Editing Ensemble cast (section)

===Cinema===
{{Further|List of films with an ensemble cast}}
Ensemble casts in film were introduced as early as September 1916, with [[D. W. Griffith]]'s silent [[epic film]] ''[[Intolerance (film)|Intolerance]]'', featuring four separate though parallel plots.<ref name="smith">{{Cite web|url=http://www.screeningthepast.com/2012/12/ensemble-film-postmodernity-and-moral-mapping/|title=Ensemble Film, Postmodernity and Moral Mapping|website=www.screeningthepast.com|access-date=2020-06-15|archive-date=2018-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813111714/http://www.screeningthepast.com/2012/12/ensemble-film-postmodernity-and-moral-mapping/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film follows the lives of several characters over hundreds of years, across different cultures and time periods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/into.html|title=Intolerance (1916)|website=Filmsite |access-date=2020-06-15|archive-date=2019-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029174158/https://www.filmsite.org/into.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The unification of different plot lines and character arcs is a key characteristic of ensemble casting in film; whether it is a location, event, or an overarching theme that ties the film and characters together.<ref name="smith" />

Films that feature ensembles tend to emphasize the interconnectivity of the characters, even when the characters are strangers to one another.<ref name="silvey">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/621|title=Not Just Ensemble Films: Six Degrees, Webs, Multiplexity and the Rise of Network Narratives|first=Vivien|last=Silvey|date=June 5, 2009|journal=FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture & the Arts|issue=8|doi=10.2218/forum.08.621 |s2cid=129196139 |via=www.forumjournal.org|access-date=June 25, 2014|archive-date=April 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424225721/http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/621|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> The interconnectivity is often shown to the audience through examples of the "[[six degrees of separation]]" theory, and allows them to navigate through plot lines using [[cognitive mapping]].<ref name="silvey" /> Examples of this method, where the six degrees of separation is evident in films with an ensemble cast, are in productions such as ''[[Love Actually]],'' ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash]]'', and ''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]'', which all have strong underlying themes interwoven within the plots that unify each film.<ref name="smith" /> [[Whodunit]] films also often feature interconnected characters as suspects, such as in ''[[Death on the Nile (1978 film)|Death on the Nile]]'', [[Clue (film)|''Clue'']], and ''[[Knives Out]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Nick |date=2019-11-27 |title=13 Great Ensemble Whodunits to Watch After Knives Out |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-ensemble-murder-mystery-movies.html |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref>

''[[The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[X-Men (2000 film)|X-Men]]'', and ''[[Justice League (film)|Justice League]]'' are three examples of ensemble casts in the [[superhero film|superhero]] genre.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/apr/23/avengers-assemble-disarms-critics-joss-whedon|title=Avengers Assemble disarms the critics|first=Ben|last=Child|newspaper=The Guardian |date=April 23, 2012|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=December 19, 2016|archive-date=November 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111003021/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/apr/23/avengers-assemble-disarms-critics-joss-whedon|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hypable.com/2011/11/19/joss-whedon-talks-in-depth-about-the-ensemble-cast-of-the-avengers |title=Joss Whedon talks in depth about the ensemble cast of 'The Avengers' |date=November 19, 2011 |website=www.hypable.com |access-date=2020-06-15 |archive-date=2017-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528162613/http://www.hypable.com/joss-whedon-talks-in-depth-about-the-ensemble-cast-of-the-avengers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Referential acting is a key factor in executing this balance, as ensemble cast members "play off each other rather than off reality".<ref name="math" />

Filmmakers known for their use of ensemble casts include [[Robert Altman]], [[Woody Allen]], [[Spike Lee]], [[Quentin Tarantino]], [[Wes Anderson]], and [[Paul Thomas Anderson]] among others.