Anne V. Coates

Anne Voase Coates (12 December 1925 – 8 May 2018) was an English film editor with a more than 60-year-long career. She was perhaps best known as the editor of David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. She was also Oscar-nominated for Becket (1963), The Elephant Man (1980), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Out of Sight (1998). In 2007, she became a BAFTA Fellow.

Early life and education Coates was born in Reigate, Surrey, England, the daughter of Kathleen Voase (née Rank) and Major Laurence Calvert Coates. Her first passion was horses. As a girl, she thought she might become a race-horse trainer.

Coates attended the Reigate village school called the Micklefield School. She then attended High Trees School in Horley (Surrey). Her final school was Bartrum Gables in Broadstairs (Kent).

Before becoming a film editor, she worked as a nurse at Sir Archibald McIndoe's pioneering plastic surgery hospital in East Grinstead, England.

Career Coates became interested in cinema after seeing Wuthering Heights (1939) directed by William Wyler.

Style and recognition In an industry where women accounted for only 16 per cent of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2004, and 80 per cent of the films had absolutely no women on their editing teams at all, Coates thrived as a top film editor. She was awarded BAFTA's highest honour, a BAFTA Fellowship, in February 2007 and was given an Academy Honorary Award, which are popularly known as a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, in November 2016 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Over the course of her career she has stated her style as being: "In a way, I've never looked at myself as a woman in the business. I've just looked at myself as an editor. I mean, I'm sure I've been turned down because I'm a woman, but then other times I've been used because they wanted a woman editor." "I seem to get the rhythm from the performances. I like to feel I'm very much an actor's editor. I look very much to the performances and cut very much for performances rather than the action. I think that's important, what's in the eyes of the actor."

Death Coates died on 8 May 2018, aged 92, at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.

Filmography Film YearTitleDirectorNotes 1952 The Pickwick Papers Noel Langley 1953 Grand National Night Bob McNaught 1954 Forbidden Cargo Harold French 1955 To Paris with Love Robert Hamer 1956 Lost Guy Green 1957 The Truth About Women Muriel Box 1958 The Horse's MouthRonald Neame 1960 Tunes of Glory 1961 Don't Bother to Knock Cyril Frankel 1962 Lawrence of Arabia David Lean 1964 Becket Peter Glenville 1965 Young Cassidy Jack Cardiff Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Ken Annakinwith Gordon Stone 1966 Hotel Paradiso Peter Glenville 1968 Great Catherine Gordon Flemyng 1970 The AdventurersLewis Gilbert 1971 Friends 1972 Follow Me! Carol Reed 1973 Bequest to the Nation James Cellan Jones 1974 11 Harrowhouse Aram Avakian Murder on the Orient Express Sidney Lumet 1975 Man FridayJack Gold 1976 Aces High The Eagle Has Landed John Sturges 1978 The Legacy Richard Marquand 1980 The Elephant Man David Lynch 1981 The Bushido Blade Tom Kotani Supervising editor Ragtime Milos Forman with Antony Gibbs and Stanley Warnow 1983 The Pirates of Penzance Wilford Leach 1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Hugh Hudson 1986 Lady Jane Trevor Nunn Raw Deal John Irvin 1987 Masters of the Universe Gary Goddard 1989 Farewell to the King John Miliuswith Carroll Timothy O'Meara Listen to Me Douglas Day Stewartwith Bud S. Smith 1990 I Love You to Death Lawrence Kasdan 1991 What About Bob? Frank Oz 1992 Chaplin Richard Attenborough 1993 In the Line of Fire Wolfgang Petersen 1994 Pontiac Moon Peter Medak 1995 Congo Frank Marshall 1996 Striptease Andrew Bergman 1997 Out to Sea Martha Coolidge 1998 Out of SightSteven Soderbergh 2000 Erin Brockovich Passion of Mind Alain Berliner 2001 Sweet November Pat O'Connor 2002 Unfaithful Adrian Lyne 2004 Taking Lives D.J. Caruso 2006 Catch and Release Susannah Grant 2007 The Golden Compass Chris Weitz with Peter Honess and Kevin Tent 2010 Extraordinary Measures Tom Vaughan 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey Sam Taylor-Johnson with Debra Neil-Fisher and Lisa Gunning

Television

1972 A War of Children TV movie

Becket

The Elephant Man

In the Line of Fire

Out of Sight

Murder on the Orient Express

The Elephant Man

In the Line of Fire

Erin Brockovich

Lawrence of Arabia

Becket

In the Line of Fire

Best Edited Feature Film Out of Sight

Best Film Editing Out of Sight