Before the Oscars aired last month, film Twitter had a field day passing around and critiquing a poorly edited scene from Bohemian Rhapsody, which occurs [camera switch] in the [camera switch] early part of [camera switch] the film when Freddie [camera switch] Mercury and Queen meets with [camera switch] their manager for [camera switch] the first time. Even for an editing novice, the rapid-fire cuts are pretty jarring to keep up with, but who are we to write about it when we can just show you.
John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody’s editor, would later win the Academy Award for Best Film Editing — which was, in part, due to Ottman stepping in and resuming many of director Brian Singer’s duties when he was fired from the film. Despite his shiny new award, though, Ottman is aware of the widespread mockery this scene has received on social media, and he’s even admitting he’s not proud of it, either. “Whenever I see it, I want to put a bag over my head,†he told the Washington Post. “Because that’s not my aesthetic. If there’s ever an extended version of the film where I can put a couple scenes back, I will recut that scene!†The Post also reports Ottman was instructed by higher-ups, after many test screenings, to make the first half of the film move slower and “breathe more.†However, he “didn’t have time†to edit that meeting scene to fit the new direction.
Bohemian Rhapsody wound up winning the most Oscars at this year’s ceremony, for Actor in a Leading Role, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. Rami Malek celebrated by falling off the stage.