Run+Lola+Run+vs.+Memento


 * DEATHMATCH: RUN LOLA RUN V. MEMENTO**
 * FIGHT!**


 * Important Film Terms for Editing:**

**Continuity / Discontinuity**

 * =**Match Cuts**= || =**Temporal**= || =**Spatial**= || =**Other**= ||
 * Match on Action || Flashback || Parallel Editing || Jump Cut ||
 * Match on Idea || Flashforward || Cross Cutting || Fade ||
 * Rope Match || Ellipsis || Intercutting || Dissolve ||
 * Graphic Match || Montage ||  || 180 Degree Rule ||
 * Eyeline Match ||  ||   ||   ||
 * //Other//? ||  ||   ||   ||

In this challenge you and your team will defend either **//Run Lola, Run// or //Memento// as the best edited film of all time. Use your new knowledge of specific film editing techniques to support your arguments (and tear down your opponent's film). In addition, feel free to add your own thoughts about what makes the editing so ** gosh darn diddly doodly ** perfect. **


 * Team **Lola** || Team **Sammy Jenkins** ||
 * Vipula || Naomi ||
 * William || Ryan ||
 * Tadashi || Luke ||
 * Jocelyn || Dinah ||
 * Elizabeth || Eric ||
 * Julie || Karson ||
 * Kyle || Rosa ||
 * Helen || Kristine ||
 * Cecilia || Rene ||
 * Lucy ||  ||



Dinah Lee The most interesting thing about this movie was that they events that happened before any of the other events were black and white. So, all the colored events where events that happened after the "incident" and all the black and white happened before. This was a very interesting filming technique, because it separated the movie into sections and it made the movie more interesting and more intriguing. Although it might have seem confusing at first, once one had gotten used to it, it was extremely fun to see how things matched up with on another. The fun things about this movie was that it was like a jigsaw puzzle and this black and white editing technique helped emphasize that puzzle like appearance.

Elizabeth Low (TEAM LOLA) : There is nothing new or exciting about using "black and white" to illustrate that something has happened in the past. Middle schoolers have done that in iMovie projects. I did that for a history project in sophomore year. That doesn't make my project the best edited modern world history video of all time. That doesn't make me an editing genius. If anything, that makes me unoriginal. Although I did get an A on that project, so I guess that must mean people dig the whole "black and white" thing.




 * __ TEAM LOLA __**

Helen Shim

I think "Run Lola, Run" well conveys a theme that "every day every second you make a decision that can change your life" with very interesting effects throughout the movie. On the way to the bank or her destination, Lola meets same people for three different times as she goes back to previous time and makes different decisions. After Lola passes them, the people she just met are closed up and the shot is paused for about 1 second with a subtitle "and then…" Then the shot is quickly followed by some scanned pictures showing their invisible future with shutter sound. For three different times, the pictures vary, implying that their different decisions would have brought different outcomes. Discontinuity editing technique used at the beginning of the movie is also very interesting. It is during the scene when Lola hangs up the phone and starts to think of people who she can ask for help. Closed-up pictures of different people pop up and disappear, creating noticeable alienation and catching the audience's attention. -Hi Helen! I think the way the director showed the different people ,who Lola can ask help for, was not the best way. The director merely showed the closed pictures of different people popping out and disappear, which i think made the scene seems unnatural. I think the director could have used more effective way to demonstrate those people. -Rosa

William -I think Run Lola Run has arguably much better transitions between scenes than Memento. Not to mention, it also visually separates the three acts of the movie. Every time the screen fades to red, there is a match on action and matching eye line occurring from whatever scene they are at, to the bedroom scene. The dissolve is so seamless that nothing about it is jarring. Whereas in Memento there are almost, if not completely, no dissolves. Instead, the same technique is used between every flashback where seemingly sudden silence is then shattered with Sammy's voice and face. This technique would be fine for a couple times, but as this is used through the entire movie, it gets somewhat tired at a certain point and also predictable. Hi William! I agree with you about the importance of transitions between scenes. They help the movie to progress smoothly and allow the audience to understand what is happening. However, I think that's why Memento's editor chose not to place an emphasis on transitions. They want to make everything seem confusing and want to keep the audience in the dark about how the story is unraveling. The result -- the audience is as confused as Leonard about what's happening in his life, and they also slowly find out what's happening as the story progresses. If they had smooth transitions, the story wouldn't be as powerful as it is now. That's why the lack of strong transitions makes Memento's editing even better than Run Lola, Run's! - Naomi

jocelyn I also think that the fact the sequence of Lola running to Manni repeated three times had a very big impact on the movie. To make this effective, the film often used FAMILIAR IMAGE! If we look at the movie more carefully we can see that each acts has corresponding shots. So each time (in Act 1, 2 and 3) she runs down the crossroad, it is shot from the same angle, and it if framed the same way as it was in the different Acts.To create this familiar feeling adds tension to the movie because the audiences want to know when will Lola actually successfully reach Manni in time. Furthermore, the beat of each scene is matched up perfectly with the pace of Lola. When she walks down her dad's bank office, the music is in sync with her footsteps. This technique can really help the audiences get into the nervous mood and in the fast pace like Lola's, and this technique is also a subtle yet effective editing! That is why Run Lola Run is the better edited film.

Hi Jocelyn (: I agree that the film's use of familiar image was effective. Because we saw Lola running to Manni three times in different ways, having familiarity is important. By using the same people, and using the same locations, we kind of get a sense of de ja vu, but like you said, it also creates tension. We not only want to know whether she'll reach Manni in time, we want to know what is going to happen differently this time round. - Vipula

Cecilia Siu Run Lola Run is the best edited film of all time. There are many parallel action and cross cutting shots in Run Lola Run. For example, when Lola tries to get money, on the other half of the screen shows the parallel action of Manni waiting for Lola. This technique helps the audience to understand the story better and creates intensity. The editor also uses a lot of jump cuts in this film. There is a scene where Lola screams at her father and then the editor cuts to the breaking of the glass. This jump cut adds emotional aspects to the scene. Eyeline match shots are also widely used in this film and create a dramatic effect. Also there is a montage of different people Lola can seek help from, but she still decides to find her father. This montage avoids having too many complex and boring scenes. The editor uses a wide range of techniques in order to create the best edited film.

Helen: I agree with Cecilia that parallel actions of Manni waiting for Lola intensifies the tension set throughout the movie, reminding the audience that Manni is desperate and Rola must be fast. I also agree with the effective use of montage of different people. The editor made the scene that Rola quickly thinks of people she can ask help very interesting and tensioned with effective use of montage. Hi Cecilia! I also agree that the editor uses parallel action and cross cutting shots in Run Lola Run to create intensity. Especially in cross cutting shots, the audience will feel really anxious to know what will happen next and that sets tension.

Lucy Guo (Run Lola Run) I found this movie great because it captured your attention instantly, and the pace wasn't too fast or too slow. I liked how the movie started off with two quotes that let you ponder the basic meaning of the movie, in the end. 'Run Lola Run' had a lot of constant techniques used. Graphic match was used quite a lot, regarding all the times we see clocks ticking in the movie. The soundtrack in this movie was quite amazing and it kept exactly up to speed with the pace. The soundtrack was extremely tense sometimes, and fading in the background other times - the soundtrack helps build tension and mood in this movie greatly. One of the things that made this movie extremely captivating was how surreal the movie was - the producers decided to have the use of animation, with very fast and accentuated zooms, and the color schemes in the movie seemed very different to everyday life. I also found it extremely interesting how they decided to use a parallel editing cut, as Cecilia said earlier. When I watched it, it built up a ton of tension. Tension in this movie was built up a lot, and the makers did a great job of balancing out the tension and adding in plot relief at all the right times.

Team Sammy Jenkins: Eric Li I think Memento’s editing is better because Memento is shot non-linear so EVERY edit is a “cool” edit because each edit is advancing the movie’s plot while going backwards also in the movie’s plot so thats a paradox which is cool because paradoxes are cool therefore the edits in Memento are cool. I also think Memento is better edited because Christopher Nolan directed it. :D

Memento definitely has the best editing out of the two movies. It is pretty unique and **AWESOME**, as the movie starts out with Leonard killing "Teddy," and throughout the rest of the film, it showed the events leading up to the killing of "Teddy" in a backwards order. Although confusing at first, one even as stupid as myself would be able to figure out what exactly is happening in the movie, and that really sucks in the attention of the viewers, as they have to pay close attention to the movie in order to perceive what is happening.
 * [Team Sammy Jenkins]** Karson Mo

Elizabeth Low (TEAM LOLA) : Omg, it's in backward order? Someone give this man an Oscar! I mean, non linear format? How original! It's not like the success of Pulp Fiction revolutionized cinema in 1994 and spawned an entire generation of films with nonlinear storylines. No, Christopher Nolan must have started this trend in 2000 with Memento! Memento's nonlinear structure does not make it "unique". Additionally, "confusing" films don't encourage viewers to keep watching them. They make viewers go "What the balls am I watching here?" Believe me, I know. I went to a screening of Looper ten minutes late and I did not enjoy it because for the first twenty minutes, I kept thinking, "Wait, why is Bruce Willis getting shot again? And what's up with Joseph Gordon Levitt's face?" You say confusing films "suck in the attention of the viewers"? They generate tons of hype and encourage page-long rants on forums in the darkest corners of the Internet, that's what they do. But wait, it's //unique and// **AWESOME**, you say? Well I guess you win this discussion, then. "Awesome"? I wouldn't want to compete with that. The post above does not necessarily reflect the views of the writer, who, for the purposes of this discussion, has chosen to believe that Run Lola Run is far superior to Momento and that Christopher Nolan is a pretentious, unoriginal, and mediocre filmmaker. The writer also reserves the right to be a bitch in order to fulfill her team's agenda.

"But wait, it's //unique and// **AWESOME**, you say? Well I guess you win this discussion, then. "Awesome"? I wouldn't want to compete with that." Exactly. Sammy Jenkins:1, Lola:0.
 * [Team Sammy Jenkins]** Karson Mo

Vipula (Team Lola): Run Lola Run has some of the best techniques used. From parallelism, to repeating the same event in different ways, to that weird cartoon thing that always showed up (a little confused about that). Parallelism was great for the pacing of the film. The film IS called "Run Lola Run", therefore one would expect the pacing of the film to be pretty quick. By jumping between what's happening with Manni, to Lola running, we get feeling that things are going really really quickly, as opposed to just having Lola run everywhere. This also gives a feeling that the editor wants to make sure that every moment possible is captured. THEREFORE, Run Lola Run is the best edited movie of all time (:

Elizabeth Low (Team Lola): The editing in Run Lola Run is integral in advancing the film’s themes of determinism vs. free will, in addition to encouraging the audience to reflect on their own lives and the decisions that they make. It emphasizes the importance of seemingly trivial occurrences and the impact that they can have on our lives. By drawing parallels between the three alternate timelines through various editing techniques, the audience is made aware of how seemingly minor occurrences and decisions on Lola’s part contributed to the significantly different endings in the three timelines. Memento, albeit a conceptually impressive film, is essentially about a man with a rare form of amnesia, going “Wait, what?” for a little under two hours.

One example out of a plethora of brilliant examples in Run Lola Run:
 * Match On Action:**



At the end of the first timeline, the editor’s use of rapid match cuts from the red bag falling through the air, to Lola’s red phone falling, brings the viewer back to the inciting incident of the film’s second timeline. Also, the shot of the red phone falling through the air is used as a device to signal the beginning of each different timeline.



Additionally, the grainy camcorder-like quality of the scenes of Lola's dad and his mistress help remind the viewer of the post production and editing techniques in Run Lola Run. It also makes //Lola// somewhat metafictional. This is also an example of parallel editing, as they are intercut with shots of Lola approaching the bank where her father works. Wait, Lola isn't metafictional, you say? Take a look at this:

WHAT could be more meta than a cartoon of Lola running down the stairs in her mother's TELEVISION? This could only be achieved through Lola's innovative and experimental editing. //Lola's// metafictional nature is successful in encouraging viewers to reflect on their own lives as if they were in movies of their own.

Run Lola Run is, therefore, the best edited film of all time because while Memento is too busy being focused on how gosh darn clever it is, Run Lola Run actually uses its editing techniques to advance the film's themes and storyline. Memento is, at is core, one flashback after the other, but backwards. How original. Did you hear that sound? That was me slow clapping Memento's originality with the most condescending facial expression I could muster.

Kyle: Run Lola run is arguably the best-edited film of all time. It is one of the most intense films I ever watched. In the film, the cuts and transitions are so smooth that it is barely noticeable. I think the most effective scene is the one where there are three screens in the frame. It first starts with a scene of Manni is right outside of the grocery store, debating whether to go in, it is then joined with Lola running and then the clock. The use of parallel action reemphasizes the recurring theme of time and also adds to the tension. The fast cutting film of Run Lola Run, enables the audience to connect to the story and ultimately be “on the run” as well. Furthermore, the use of the flash-forwards emphasizes how time is very critical in the film. With the three attempts to help Manni, the same characters who Lola meets all have different flashforwards. Moreover, the same camera angles and characters also help audience to have a gauge in what the time is. I find this really interesting as the audience don’t know what time it is, and the repetition of scenes gives us a clue if she is ahead or late, it serves as a “invisible clock”.

What sets Run Lola Run from Memento is the fact that it is easy to comprehend. Memento is a puzzle-like filmed, where each scene is pieced together, whereas Run Lola Run is straight forward and has repetition to help the audience to understand the film. On a completely unrelated note, Run Lola Run reminds me of the community episode where different timelines are explored with the absence of a character. Dinah Lee: (it was edited out so i'm writing it again). i thought this editing technique wasn't normally used in most films, and it felt awkward and sort of detracted from the film. in my point of view. I thought there would have been more productive ways of filming( editing) this scene.

Julie: Run Lola Run is no doubt the best edited film. In the film, the editor uses various techniques to add tension throughout the film and draw the audience's attention. The first technique the that editor uses in Run Lola Run is during the beginning, when Lola first starts running out of her room, and down the stairs, that scene of the stairs is animated. This is very interesting because when the audience first watches it, they may worry that it won't fit in closely with the other scenes. However as the film went back to normal shots, that animated stair scene surprisingly has fitted very well and almost seemed unnoticeable that the editor has made such a big change. Another technique that the editor used to add tension to the film is whenever Lola runs into someone, the editor immediately jumps to many pictures of that person's future, so this technique is a flash forward. This technique adds intensity because the beat of the flashing pictures, go along very well with the beat of the music. Therefore that makes the audience all "tight up" and seem to follow along with Lola's run. With the above two techniques and many more seen in the film, Run Lola Run is definitely the best edited film of all times.

=__**Team** **Memento**__= I think 'Memento' is the best edited film of the time because the director appropriately utilized the editing techniques, such as flashback and cutting backward. Flashback is the interruption of chronological plot time with a short or series of shots that show an event that has happened earlier in the story. The director of Memento used flashbacks to show what Leonard remembers about his past and his memory of Sammy Jankis. The director also used black and white color for the flashback because he gives the viewers a hint that the scene we are watching is actually the flashbacks. Also, the differentiated color shows that only black-and-white flashbacks are in the chronological order.
 * Rosa Park**

Moreover, another editing technique used in the movie is cutting backward. The movie starts with the scene Leonard kills Teddy and then shows how Leonard reaches to kill Teddy. Basically, the movie shows the end of the movie first and then gradually show how the character developed into what the audiences see at the first part of the movie. This kind of editing makes us feel just like Leonard because the director gives no clue to us about how the first part of the movie happened, as Leonard has no clue of his memory. We have to guess and deduce from what we see in the first part of the movie to reach the conclusion.

The movie seems confusing at first when we don't catch the fact that the movie is going backward. However, the director used the same scene twice to provide the audiences a hint that the movie is actually in backward. The screenshots below demonstrate the director's usage of the same scene twice.

It is no doubt that the editing in Memento is far more effective, then of that in Run Lola, Run. Not only does it contribute to both the suspense and mystery of the story, but it allows the viewer to feel similarly to how the main character Leonard does. The very first scene is played backwards, which in some sense gives the viewer an indication of how the movie is to be presented to them-as the rest of the movie is edited in reverse order. There are two main components to the editing: the black and white flashbacks and the colored scenes. The colored scenes are shown in reverse chronological order, since we start off with the end of the story then work our way backwards through all the scenes that lead up to that moment. Essentially they show each and every instance of Leonards remembrance; basically every time where Leonard forgets again, and then the outcome of him looking at his pictures, notes or tattoos. This works effectively as we know the outcome of his actions, we just don't understand the reasons for them. As a result, we forced to keep watching as we want to understand how each moment led up to the next. The black and white flashback is from the very first scene of the story, and gives us an insight as to why Leonard is the way he is, but also why he is acting the way he is. The black and white element of them is to make a clear indication that they are flashbacks. Additionally, it contributes to the general mood of the scene. I say this mainly because the first black and white scene shows Leonard in his hotel room unaware of where he is. We see his reactions to being in the room, and get to see his general thought process that he goes through after he forgets. These scenes fit perfectly within the movie, because they provide us with general background information as the movie progresses. Furthermore, as the movie comes to an end, so does the difference between the two scenes. The very last scene is one where a black and white scene fades into a color one, which not only ties together the two different types of scenes, but the entire movie as a whole as well. Although these two different editing techniques creates a very confusing way of watching the movie, this is what makes its editing so perfect at the same time. It is clear that Leonard is a character in conflict. He is confused, and so are we as we watch the movie. All the jumbled scenes played in reverse order is what allows us to feel somewhat similar to how Leonard feels. We feel just as confused as he is, and it leaves us unsure of what has happened-just as he is unsure of who he is, and who his wife's killer is. Another editing technique that I just wanted to mention, was the editors use of montage. We see the use of montage near the beginning/middle of the movie where Leonard recalls things he remembers about his wife. Toward the end of the movie, we see Leonard toggling between two memories of his wife, trying to figure out which is the true memory.The use of montage contributes further to the movie, as it illustrates Leonards difficulties to differentiate between what is true and what isn't. When we first see it, we think it's just true and happy memories he has of her when they were together, but as we see in the end of the movie, the memories may be an alteration of what they really were. To explain my point better, I've included two images showing the memory in which Leonard goes back and forth between.
 * Kristine Romano - __Team Sammy Jankis__:**

__**Renée Wong-Team** **Sammy Jenkins**__ Techniques used: -In the first scene, the start of the movie, the scene was played backwards as in it was rewinding. I thought it was a pretty clever technique because at first when i saw a picture of a dead man it got me curious. Later when i rewinded i knew for sure that i would know the reason of the death, it also foreshadows that the whole story is going to be about the cause of death of the man in the picture. -This is an example of intercutting. The black and white scenes are happening chronologically, which shows the previous part of investigation right after the "incident". The colored parts start from the end, and the story plot "rewinds", tells the story backwards starting from the last time the main character lost his memories. This is also an example of discontinuity editing. At first i got a bit confused with the colors switching while the plot did not match up chronologically, later it was surprising how i got use to it, and i thought the order and the way of showing the story was actually interesting. It makes the audience feel like a detective, because the sense of time got disturbed, it felt like i was experiencing what the main character is going through -- having a short term memory, because i did not know what happened or what was going to happen. It makes the audience engaged because when i watched it it felt like if i wasn't engaged in this film, i would get lost track of the sense of timing. Also it was interesting that due to a lot of scenes being edited as discontinued, later it felt comfortable and it actually felt continued because the audience's brain automatically sorts the time and matches the scenes into the right place. I thought that was really interesting and fun to experience. >Run Lola Run connects some of the running scenes with animation Which i thought was a bit discontinuous, and in the end i didn't really get use the discontinuous editing. Also some parts were a bit tedious, there were scenes that i watched for 3 times in a row, it was just the plot line that was different so i thought i did not create such a interesting impact as Momento created with the discontinuous edit. -This is an example of fade or dissolve in terms of the color. This is the part where the timing of the black and white scenes AND the colored scenes matches and comes together. It was like the two "stories" meet, as in the future kept rewinding and the past keep fast forwarding to meet the present. I also liked how it sort of plays around with the techniques of old cameras, i didn't notice that the black and white scene emerged with the color scene until i watched it again, because at first i thought it was just the ink of the picture drying up to show the picture after it was taken. It was later then i realized the smart technique used in here to connect the disoriented time together. I thought this was interesting and a clever way of editing it. -The editing technique used in here is flashback. Which is when the main character remembers pieces of his memories. I thought this was interesting because it was like i was going through the main characters memory, and the scenes the editor choose to show were scenes that further strengthens the emotions and highlights the climax of the unsolved mystery by using flashback to show the truth of the death fo the main characters wife. >Run Lola Run used some flash forward, when Lola passes by a character that has interaction with her, a flash forward was used to show the different endings of all character in all three different runs. This was interesting in the way of seeing the different endings that a character can have, but it also had a weakness which those endings did not leave specific impact on me, i just thought it was three different endings, some being bad some being good, but there wasn't any climax or interesting shots, or strong attachment in turns of emotion created for the characters.
 * Rewind
 * Discontinuity Editing
 * Flashback
 * Fade/Dissolve (as in color)
 * Intercutting
 * THEREFORE Momento is WAY BETTER THAN Run Lola Run in terms of editing techniques!

Naomi Chan: Team Sammy Jenkins

There are so many reasons why the editing of Memento is much better than that of Run Lola, Run. Many of these reasons have already been mentioned by my comrades Rosa, Dinah, Karson, Kristine, and Renée. The most obvious editing technique that is rarely, if ever, seen in other films is the editor’s use of montage. We start off with basically the ending of the movie, and we work our way through the story from there. The scenes are put in reverse order and at times, they feel like they’re in the wrong order because of how confusing the movie is at first. However, once you realize that the colored scenes of the movie were intercut with flashback black-and-white scenes, you start to get a hang of how the movie is unfolding. This had the effect of making us feel like we also had to solve the mystery of who killed Leonard’s wife. There was no dramatic irony where the audience knows all along who killed Leonard’s wife. In fact, we don’t even find out who he truly is until the end of the movie, despite how the editing made it feel like we knew him better than anyone else in the movie did. While watching the movie, I felt incredibly paranoid -- like I had to pay attention to every single detail, otherwise I’d miss important hints of what was happening. Every single time I saw an intercut of a black-and-white scene, I prepared myself to pay attention to the next scene that would show a bit more of what happened to Leonard.

The editor and director’s choice of having the film be played in reverse with intercutting also has the effect of making everything that much more intense. After a black-and-white scene of Leonard on the telephone, we immediately were cut to whatever Leonard is in the middle of doing. It would have been so boring if we had seen all the scenes in chronological order. For example, imagine if we were introduced to Teddy in chronological order. We would have seen him as a police officer who felt sorry for Leonard and wanted to help him out instead of a man who may or may not be tricking Leonard the whole time and is actually the killer that Leonard is looking for.

The way the different shots were edited as the movie progressed also helped to keep us movie watchers in the dark. We don’t get to start the movie off with an introductory background shot that helps us to establish who the characters are and where they are. Instead, we start off with tight framing and close-ups in order to not reveal too much information about what is happening. Reveals and dissolves also allow the director and the editor to choose what they want us to know at certain points of the movie. Whenever the editors want us to make sure that we see something, there’s always a close-up or an extreme close-up of the object that we need to pay attention to. Also can I just emphasize that... THERE. ARE. SO. MANY. CLOSE-UPS. If we used that many close-ups in our films, Mr. Gran would probably suspect us of not knowing how to use other shots.

Despite the confusion of the scenes being out of order, within the scenes, the editor is obviously experienced with continuity editing. For example, in this scene, the actions of Leonard driving his car to the restaurant and meeting Natalie is so smoothly edited that we don’t even notice that the editor didn’t choose to use scenes such as Leonard getting out of the car, Leonard walking into the restaurant, Leonard walking around searching for Natalie, etc. We aren’t affected by the missing scenes; rather, we just accept that Leonard has driven to the restaurant and eventually finds Natalie.



The sound editing is also extremely effective. Although we didn’t much about sound yet, after watching the movie The Cutting Edge, I realized that they made an important point about connecting sound to the edited shots. There are never moments when the background music overwhelms the scene. Rather, they use sounds that heighten the intensity and emotion of the scene. For example, whenever Leonard is in a troubling situation (such as on the telephone in his room), we are under the impression that the sounds that we hear are sounds that he’s hearing as he’s hyper-aware in his situation.

While Run Lola, Run also has unique and interesting editing techniques, it cannot compare to Memento’s editing techniques and the resulting impact that the techniques have on the audience. While I was watching Run Lola, Run I basically knew what was happening and wasn’t kept on the edge of my seat. I knew that something that had gone wrong would cause the whole run to mysteriously start over -- basically the same thing over and over again with few changes along the way. However, while watching Memento, I was completely clueless and was so drawn to watching the movie to finding out what happened. Therefore, I think that it’s safe to conclude that Memento’s editing is far superior than that of Run Lola, Run.

Kristine: Adding on to what Renée and the mystery person above me (//And a number of Run Lola, Runers//) said about Run Lola, Run, I agree that there are a number of different interesting editing techniques used in Run Lola, Run, but I still don't think this results in the //most// effective editing. As the mystery person said, you aren't kept at the edge of your seat. The actions and editing techniques within the movie become very repetitive, as they are repeated a number of times. As a result, it becomes ineffective as it is no longer interesting, and you can predict what happens next. I also feel like it contributes less to the overall mood of the movie, as it doesn't seem like it has any real purpose or intent within the movie. With Memento for example, the editing is used so that the viewer can empathize with Leonard. In Run Lola, Run, the editing is only interesting in the first section where it makes you feel the fast pace manner in which Lola must get the money. However, after that it becomes predictable and unnoticeable due to the number of times that it has already been seen. Thus leaving little of an impact on the viewers in the end. -William: I agree that too much repetition in editing can make a movie very boring, but in Memento, they do the very same thing that you claim is already present in Run Lola Run! From what I can tell from your post, one of your qualms with Run Lola Run is the editing techniques that begin and end the three acts of the movie. I'm guessing you are referring to the scene where she gets up, the phone drops down and she runs out. This may be repeated with every act, but each time it occurs it is noticeably different than the other instances. That's the whole point of this, to show how under different circumstances fate would affect her. Unlike Memento, there is diversity in the same editing techniques. Memento is guilty of only using flashbacks interlaced with a linear story for the whole movie. Thus it can be argued, that eventually this editing technique becomes boring and as you say, "no longer interesting."

Eric: Yes William you have a point; however need I remind you that repetition is an effective method in many mediums of media such as songs, speeches, works of literature, and in this case, film. That is the whole point of using the same editing technique, through many black and white scenes (flashback and reality intercutting). Memento, being shot in reverse chronological order is already somewhat challenging the viewer to think, as opposed to just “watching.” What I mean is that, because there is already much going on in Memento due to the reverse chronological order and intercutting and flashbacks, the addition of a different edit every single time a flashback occurs would most likely negatively impact the viewers’ ability to perceive the movie’s (Memento) plot. In Run Lola Run, since the movie is linear, the addition of some editing diversity can cause the movie to feel less boring (for lack of a better term); however this would not be the case for Memento.

Kristine: William, I see what you are saying and that may be true in some cases, but I don't think that's the case with Memento. Unlike Run Lola, Run, this type of repetition is effective because you are always trying to figure out how the scenes match up. In Run Lola, Run, you may be curious as to what will happen next, but you have more of an idea because the same scenes repeat themselves (eg. where she gets up, the phone drops and she runs out).

Ryan Chong: You have to keep in mind that the techniques used in Memento is present in a lot of other films as well, emphasizing how successful this technique is. Only one other movie I know uses a similar technique as Run Lola Run! and that movie is Source Code. Like Donnie Darkco and Seven Pounds, Memento starts with the end and ends with the beginning.

Luke: Good editing techniques, as seen in "Run Lola Run", is often used to portray a mood, a sensation, and/or themes of a film (which in the case of "Run Lola Run", is how small, trivial changes can trigger drastically different outcomes). But despite "Run Lola Run"'s pleasant editing, it is unable to compete with the masterful editing of "Memento". "Memento", quite simply put, is one of the best edited films of all time. "Memento" revolves around a blonde Guy Pearce (Leonard), suffering from amnesia, trying to uncover a mystery, and is famously known for its unique non-linear story line. Hell, there's even a graph made specifically to explain the nonlinear progression on  While the nonlinear storyline may initially surprise and completely confuse the hell out of many people, careful observers would quickly notice that the opening sequence of the film literally explains its nonlinear editing and progression. As you should know, Memento starts out with the ending of the story, and work its way back through the intricate plot. Well, the opening scene is shown in a slowed reversed, so we actually see the Polaroid slowly fade to white, the bullet case flying back into the gun, and Teddy's brain flying back into his head. Then the scene is quickly replayed, much faster (at normal speed this time), in the correct chronological order. The editing of the opening scene immediately establishes the progression of the story, and the audience immediately becomes aware of the absence of correct chronological order in the film. All thanks to a simple rewind, and slowing-down of the frames. Its one of my favorite scenes in the film. Memento is not the pioneer of nonlinear editing story progression; a method of nonlinear story and editing can also be seen in QT's Pulp Fiction. But Memento takes the idea of nonlinear editing, and takes it into another dimension. As we all know, Leonard is plagued by amnesia; he has no short term memory at all. Through intercutting between the black-and-white motel room with fragments of colored film shown in reverse order, Memento puts us in a fragmented, confused state of mind. The fragmented and disorientating sequences completely changes our perception and our orientation, fragmenting our mind, much like Leonard's mind. The fragmented editing puts us in Leonard's shoes, as we push our confused selves to pay attention and make sense of the different flashbacks and fragments, solving the mystery step by step in sync with Leonard. Whereas Leonard is trying to piece together a story with his Polaroids, we are trying to piece together a story with the fragments of film, our very own set of "Polaroids". The fragmented editing technique in Memento is able to reach out and make a connection with the audience, since the audience is experiencing Leonard's state of mind and his troubles, and is also trying to piece together the shattered pieces of a puzzle. "Run Lola Run", however clever it may seem, fails to make the audience develop strong feelings and connections with the story. The editing in Memento is so awesomely important that the film would not have receive such critical acclaim if it weren't for the editing. Imagine watching Memento, in chronological order, without the intercuts and the color fades. Good editing makes the audience feel involved in the world of the film, and Memento has done just that.