Lou Lombardo (filmmaker)
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Lou Lombardo (February 15, 1932 – May 8, 2002) was an American filmmaker whose editing of the 1969 film '' The Wild Bunch'' has been called "seminal". In all, Lombardo is credited on more than twenty-five feature films. Noted mainly for his work as a film and television editor, he also worked as a cameraman, director, and producer. In his obituary, Stephen Prince wrote, "Lou Lombardo's seminal contribution to the history of editing is his work on '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969), directed by
Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Instit ...
. The complex montages of violence that Lombardo created for that film influenced generations of filmmakers and established the modern cinematic textbook for editing violent gun battles." Several critics have remarked on the "strange, elastic quality" of time in the film, and have discerned the film's influence in the work of directors
John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...
,
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
,
Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most i ...
, and
the Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women. Together known as the Wacho ...
, among others. While Lombardo's collaboration with Peckinpah lasted just a few years, his career was intertwined with that of director
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
for more than thirty years. Lombardo edited Altman's 1971 film '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (1971), which had "a radical approach to the use of dialogue and indeed other sound, both in and beyond the frame." Towards the end of his career Lombardo edited ''
Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger broth ...
'' (1987) and two other films directed by
Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...
. While his editing is now considered "revolutionary" and "brilliant", Lombardo was never nominated for editing awards during his career.


Early career

Lombardo's career began in Kansas City, where he was
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
's cameraman working on training films and "industrials" for the Calvin Company. Altman ultimately became a prominent feature film director. Lombardo and Altman both relocated to Los Angeles in 1956, where Lombardo was employed as a cameraman by
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...
. Lombardo's goal had been to become a director, and he decided that film editing was a more promising path. Lombardo became an apprentice editor at Revue Studios, at about half the salary he'd received as an assistant cameraman. As was common at that time for studio editors, an editing apprenticeship lasted eight years, during which Lombardo's work was uncredited. At the end of this apprenticeship, Robert Altman used Lombardo to edit a pilot program for television. This led to Lombardo's becoming an editor for the television program '' Felony Squad'', which ran from 1966–1970.


''The Wild Bunch'' and the Peckinpah collaboration

The first feature film that Lombardo edited was '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969), which was directed by
Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Instit ...
. It is a
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
noted for its violence, which was unusual in its time, and for its innovative and effective storytelling, camerawork, and editing. The film has proven to be profoundly influential long after its 1969 release, and was an inductee of the 1999
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
list. In 1995 Peter Stack wrote, "It's astonishing how harrowing ''The Wild Bunch'' is, more than 25 years after it blasted its way onto the big screen to become maybe the best shoot-'em-up ever made, the one that turned meanness into a haunting pictorial poetry and summed up the corruption of guilt, old age and death in the American fantasy of the Old West." Stephen Prince wrote in 1999 that, "''The Wild Bunch'' is an epic work, and it has had an epic impact on American cinema" and noted
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
's description of the film as "savage poetry". Paul Seydor has described the film as "one of the great masterpieces of world cinema", and then further notes that "Any discussion of ''The Wild Bunch'' implicitly acknowledges the editing by Lou Lombardo and Robert Wolfe, so integral is it to the style, meaning, and effect of the film. Still, one should at least observe that the art and craft of film editing know no higher peaks than ''The Wild Bunch'', and very, very few that are anywhere near its summit."


Connection to ''The Felony Squad''

Lombardo became acquainted with Peckinpah when he moonlighted as a cameraman when Peckinpah was directing the television movie '' Noon Wine'' (1966). Ultimately this connection led to Lombardo's joining Peckinpah to make '' The Wild Bunch''; Peckinpah was particularly interested in the editing techniques that Lombardo had devised while editing ''Felony Squad''. Lombardo described the crucial scene from the television show in a later interview with Vincent LoBrutto, "Joe Don Baker came out and was being shot by all these police. I printed every frame three times and created slow motion. I intercut him being shot, falling, this guy shooting, that guy running, Baker falling. Sam and Phil Feldman, the producer, saw it and said, 'You've got the job – and, as a matter of fact, we'll use that kind of thing.'" The episode of ''Felony Squad'' was "My Mommy Got Lost." At that time, slow motion cameras were not commonly used for television work. Lombardo used the laborious trick of stretching time by repeating the individual frames of film two or three times, which required that there be a film splice at every frame. There are typically 24 frames of film exposed each second by standard motion picture cameras, so after tripling Lombardo had 72 frames per second. Intercutting involves the splicing of sections of film from different cameras, or from different "takes" of the same scene.


Montage in ''The Wild Bunch''

''The Wild Bunch'' is bookended by two gun battles, one near the beginning of the film and one near its end. The gun battles are virtuosic demonstrations of the possibilities of film storytelling. Lombardo worked with Peckinpah both to design the camerawork for ''The Wild Bunch'' and to edit the film. As many as six cameras were filming simultaneously from different locations; the cameras were operating at various film rates from 24 to 120 frames per second. He and Peckinpah then edited the massive length of film footage for six months in Mexico, where the film had been shot. In his 2011 assessment, Daniel Eagan wrote, "The ''Wild Bunch'' had 3,642 edits, more than five times the Hollywood average for a feature. ... Montage this dense hadn't been attempted since Sergei Eisenstein back in the 1920s." Stephen Prince writes, "The editing is audacious and visionary, as the montages bend space and elongate time in a manner whose scope and ferocity was unprecedented in American cinema." In his biography of Peckinpah, Daniel Weddle wrote of the effect: "the action would constantly be shifting from slow to fast to slower still to fast again, giving time within the sequences a strange elastic quality". Gabrielle Murray summarized how ''The Wild Bunch'' affected filmmaking: "Peckinpah, with the help of the brilliant editor Louis Lombardo and cinematographer Lucien Ballard, developed a stylistic approach that through the use of slow-motion, multi-camera filming and montage editing, seemed to make the violence more intense and visceral."


Origins and legacy

The immediate inspiration for the gunbattle montage in ''The Wild Bunch'' was likely the 1967 film, '' Bonnie and Clyde'', which Peckinpah apparently screened a few days before filming began. ''Bonnie and Clyde'', which was directed by
Arthur Penn Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and a Tony Awards, Tony Awa ...
and edited by Dede Allen, has a famed scene at its ending showing the killings of Bonnie and Clyde by state police. The scene mixes slow and accelerated motion and several cameras, which were aspects of ''The Wild Bunch''. Still earlier these techniques had been employed in
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
's films, and in particular in ''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...
'' (1954). Kurosawa generally both directed and edited his films. Stephen Prince has written, "The kinetic attributes of Kurosawa's style, then, entered deeply into international cinema. In terms of the representation of violence, they influenced Arthur Penn and Sam Peckinpah and, from there, Hong Kong director
John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...
, as well as virtually everybody since. Every filmmaker who uses slow motion, montage, and multiple cameras to stylize violence in the ways that Kurosawa had demonstrated in ''Seven Samurai'' owes him a great debt." But Tony Williams notes that ''The Wild Bunch'' "extended those influences in more creative and dynamic ways", and Michael Sragow argued that "Peckinpah did it right in ''The Wild Bunch''. He produced an American movie that equals or surpasses the best of Kurosawa. Scorsese tries to match it in ''Gangs of New York'' – and doesn't come close. ''The Wild Bunch'' is the ''
Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...
'' of Westerns." ''Seven Samurai'', ''Bonnie and Clyde'', and ''The Wild Bunch'' were all in the listing of the best edited films of all time compiled in 2012 by the
Motion Picture Editors Guild The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG; IATSE Local 700) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States. The Motion Pi ...
. Many critics have noted the influence of the editing of the setpiece gunbattles in ''The Wild Bunch'' on later films. Paul Monaco has written, "Lombardo pushed the revolution in Hollywood editing further than anyone else, and ''The Wild Bunch'' was established at the end of the 1960s as the epitome for fast-paced editing in a narrative film." David A. Cook included an extended list of the film's influences in a 1999 essay. In an interview, the director
John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...
, who is widely celebrated for his martial arts films, explicitly acknowledged its influence. Director
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
is often included. Eric Snider writes, "We noted in our discussion of ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach a ...
'' that it was a huge influence on Quentin Tarantino. ''The Wild Bunch'' must sit next to it on Tarantino’s shelf. He and numerous other directors – John Woo, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola – have emulated Peckinpah’s slow-motion violence and realistic bloodletting. Much of what happens in ''The Wild Bunch'' seems cliche now, so frequently has it been copied and repeated." Director
Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most i ...
has written of ''The Wild Bunch'' that it seemed "almost ''gestalt'' editing ... because it imploded standard theories ... and was radical and tremendously vibrant." For ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
'' (1999, directed by
The Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women. Together known as the Wacho ...
and edited by
Zach Staenberg Zach S. Staenberg, A.C.E. (born August 1951) is an American film editor and producer, best known for his work on action films and the ''Matrix Trilogy''. Staenberg won an Academy Award and two ACE Eddie Award for the editing of ''The Matrix'' ...
), Edgar-Hunt and his co-authors write that the "eye-catching violence upgrades the 'bullet ballets' of director Sam Peckinpah and the martial arts movies of Bruce Lee." John Goodman wrote in 2011, "Peckinpah’s combination of different film speeds and his offbeat, elliptical editing style were a revelation. John Woo, and also
Takeshi Kitano , also known as in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. During hi ...
and
Wong Kar-Wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure o ...
, have referenced Peckinpah’s innovations, but the original still packs the greatest punch for me." Ken Dancyger notes the influence on ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 epic romantic drama wuxia martial arts film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Z ...
'' (2000, directed by
Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...
and edited by Tim Squyres).


''The Ballad of Cable Hogue''

Lombardo edited Peckinpah's next film, '' The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' (1970). The film itself has not had an impact comparable to that of ''The Wild Bunch''; Prince writes that in this film Lombardo and Peckinpah "experimented less successfully with edits combining normal speed and accelerated action." ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' was their last collaboration; Peckinpah approached Lombardo about editing '' Straw Dogs'', but Lombardo had already contracted to edit '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' with Robert Altman.


Five films with Robert Altman

Lombardo had worked as a cameraman with director Robert Altman in Kansas City, and the two men both moved to Hollywood in 1956. In the 1970s, Lombardo edited five films directed by Altman, commencing with '' Brewster McCloud'' (1970) and concluding with '' California Split'' (1974) just four years later. Of the five films with Altman, the most influential is likely '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (1971). The film was selected for the US
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
in 2010. The film has been called an "anti-Western"; McCabe establishes a successful brothel in a mining town, with the essential assistance of its madam, Mrs. Miller. In 1999,
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
wrote, "Robert Altman has made a dozen films that can be called great in one way or another, but one of them is perfect, and that one is ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (1971)." Walter Chaw has written, "The father of contemplative American classics like Jim Jarmusch's ''Dead Man'' and Andrew Dominik's ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'', like ''The Wild Bunch'', packs every bit the wallop of relevance and currency that it did over three decades ago. No hint of hyperbole, they are two of the best films ever made." As he had done for Peckinpah on ''The Wild Bunch'', Lombardo acted as a second unit director for additional film footage. Altman and Lombardo spent nine months editing the film in North Vancouver, close to the location of the filming itself. The editing of the film has apparently never been singled out for critical attention, with the exception of the innovative style of sound editing. In his textbook on film production, Bruce Mamer uses the film to exemplify the blending of dialogue from many speakers, "Robert Altman was famous for using this style of layered dialogue cutting. The frontier barroom scene that opens his ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (Louis Lombardo, editor) has snippets of conversations underlying the foreground action." Roger Crittenden wrote, "the questions Altman asked about the function of sound encouraged a radical approach to the use of dialogue and indeed other sound, both in and beyond the frame. Lou Lombardo must have played a major part in making the ideas work." Stephen Prince chose a related theme in summarizing Lombardo's collaboration with Altman: "Though his work for Altman was less trendsetting than that for Peckinpah, the partnership with Altman lasted much longer, and Lombardo found the perfect visual rhythms for Altman's wandering and diffuse audio style." After ''California Split'' (1974), Altman wanted Lombardo to edit his next film ''
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
'' (1975). Lombardo declined because he had turned to directing and producing. Altman chose Sidney Levin to edit, who was then succeeded by Lombardo's assistant editor on several films, Dennis M. Hill. In 1977, Lombardo edited '' The Late Show'', which was produced by Altman but directed by Robert Benton. ''The Late Show'' is a
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
detective story;
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
wrote at the time, "''The Late Show'' never lets up; the editing is by Lou Lombardo (who has often worked with Robert Altman) and Peter Appleton, and I can't think of a thriller from the forties that is as tight as this, or has such sustained tension." Subscription required for online access. Lombardo's final project with Altman was the film '' O.C. and Stiggs'', which was produced around 1984 and released in 1987. Lombardo left the film before post-production was completed; he is uncredited on the film.


Producing and directing

From 1975–1985 Lombardo worked as a producer and director as well as an editor. Lombardo's debut as a director was ''
Russian Roulette Russian roulette () is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body (their opponent's or their own), and pulls the trigger. If the ...
'' (1975). The film is an espionage thriller that starred
George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
. A review in ''New York Magazine'' was unfavorable; "Lou Lombardo directs uninspiredly from a far from inspiring script co-authored by Tom Ardies, the original author of the novel." The film was released for home video in 1986, and has recently been reviewed more favorably. Lombardo both produced and edited ''
The Black Bird ''The Black Bird'' is a 1975 comedy film written and directed by David Giler and starring George Segal and Stéphane Audran. It is a comedic sequel to the John Huston film version of The Maltese Falcon (1941 film), ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) ...
'' (1975), which was a humorous sequel to the
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
classic '' The Maltese Falcon''; the film also starred George Segal, and was poorly reviewed upon its release. Lombardo co-produced
Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and fea ...
's first film, ''
Up in Smoke ''Up in Smoke'' (also referred to as ''Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke'') is a 1978 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Lou Adler and starring Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach. It ...
'' (1978), which is now known as the "classic stoner comedy". The film enjoyed great box office success. Lombardo is also credited as the supervising editor on the film. About 1981 Lombardo directed '' P. K. and the Kid'', which starred a very young Molly Ringwald. The film was not released until early 1987, when Ringwald had become well-known; it nonetheless attracted little attention.


Return to editing and the Norman Jewison collaboration

In 1986 Lombardo returned to editing with the fairly inconsequential ''
Stewardess School ''Stewardess School'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Ken Blancato and starring Brett Cullen and Don Most. It is also known for being one of voice actor, voice veteran Rob Paulsen's very few onscreen roles, and up until the early 2000 ...
''. The film was produced by Phil Feldman, who had produced ''The Wild Bunch'' about 15 years earlier. Lombardo's next film was ''
Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger broth ...
'' (1987), which was being directed and produced by
Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...
. ''Moonstruck'' was extremely successful at the box office, garnered three Academy Awards and three additional nominations, and has been well-regarded by many critics. Stephen Prince has written, "Another brilliant editor of late-sixties American cinema, Lou Lombardo (who edited '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969) to seminal effect) worked sporadically in the eighties and mainly on low-key films (''
Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger broth ...
'', '' In Country'' (1989)) where his editing choices showed the intelligence and subtlety that rarely wins Oscars. The wonderful comic effectiveness and timing of ''Moonstruck'', for example, depends as much on Lombardo's editing as on John Patrick Shanley's script or the performances by Cher, Nicolas Cage, and the rest of the cast." Lombardo next edited '' The January Man'' (1989), which was also produced by Jewison but directed by Pat O'Connor. Lombardo worked on five more films through 1991, of which the very popular comedy '' Uncle Buck'' (1989, written and directed by John Hughes) is likely the best known. The final film edited by Lombardo was still another of Jewison's productions, ''
Other People's Money ''Other People's Money'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Jewison, starring Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, and Penelope Ann Miller. It was adapted by screenwriter Alvin Sargent from the 1989 play of the same nam ...
'' (1991).


Final cuts

Lombardo and his wife, Lynn, had two daughters and a son, Tony Lombardo, who also became a film editor. In addition to his son, Lombardo mentored Dennis M. Hill and Paul Rubell in the early stages of their careers. Lombardo was interviewed about his career by Vincent LoBrutto in 1991. In that same year, he suffered a stroke that left him comatose until his death in 2002. Lombardo had been selected as a member of the
American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editing, film editors who are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the ...
.Members of the American Cinema Editors are often credited with the designation A.C.E. following their names; for Lombardo, see


Filmography

This filmography is based on the Internet Movie Database. Lombardo's credits are listed in the first parentheses. The director and release year are indicated in the second. *(editor) '' The Name of the Game Is Kill!'' ( Hellström-1968) *(editor) '' The Wild Bunch'' ( Peckinpah-1969) *(editor) '' The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' (Peckinpah-1970) *(editor) '' Brewster McCloud'' (Altman-1970) *(supervising editor) '' Red Sun'' ( Young-1971) *(editor) '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (Altman-1971) *(editor) '' The Long Goodbye'' ( Altman-1973) *(editor) '' Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'' ( Erman-1973) *(editor) '' Thieves Like Us'' (Altman-1974) *(editor) '' California Split'' (Altman-1974) *(director) ''
Russian Roulette Russian roulette () is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body (their opponent's or their own), and pulls the trigger. If the ...
'' (Lombardo-1975) *(producer and editor) ''
The Black Bird ''The Black Bird'' is a 1975 comedy film written and directed by David Giler and starring George Segal and Stéphane Audran. It is a comedic sequel to the John Huston film version of The Maltese Falcon (1941 film), ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) ...
'' ( Giler-1975) *(editor) '' The Late Show'' ( Benton-1977) *(producer and supervising editor) ''
Up in Smoke ''Up in Smoke'' (also referred to as ''Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke'') is a 1978 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Lou Adler and starring Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach. It ...
'' ( Adler-1978) *(supervising editor) '' The Changeling'' (
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-1980) *(executive producer) '' Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'' ( Adler-1982) *(director) '' P.K. and the Kid'' (Lombardo-1985) (finished in 1982, shelved; released in 1987 because of Ringwald's success.) *(supervising editor) ''
Just One of the Guys ''Just One of the Guys'' is a 1985 American teen comedy film directed by Lisa Gottlieb and co-written by Dennis Feldman and Jeff Franklin. It is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night''. The film stars Joyce Hyser, C ...
'' (
Gottlieb Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games (including ''Q*bert'') throughout much of the 20th century. ...
-1985) *(editor) ''
Stewardess School ''Stewardess School'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Ken Blancato and starring Brett Cullen and Don Most. It is also known for being one of voice actor, voice veteran Rob Paulsen's very few onscreen roles, and up until the early 2000 ...
'' ( Blancato-1986) *(editor) ''
Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger broth ...
'' (Jewison-1987) *(editor) '' The January Man'' ( O'Connor-1989) *(editor) '' Uncle Buck'' ( Hughes-1989) *(editor) '' In Country'' (Jewison-1989) *(supervising editor) '' Defenseless'' ( Campbell-1991) *(editor) '' Fires Within'' ( Armstrong-1991) *(editor) ''
Other People's Money ''Other People's Money'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Jewison, starring Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, and Penelope Ann Miller. It was adapted by screenwriter Alvin Sargent from the 1989 play of the same nam ...
'' (Jewison-1991)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardo, Lou American film editors American Cinema Editors 1932 births 2002 deaths Artists from Kansas City, Missouri Film people from Los Angeles