Skip to content
MovieCove

Alan Baumgarten

Editor · Born February 1, 1957 (69) · Los Angeles, California, USA

Primetime Emmy winner · Oscar nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 1 other major award body

Alan Baumgarten (born February 1, 1957) is an American film editor. He frequently collaborates with directors Jay Roach and Ruben Fleischer, having edited four of their feature films. He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, for American Hustle (2013), together with co-editors Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). Description above from the Wikipedia article Alan Baumgarten, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 1, 1957 (69)
From
Los Angeles, California, USA
Works as
Editor
Titles
45 on MovieCove · 46 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 27% in 30 days

What are Alan Baumgarten's films like?

Across their 37 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Action9 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 24th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Biography5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 72nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 83rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Horror3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 23rd percentile
: browse their Horror movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 30th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Mystery2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 28th percentile
: browse their Mystery movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
26%
Self
22%
Morality
21%
Power
11%
Survival
11%
Society
8%
Ideas
1%
Justice11 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds9 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival8 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship7 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth7 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption5 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 36 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 16 · Serious 12 · Dark 8

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 13 · Stylized 16 · Heightened 7

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 19 · Intense 12

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 13 · Shifting 19 · Whiplash 4

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 12 · Funny 11

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 25 · Relentless 5

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 19 · Engaged 12 · Full focus 5

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 16 · Affecting 15 · Heavy 5

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 26 · Open-ended 10 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
21
Thrilling
15
Absurd
10
Joyful
8
Melancholic
10
Other
35

How their films linger

Fun14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 8 with a twist

  • Happy17
  • Bittersweet17
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Alan Baumgarten's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 32 of their 45 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (14).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Alan Baumgarten's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

46 credits, 45 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Career shape

A full career of 45 titles, 44 of them dated from 1983 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Venom (2018)

$856M worldwide

Highest rated

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

The Social Reckoning (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Editing43 of 45: 43 only editing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score51stOther crew2 of 45: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s2 · crew1990s13 · crew2000s12 · crew2010s10 · crew2020s7 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

a Primetime Emmy and 1 other major award from 6 major nominations, 2008–2021.

WinNomination
  1. 2021
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Film Editing
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Editing
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Editing
  2. 2014
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Film Editing
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Editing
  3. 2008
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Alan Baumgarten's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 43; across their 36 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

50thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 36

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 36

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 36

Midcredits score across 45 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th12
  • 25th to 49th11
  • Below 25th11

Shape of the crowd

16 of their 45 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser16
  • Broadly Agreed8
  • Mixed16

Most divisive · editor

Captain America (1990)

85th percentile spread · 61% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · editor

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Midcredits 97th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 34 reviewed titles; fans 59, detractors 32. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Alan Baumgarten's work okay for kids?

Across up to 23 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore22 titles12–85 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity23 titles16–61 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity22 titles34–87 · median 62 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs20 titles29–60 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense21 titles10–67 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Alan Baumgarten work with?

People who share at least 2 of Alan Baumgarten's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jay Roach shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles