The Top 25 Best Film Editing Winners So Far (Updated for 2025)

Well, it is indeed time for another one, ladies and gentlemen! Continuing a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, I’m ranking the new crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!

This week, we’re honing in on the Best Film Editing category, which is one I always enjoy diving deep on. I know I mention it in a handful of categories, but this is another where best can mean most sometimes. As much as that can be the case, there are some real instances where the Editing on display is just phenomenal. Of course, the queen of editors is Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese‘s longtime editor. She’s cited twice below in my top five, for The Departed and Raging Bull. Making up the top tier list of winners for me, in addition to those, is The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Which one took my top spot? Where does a recent winner lik Paul Rogers slot in for Everything Everywhere All At Once now? What about a prior recent one in Dune and Joe Walker (interviewed here)? Did Sound of Metal  retain its position among the honorable mentions, or did it move down/up? Plus, where does Jennifer Lame end up for Oppenheimer one year later? Of course, there’s also the little matter of Sean Baker and Anora. Read on to find out where he debuts…

Here are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Best Film Editing Oscar, to date:

25. Lawrence of Arabia
24. Rocky
23. Jaws
22. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
21. Anora
20. On the Waterfront
19. Dune
18. Traffic
17. Everything Everywhere All At Once
16. Argo
15. Star Wars
14. The Social Network
13. JFK
12. The Bourne Ultimatum
11. Raiders of the Lost Ark
10. The Hurt Locker
9. Dunkirk
8. Whiplash
7. The Departed
6. Black Hawk Down
5. Oppenheimer
4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
3. Saving Private Ryan
2. Raging Bull
1. The Matrix

Honorable Mention: Bullitt, Ford v Ferrari, High Noon, Mad Max: Fury Road, Slumdog Millionaire, and Sound of Metal

Stay tuned for another category early on next week!