Michael Kahn (born December 8, 1930) "Q: Happy Birthday! You’re 80 years old today, is that right? A: No, closer to 85, actually!" is an American film editor, known for his frequent collaboration with Steven Spielberg. He has edited all but two of Spielberg's films since 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Among other accolades, he has won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life Kahn was born to a Jewish family in New York City. While his birth year has been reported as 1935, Kahn said in 2015, when asked if he was 80, that his age at that point was "closer to 85." Prior to his film editing career, he was a producer for a New York ad agency.

Career

Early work Kahn worked in the post-production department of Desilu during the 1960s, where he was apprentice to editor Dann Cahn. Kahn's first notable work was as the head editor for the popular sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965-71), editing 131 of the 168 episodes, over six seasons. Early in his career, he edited George C. Scott's only two films as director - Rage (1972) and The Savage Is Loose (1974).

He also edited Hogan's Heroes star Ivan Dixon's directorial efforts Trouble Man (1972) and The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1976), several B movies directed by Robert Clouse, and the cult horror film The Devil's Rain.

With Steven Spielberg His first collaboration with Steven Spielberg was for his 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He has edited all of Spielberg's subsequent films except for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which was edited by Carol Littleton and Disclosure Day (2026), which was edited by Sarah Broshar. Kahn has received eight Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing, and has won three times—for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), which were all Spielberg-directed films.

Kahn has edited digitally since at least Twister (1996), though he continued to edit on film with Spielberg long after most editors had stopped doing so. In 2008, Kahn acknowledged that "people find it hard to believe that Steven and I still edit film on a Moviola and a KEM. [But] Steven feels film got us where we are today and he loves the smell of it and feel of it. We started that way and both really enjoy it." George Lucas remarked "Michael Kahn can cut faster on a Moviola than anybody can cut on an Avid." However, since The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011), Kahn has edited Spielberg's films on an Avid machine.

Since 2017, Kahn has co-edited his films with Sarah Broshar.

Filmography

Film Year Title Director Notes 1969 The Activist Art Napoleon 1971 Touch Me Anthony Spinelli 1972 Wild in the Sky William T. Naud Trouble Man Ivan Dixon 1st of 2 collaborations with Dixon Rage George C. Scott 1973 The Spook Who Sat by the Door Ivan Dixon 1974 Black Belt Jones Robert Clouse 1st of 3 collaborations with Clouse Truck Turner Jonathan Kaplan Golden Needles Robert Clouse Buster and Billie Daniel Petrie The Savage Is Loose George C. Scott 1975 The Devil's Rain Robert Fuest The Ultimate Warrior Robert Clouse 1976 The Return of a Man Called Horse Irvin Kershner 1st of 2 collaborations with KershnerHot PotatoOscar WilliamsSupervising editor 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg 1st of 33 collaborations with Spielberg 1978 Eyes of Laura Mars Irvin Kershner Ice Castles Donald Wrye 1979 1941 Steven Spielberg 1980 Used Cars Robert Zemeckis 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Steven Spielberg 1982 Poltergeist Tobe Hooper 1983 Table for Five Robert Lieberman Twilight Zone: The MovieSteven SpielbergSegment: "Kick the Can" 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Falling in Love Ulu Grosbard 1985 The Goonies Richard Donner The Color Purple Steven Spielberg 1986 Wisdom Emilio Estevez 1987 Fatal Attraction Adrian Lyne Empire of the Sun Steven Spielberg 1988 Arthur 2: On the Rocks Bud Yorkin 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Steven Spielberg Always 1990 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall 1st of 2 collaborations with Marshall 1991 Toy Soldiers Daniel Petrie Jr. Hook Steven Spielberg 1993 Alive Frank Marshall Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg Schindler's List 1995 Casper Brad Silberling 1996 Twister Jan de Bont 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg Amistad 1998 Saving Private Ryan 1999 The Haunting Jan de Bont 2000 Reindeer Games John Frankenheimer 2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence Steven Spielberg 2002 Minority Report Catch Me If You Can 2003 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life Jan de Bont Peter Pan P. J. Hogan 2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Brad Silberling The Terminal Steven Spielberg 2005 War of the Worlds Munich 2006 10 Items or Less Brad Silberling 2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles Mark Waters Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Steven Spielberg 2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Mike Newell with Mick Audsley and Martin Walsh 2011 The Adventures of Tintin Steven Spielberg War Horse Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesRob MarshallAdditional editor 2012 Lincoln Steven Spielberg2014Seventh SonSergei Bodrov 2015 Bridge of Spies Steven Spielberg 2016 The BFG 2017 The Post with Sarah Broshar 2018 Ready Player One 2021 West Side Story 2022 The Fabelmans

Television Year TitleDirector Notes1965-71Hogan's HeroesVarious131 episodes 1970 Night Slaves Ted Post TV movie1971The Doris Day ShowNorman TokarJerry LondonEpisodes: "And Here's... Doris", "When in Rome, Don't"The Chicago Teddy BearsLeslie H. MartinsonEpisode: "The Alderman"1976Eleanor and FranklinDaniel PetrieMiniseries; 2 episodes2013The BridgeGwyneth Horder-PaytonEpisode: "The Crazy Place" Awards and nominations Kahn equaled the record for the most Oscar wins (three) in the Best Film Editing category, shared with Ralph Dawson, Daniel Mandell, and Thelma Schoonmaker. Furthermore, he had eight nominations in that category—a number surpassed only by Schoonmaker. All of Kahn's Oscars came from his work on Spielberg's films, which included Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). He has received six nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, winning for Fatal Attraction (1987) and Schindler's List.

Kahn has been selected for membership in the American Cinema Editors (ACE)."American Cinema Editors > Members", webpage archived by WebCite from this original URL on March 4, 2008. In 2011, he received the Career Achievement Award of the American Cinema Editors. At the ceremony, Steven Spielberg said of editing: "this is where filmmaking goes from a craft to an art." In November 2013, Spielberg created the Michael Kahn Endowed Chair in Editing at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in honor of Kahn. The first to be appointed to the position was Norman Hollyn.

Year Association Category Project Result Ref. 1977 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Close Encounters of the Third Kind BAFTA Awards Best Editing 1981 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Raiders of the Lost Ark ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic BAFTA Awards Best Editing 1984 BAFTA Awards Best Editing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1987 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Fatal Attraction ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic BAFTA Awards Best Editing Academy Awards Best Film Editing Empire of the Sun 1993 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Schindler's List ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic BAFTA Awards Best Editing 1997 Satellite Award Best Editing Amistad 1998 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Saving Private Ryan ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic BAFTA Awards Best Editing Satellite Award Best Editing 2005 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Munich ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Satellite Awards Best Editing War of the Worlds 2011 Annie Award Best Editing in a Feature Production The Adventures of Tintin Saturn Award Best Editing 2011 ACE Eddie Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic War Horse Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing Satellite Award Best Editing 2012 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Lincoln Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing 2015 BAFTA Awards Best Editing Bridge of Spies Satellite Award Best Editing 2016 Saturn Award Best Editing The BFG 2017 ACE Eddie Award Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic The Post Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Editing San Diego Film Critics Society Best Editing San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Editing St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Editing 2021 Critics' Choice Movie Award best Editing West Side Story References

External links

Cinema Editor Magazine Interview with Kahn Kahn on cutting War Horse - BTL Flickering Myth Article about Kahn Post Magazine Article on Kahn Movies Made Easy Interview with Kahn