ABSTRACT
The metaphor of film doctor serves as an abbreviated way to examine situations that can occur in any editing room on every film, from an indie movie produced for a few hundred dollars to a studio blockbuster. While time and polish may burnish a film's rough edges or improve a performance, an edit in the hands of an editor with a strong point of view and the means to fulfill it can give the appearance of a completely different film. In the case of a fictional narrative, the recut film appears as if new footage has magically materialized in the hands of the film doctor that a life has flourished inside the narrative, and that energy has flowed into the characters. There are strategies for success but no guarantees. Unlike the real world of medicine, filmmaking is not a science. Yet, like medicine, it requires intelligence, preparation, and sometimes great leaps of faith.
