gigi (1958), and Gene Kelly's experimental Invitation to the Dance (1956). His first credit as a music editor was for For the First Time (1959); his other credits for music include X-15 (1961), the US version of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), and Lord Jim (1965).
Zinner had wanted to move into film editing, and following his music-editing work with producer-director Richard Brooks on Lord Jim, Brooks asked him to edit The Professionals (1967) and In Cold Blood (1967). Zinner's work on The Professionals was nominated for an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award. By 1970 he had become sufficiently established as an editor that he was asked to edit the latter half of The Godfather; William H. Reynolds edited the first half. The film, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, has been very successful with critics and at the box office. One of its sequences has become an icon of film editing. As critic Tony Sloman described it in 2007, "As the newly born child of Michael Corleone is christened, the young Don Michael, heir to the almost-murdered Don Vito Corleone, wreaks his revenge on his enemies, eliminating them to the soundtrack of the priest's baby-blessing and the church's organ music. It is unquestionably one of the most dramatically satisfying and audience-shattering sequences in contemporary cinema, a magnificent example of the art of motion-picture editing, the craft of story-telling by montage. The editor of the sequence was Peter Zinner." Director Frank Pierson said, "...That's the kind of thing that he was brilliant at, and it's become a classic sequence in movie history."
Zinner was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing three times, for his work on The Godfather (1972), The Deer Hunter (1978; directed by Michael Cimino), and An Officer and a Gentleman {1982; directed by Taylor Hackford}. He won the Oscar, a BAFTA, and an Eddie for The Deer Hunter. His work (with Barry Malkin and Richard Marks) on The Godfather Part II (1974) earned a second BAFTA nomination. Zinner was nominated four times for Emmy Awards, and won for the miniseries War and Remembrance (1988) and for Citizen Cohn (1992). His peers in the American Cinema Editors honored him with six Eddie nominations of which he won four.
His many other film editing credits include Blake Edwards' Gunn, Foolin' Around, Darling Lili, Dirty Pictures, Crazy Joe, Mahogany, A Star is Born (with Barbra Streisand) and Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture.
In 1990 he played the role of an admiral in the film The Hunt for Red October. Zinner also produced four films. He directed The Salamander (1981) with Anthony Quinn.
Personal life Zinner had married his wife Christa, a German-born photographer and artist, in 1959. Their daughter, Katina Zinner, is also a film editor as well as an artist. Zinner died on November 13, 2007, aged 88, in Santa Monica, California, from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His funeral was held on January 5, 2008.
Filmography
Film Year TitleEditorProducerOtherDirector Notes1959For the First TimeRudolph MatéMusic editor1961The Deadly CompanionsSam PeckinpahMusic editorEdited by Stanley RabjohnX-15Richard Donner1962Varan the UnbelievableIshirō HondaAmerican version onlyKing Kong vs. GodzillaAmerican version only1963They Saved Hitler's BrainDavid BradleyMusic supervisor1964The Naked KissSamuel FullerMusic editor1965Lord JimRichard BrooksMusic editorDeathwatchVic MorrowMusic editor1966The ProfessionalsRichard BrooksNominated- ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film1967GunnBlake EdwardsIn Cold BloodRichard Brooks1969ChangesHall BartlettThe Red TentMikhail KalatozovCo-editor with John Shirley1970Darling LiliBlake Edwards1972The GodfatherFrancis Ford CoppolaCo-editor with William H. Reynolds Nominated- Academy Award for Best Film EditingNominated- ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film1973ChinoJohn SturgesCo-editor with Luis Álvarez & Vanio Amici1974Crazy JoeCarlo LizzaniThe Godfather Part IIFrancis Ford CoppolaCo-editor with Barry Malkin & Richard Marks Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Editing1975MahoganyBerry Gordy1976FoxtrotArturo RipsteinA Star Is BornFrank Pierson1978The Deer HunterMichael CiminoAcademy Award for Best Film EditingBAFTA Award for Best EditingACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film1979The Fish That Saved PittsburghGilbert MosesCo-editor with Frank Mazzola1980Foolin' AroundRichard T. Heffron1981The SalamanderHimselfAs director1982An Officer and a GentlemanTaylor HackfordNominated- Academy Award for Best Film Editing1983Running BraveDonald Shebib1985War and LoveMoshé Mizrahi1986Saving GraceRobert M. Young1990The Hunt for Red OctoberJohn McTiernanActor; as Admiral Yuri PadorinEternitySteven PaulCo-editor with Michael J. Sheridan1991Ted & VenusBud CortCo-editor with Katina Zinner1992GladiatorRowdy HerringtonCo-editor with Harry B. Miller III1997A Gun, a Car, a BlondeStefani AmesMotel BlueSam FirstenbergCo-editor with Phil Russman1999The Omega CodeRob MarcearelliCo-editor with Katina Zinner2006Running with ArnoldDan CoxDocumentary filmCo-editor with Rick Benavides & Katina Zinner
Television Year TitleEditorProducerOtherDirector Notes1960-61The Brothers BrannaganPaul LandresMusic editor/supervisor4 episodes1961Miami UndercoverHoward W. KochMusic editor/supervisor38 episodes1983The Winds of WarDan CurtisMiniseriesCo-editor with Bernard Gribble, John F. Burnett & Jack Tucker Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Limited Series or Movie1988-89War and RemembranceMiniseriesCo-editor with John F. Burnett Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Limited Series or MovieACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Television Mini-Series1987Broken VowsJud TaylorTelevision film1990Somebody Has to Shoot the PictureFrank Pierson1992Citizen CohnFrank PiersonTelevision film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Limited Series or MovieACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Television SpecialNominated- CableACE Award for Best Editing in a Dramatic Special1994The Enemy WithinJonathan DarbyTelevision film2000American TragedyLawrence SchillerDirty PicturesFrank PiersonTelevision filmACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television2001ConspiracyTelevision film Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television MovieNominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing for a Limited Series or Movie200210,000 Black Men Named GeorgeRobert TownsendTelevision filmCo-editor with Katina Zinner
Awards and nominations Year AssociationCategoryWork Result1967American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Feature FilmThe Professionals1972American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Feature FilmThe Godfather1973Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesBest Film Editing1974British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBest EditingThe Godfather Part II1978American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Feature FilmThe Deer Hunter1979British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBest EditingAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesBest Film Editing1983Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesBest Film EditingAn Officer and a Gentleman1984Academy of Television Arts & SciencesOutstanding Editing for a Limited Series or MovieWar and Remembrance1989American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Television Mini-Series1990Academy of Television Arts & SciencesOutstanding Editing for a Limited Series or Movie1992American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Television SpecialCitizen Cohn1993CableACE AwardsBest Editing in a Dramatic SpecialAcademy of Television Arts & SciencesOutstanding Editing for a Limited Series or Movie2000American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial TelevisionDirty Pictures2002Academy of Television Arts & SciencesOutstanding Television MovieConspiracyAcademy of Television Arts & SciencesOutstanding Editing for a Limited Series or Movie
References
External links
"Obituary: Peter Zinner, Film editor who helped to make The Godfather and The Deer Hunter", The Times November 20, 2007. Online version retrieved July 5, 2008.