Tom Rolf obit

Tom Rolf, Oscar-Winning Editor of ‘The Right Stuff,’ Dies at 82

UPDATED: He's also known for his work with Martin Scorsese on "Taxi Driver" and with Michael Mann on "Heat." 

He was not on the list.

Tom Rolf, the Academy Award-winning editor of The Right Stuff and dozens of other films, died July 14 at his home in France from complications following hip surgery. He was 82.

The respected editor of more than 40 films — including Martin Scorsese‘s Taxi Driver (1976), Michael Mann‘s Heat (1995) and Kurt Wimmer‘s Equilibrium (2002) — received the American Cinema Editors’ Career Achievement Award in 2003.

He won an ACE Eddie trophy for John Badham‘s WarGames (1983) and received additional ACE nominations for Philip Kaufman‘s The Right Stuff (1983) and Robert Redford‘s The Horse Whisperer (1998), as well as a BAFTA nom for Taxi Driver.

Rolf’s impressive credits also include The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), The Last American Hero (1973), French Connection II (1975), Heaven’s Gate (1980), Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986) and The Pelican Brief (1993).

A native of Sweden, Rolf served two terms as president of ACE and was a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In a 2010 interview, he said Jacob’s Ladder (1990) was among the projects he liked working on the most. “I so admire [director] Adrian Lyne for trying to do it…. It was sold as a horror picture, which it was not. It was a psychological thriller. I think had it been marketed that way, it would have done much better.… I very proud of that one.”

In that interview, Rolf recalled working on Taxi Driver, saying, “The scene where Bobby De Niro turns into the camera and says, ‘You talking to me? You talking to me?,’ that scene never changed from the first day [they started to cut the scene]. I take a certain degree of pride in that.

“My job is to help the director realize his vision,” the editor added. “I think people hire me because they know that I’m going to put in a full day, I’m going to tell them the truth, and I’ll voice my opinion when I think it’s needed.”

Selected filmography

Editor

Year     Film            Director           Notes

1959            Invasion of the Animal People  Virgil W. Vogel        

1965    The Glory Guys            Arnold Laven   Second collaboration with Arnold Laven

1967            Clambake        Arthur H. Nadel            First collaboration with Arthur H. Nadel

1970            Underground   Second collaboration with Arthur H. Nadel

The McKenzie Break   Lamont Johnson            First collaboration with Lamont Johnson

1971    The Hunting Party            Don Medford          

1972    The Honkers            Steve Ihnat    

1973    Lolly-Madonna XXX            Richard C. Sarafian            First collaboration with Richard C. Sarafian

Country Blue            Jack Conrad

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing            Richard C. Sarafian            Second collaboration with Richard C. Sarafian

The Last American Hero            Lamont Johnson            Second collaboration with Lamont Johnson

1974    Visit to a Chief's Son            Third collaboration with Lamont Johnson

The Trial of Billy Jack            Tom Laughlin           

1975    French Connection II            John Frankenheimer            First collaboration with John Frankenheimer

Lucky Lady            Stanley Donen            Uncredited

1976    Taxi Driver   Martin Scorsese            First collaboration with Martin Scorsese

1977    Black Sunday John Frankenheimer            Second collaboration with John Frankenheimer

New York, New York            Martin Scorsese            Second collaboration with Martin Scorsese

1978    Blue Collar   Paul Schrader            First collaboration with Paul Schrader

1979            Hardcore         Second collaboration with Paul Schrader

Prophecy            John Frankenheimer            Third collaboration with John Frankenheimer

1980            Heaven's Gate  Michael Cimino

1981    Ghost Story    John Irvin    

1983            WarGames      John Badham            First collaboration with John Badham

The Right Stuff            Philip Kaufman         

1984    Thief of Hearts            Douglas Day Stewart  

1986    9½ Weeks Adrian Lyne     First collaboration with Adrian Lyne

Quicksilver            Thomas Michael Donnelly          

1987            Outrageous Fortune            Arthur Hiller   

Stakeout            John Badham            Second collaboration with John Badham

1988    The Great Outdoors            Howard Deutch         

1989    Black Rain     Ridley Scott   

1990    Jacob's Ladder Adrian Lyne     Second collaboration with Adrian Lyne

1992            Sneakers         Phil Alden Robinson         

1993    The Pelican Brief            Alan J. Pakula  First collaboration with Alan J. Pakula

Mr. Jones            Mike Figgis  

1995            Dangerous Minds            John N. Smith   

Heat     Michael Mann  

1997    The Devil's Own            Alan J. Pakula  Second collaboration with Alan J. Pakula

1998    The Horse Whisperer            Robert Redford           

2002            Windtalkers      John Woo   

Equilibrium            Kurt Wimmer          

2007    Crazy            Rick Bieber 

2008    Admiral            Andrei Kravchuk        

Editorial department

Year     Film            Director           Role            Notes

1962            Geronimo       Arnold Laven            Assistant film editor            First collaboration with Arnold Laven

1964    Behold a Pale Horse            Fred Zinnemann            Assistant editor           

1973    The Last American Hero    Lamont Johnson            Supervising editor        

1975    Lucky Lady    Stanley Donen  Editor: Battle sequence           

Producer

Year     Film            Director           Credit

1967            Clambake        Arthur H. Nadel            Associate producer

Writer

Year     Film            Director

1971    The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler            Bob Wynn

TV movies

 

Editor

Year     Film            Director

1975    Fear on Trial     Lamont Johnson

1982    The Executioner's Song            Lawrence Schiller

2000    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town

TV series

 

Editor

Year     Title            Notes

1965−67            The Big Valley   10 episodes

2000    Perfect Murder, Perfect Town   

2009    Admiral            10 episodes

Additional crew

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1966−69            The Big Valley            Production coordinator            82 episodes

References