As a form of audiovisual art, the charm of film lies in its ability to "present." The way Duke edits the plot and dialogue is essentially a means of increasing the audience's immersion during the viewing experience.
Many commercial films nowadays are criticized as brainless largely because they're afraid the audience won't understand them. They often rely on dialogue explanations or include a large number of transitional scenes.
This is exactly what Duke resolutely eliminates during editing. In the first ten minutes of Fury Road, he provides no explanations whatsoever. He simply uses visuals to convey all the necessary information to the audience—world-building, character traits, the source of conflict, story direction, etc.
In other words, one of the purposes of editing is to tell a story through images. This isn't particularly difficult, because audiovisual language is a required course for every director.
In the footage playing in the editing room, a completed opening scene by Duke and Mike Dawson is being shown. A lizard with a grotesque, squirming body mischievously darts toward Tom Cruise's feet, only to end up as a dead lizard in Cruise's mouth. Aside from highlighting the protagonist's aura, it also delivers an important background cue—this is a world where the strong prey on the weak!
"For the vast majority of viewers, the thrill of this film mainly comes from the action scenes."
As the day's work begins, Duke instructs the entire post-production team, "What makes Fury Road's car chases and fight scenes feel refreshing compared to others? What the audience notices most clearly is the length of the action sequences."
Audiences are, without a doubt, a primary focus for Duke when making a film.
He continues, "I've divided the film into three major action segments. Every one of them must last over ten minutes!"
Mike Dawson picks up where Duke leaves off, saying, "Compared to other Hollywood action films that only dazzle for a few seconds, our editing is designed to make this film exhilarating to the extreme."
In theory, anyone can shoot lengthy action scenes. But whether viewers stay excited or even entranced that's an entirely different matter.
To be precise, everything from the choreography of the action itself, to the pacing of each move, to the contrast and resonance between different sequences, and finally to the way the shots are presented every element reflects the director's skill in directing and editing.
From the standpoint of action design alone, Duke's version of Fury Road still resembles those cult-style American road movies, emphasizing vehicle design and live-action stunts.
But he is, after all, a director who emphasizes technique. His filming involves more advanced technology, and the action is more like a spectacle. For instance, the 150 or so uniquely modified vehicles are already a "monster show" in the automotive world when viewed individually. Yet they chase, collide, and explode in unison—and what's more, most of these incredible stunts were performed live by stunt actors risking their lives...
The visual impact generated by all this offers a level of excitement that formulaic action films simply can't match.
But beyond the spectacle of action itself, it's the editing within those action sequences, and the rhythm between them, that best showcases Duke's current skill and artistic maturity as a film director.
Duke likens the entire film to a grand opera, with the three major chase sequences serving as the most dazzling movements.
In his and Mike Dawson's edit, these three sequences gradually reveal their own brilliance in both content and "melody."
The three action scenes, through clever techniques, are edited together in a way that subtly yet precisely illustrates the evolving relationship between the male and female leads, while also advancing the plot and developing character depth.
In fact, this type of editing and arrangement of action sequences in relation to cinematic expression—Duke borrowed from Ang Lee's techniques. In Lust, Caution, for instance, the three sex scenes, seemingly unrelated to "action," actually use a similar structural logic.
As a perfectionist action director, Duke also enhances even the simplest action scenes during post-production by designing richly varied edits. This transforms basic action moments into sequences filled with musical rhythm.
Take the rough cut of the third chase segment, for example. He ensures that every main character, several supporting characters, the two key villains, and even the background extras swinging on poles all have their moment in the spotlight. Each "moment" is a meticulously crafted danger beat, strung together seamlessly.
The purpose is simple—to make the audience's emotions go through wave after wave of upheaval, so that once the experience ends, the thrill they recall feels like reaching multiple climaxes.
Of course, such action techniques are second nature to a director like Duke, whose style is rooted in action. But it's clear he wants this new film to be even more "beautiful"—a mix of post-apocalyptic brutality and deliberate aestheticism, strange yet gripping.
In post-production, Duke is chasing a kind of strange and captivating beauty—an intentionally exaggerated, intensified aesthetic.
So in addition to editing, Duke has another key task: color grading.
He wants ultra-saturated tones that make the film world so vividly rich it feels like a comic book. As he once described it, having lived across the Pacific Ocean, it's "literally blinding with its pay-to-win brilliance."
When it comes to color treatment, the cinematographer and editor must share some level of aesthetic alignment. After so many years of working together, Duke's go-to cinematographer John Schwartzman and editor Mike Dawson have developed a unique sense of visual harmony, capable of transforming camera movement and cuts into an unprecedented form of extreme beauty.
The editing also makes many scene transitions look more crisp and powerful.
On a more detailed level, Duke has many meticulous tricks in shot handling. He takes the simplest shots and—through John Schwartzman's lens and Mike Dawson's edits—makes them breathtakingly beautiful.
For example, the mid-film chase scene, where the female lead drops the hood shield and kicks up dust to extinguish a fire, is enough to give the viewer goosebumps.
Also, through editing, Duke further emphasizes the film's sense of "madness"—from the cult-like worship of vehicles by the villain's followers, to the manic performances by protagonists and supporting roles alike, to the martyrdom-themed death shots, all accompanied by a blood-pumping, mind-warping soundtrack. The goal is for audiences to feel they're not watching a film but taking part in a post-apocalyptic cult ritual. Even when blasted into exhaustion by sensory overload, they should still be screaming hoarsely on their way to cinematic heaven.
What Duke seeks in post-production is exactly this kind of "possessed" beauty—making an ostensibly simple movie feel magical, with layers of lingering impact!
In addition, Duke borrowed the momentum-based editing style from The Bourne Identity for many of the fight scenes—when editing shots of strikes, flying leaps, etc., the following shot would slightly repeat the action from the previous one. This makes the motion appear more natural and elegant.
To make an outstanding film, one must meticulously and rigorously control the cinematic language from beginning to end. Not a single frame can be careless.
There's not a single character design that isn't exquisite, not a single scene setup that isn't meticulous, not a single shot that isn't rich in content, and not a single edit that isn't deeply thought through—this is the foundation of a great film.
During fine editing, the hand-to-hand combat scene between Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise was only a minute and a half long, yet Duke used 96 shots of varying lengths and spent a full three days working on it with Mike Dawson.
He really wanted to know how those directors who could edit a standard-length film in a week or even just a few days managed to do it. And if they could, how did they ensure the quality of the film?
If one truly wants to be a good director, they don't need to listen to critics too much, nor should they be overly concerned with what theorists have to say. Duke's experiences over the years have clearly shown him that making a film and reviewing one are two entirely different things.
Audiovisual language is the most fundamental skill in filmmaking, just as language is to writing, and color and composition are to painting. A director can only integrate audiovisual skills into their instincts by constantly breaking down, shooting, and watching films.
Every single shot in a movie goes through the process of conceptualization—planning—scripting—storyboarding—actual shooting. During filming, every shot must take into account lighting, focal length, movement, composition, and camera position. Sometimes, to shoot just one shot, Duke would direct the crew to set up lighting and camera positions for several hours straight.
And this, he could never possibly do alone. What he relied on was a strong, tightly coordinated team.
Post-production follows the same logic. It's not the work of the director alone.
While Duke was immersed in post-production, promotional work for Fury Road was also in full swing.
When April came around, Duke and IMAX held a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, officially announcing a five-year agreement to co-produce five IMAX films. The deal included both IMAX 2D and IMAX 3D formats, and Fury Road would be the first among them.
Duke and IMAX's new president, Richard Gelfond, exchanged glowing praise for one another.
"IMAX has followed an outstanding growth trajectory, and its collaboration with 3D technology will provide audiences with an unprecedented ultimate viewing experience," Duke said.
Richard Gelfond, on the other hand, stated, "Director Rosenberg's strategic cooperation with IMAX is a vital step forward. It marks a further expansion following our partnership in film marketing and distribution strategies. We believe this cooperation will bring better box office results for future films."
At the same time, IMAX would be making a strong promotional push for Fury Road.
Both lead actors, Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise, were making frequent public appearance especially Charlize Theron. Her image with a shaved head drew even more attention.
Warner Bros. also capitalized heavily on this, with many media outlets publishing stories like, "Do You Still Like the Goddess with a Shaved Head? Do You Still Find Her Sexy?"
....
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