final cut

From the fact that in the days of physical film for cinema, the strips of film on which various scenes and takes were recorded had to be cut into pieces and spliced together into a resultant composite strip.

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

final cut (plural final cuts)

1. (idiomatic) In the movie industry, the final released version of a film.
2. (idiomatic, by extension) The group that remains when a selection process has eliminated other candidates.

• make the final cut

• on the cutting room floor