The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
by Michael Ondaatje
List Price:
Our Price: $12.88
You Save: $8.12 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.98 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Michael OndaatjeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-05
ISBN: 0375709827
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
Book Review: The Art and Science of Film Editing From a True Master
Summary: 5 Stars
The film editor is the great unsung hero of the filmmaking process. After all, during the annual Oscar ceremony, the award for Best Film Editing seems to be hidden away between bad production numbers and some indecipherable technical award. As directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Anthony Minghella constantly receive praise for their creative visions, it is obviously the film editor's onerous task to make sense of that vision and capture the key moments and sounds that define it. Film editor and sound designer par excellence, Walter Murch, is the subject of this endlessly fascinating book, which chronicles a series of five extensive conversations he had with Michael Ondaatje, author of "The English Patient". They met on the set of that film, one of many fine films Murch has edited, and Ondaatje was so struck by his personality and methods that he decided to write this book. In fact, Ondaatje was bowled over by how Murch could draw lines connecting the most disparate things in the cosmos: philosophy, technology, science, music, literature, art, languages, sound theory. Murch can locate the impulse of a film in the symphonies of Beethoven or in the way he views painting and architecture. He knows of what he speaks as his track record is very impressive - "Apocalypse Now", all three parts of "The Godfather", "American Graffiti", "Julia", "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "The Talented Mr. Ripley", and the list goes on.
This intriguing book also explores the dynamic relationship between film editing and writing, which means Ondaatje is in a unique position to provide insight into his own methods. It becomes clear that Murch's descriptions of his editing offer Ondaatje new ways of understanding his own work as a novelist, and much of the pleasure derived from the book comes from Ondaatje's self-discovery process. Murch convincingly presents himself as both a physicist and a mathematician of cinema and suggests that we are in a prehistoric period, and that over time, we will eventually develop a system of notation for film much like musical notes. He sees it as his own destiny to uncover the underlying mathematics of cinema. Of course, Ondaatje provides perspectives of the filmmakers with whom Murch has worked extensively, providing accounts of Murch's importance in Hollywood by such figures as Coppola and George Lucas. Some films understandably get more attention than others. There is a lot of discourse on "The Conversation" and "Apocalypse Now", including the Redux version, as well as the "Godfather" trilogy, including his re-edit to make it one giant epic. Lots of revelations come out in these discussions. For example, one can now finally understand that Robert Duvall's absence (due to pay demands) is to blame for the lackluster "Godfather Part III" since the initial vision was to focus on the death of Tom Hagen, much as it was on the killings of Sonny in Part I and Fredo in Part II. He also has some interesting insight in the recutting and remixing of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil". But he goes well beyond his own films, as he cites and discusses films of great influence to him like "King Kong" and Eisentein's "Alexander Nevsky".
An obvious intellectual with a nimble mind for data collection and synthesis, Murch has managed to combine technological and engineering know-how with artistic inventiveness. Not surprisingly, he is also a bit of an eccentric, a Renaissance man slightly out of step with his time. This book will greatly appeal to film buffs as it offers a real insight into how some of our most iconic films of the last quarter century were made. This is a pure delight chock full of interesting photos, probably the best such interactive collaboration since Francois Truffaut interviewed Alfred Hitchcock.
Summary of The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
The Conversations is a treasure, essential for any lover or student of film, and a rare, intimate glimpse into the worlds of two accomplished artists who share a great passion for film and storytelling, and whose knowledge and love of the crafts of writing and film shine through.It was on the set of the movie adaptation of his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, that Michael Ondaatje met the master film and sound editor Walter Murch, and the two began a remarkable personal conversation about the making of films and books in our time that continued over two years. From those conversations stemmed this enlightened, affectionate book -- a mine of wonderful, surprising observations and information about editing, writing and literature, music and sound, the I-Ching, dreams, art and history.
The Conversations is filled with stories about how some of the most important movies of the last thirty years were made and about the people who brought them to the screen. It traces the artistic growth of Murch, as well as his friends and contemporaries -- including directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Fred Zinneman and Anthony Minghella -- from the creation of the independent, anti-Hollywood Zoetrope by a handful of brilliant, bearded young men to the recent triumph of Apocalypse Now Redux.
Among the films Murch has worked on are American Graffiti, The Conversation, the remake of A Touch of Evil, Julia, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather (all three), The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The English Patient.
?Walter Murch is a true oddity in Hollywood. A genuine intellectual and renaissance man who appears wise and private at the centre of various temporary storms to do with film making and his whole generation of filmmakers. He knows, probably, where a lot of the bodies are buried.?
Movies Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Movies Books
David Lean: A Biographyby Kevin Brownlow
St Martins Pr; Published: 1997-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $55.00
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fifth Edition, Completely Updated and Expandedby David Thomson
Knopf; Published: 2010-10-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.46
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Third Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2005-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $37.04
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Second Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2000-04-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.89
Price in other shops:
Stars in My Eyesby Don Bachardy
University of Wisconsin Press; Published: 2011-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops:
Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studiosby Gregory D. Booth
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.71
Price in other shops:
Time Out Film Guide, 6th EditionTime Out; Published: 1998-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Natashaby Suzanne Finstad
Random House; Published: 2002-07-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.44
The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to): Guide to the Legal and Business Practices of Writing for the Entertainment Industryby Brooke A. Wharton
Harper Perennial; Published: 1997-03-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.12
Price in other shops:
JOHN WAYNE: AMERICANby Randy Roberts, James S. Olson
Free Press; Published: 1995-09-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $64.99
Similar Books and other products
First Cut: Conversations with Film Editorsby Gabriella Oldham
University of California Press; Published: 1995-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.24
Price in other shops:
Making Moviesby Sidney Lumet
Vintage; Published: 1996-03-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops:
Film Editing: Great Cuts Every Filmmaker and Movie Lover Must Knowby Gael Chandler
Michael Wiese Productions; Published: 2009-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.73
Price in other shops:
On Film-making: An Introduction to the Craft of the Directorby Alexander Mackendrick
Faber & Faber; Published: 2005-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Film Theory and CriticismOxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $59.32
Price in other shops:
Film Production Theory (SUNY Series Cultural Studies in Cinema/ Video)by Jean-Pierre Geuens
SUNY Press; Published: 2000-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
The Filmmaker's Eye: Learning (and Breaking) the Rules of Cinematic Compositionby Gustavo Mercado
Focal Press; Published: 2010-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.16
Price in other shops:
Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Knowby Jennifer Van Sijll
Michael Wiese Productions; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.39
Price in other shops:
On Film Editing: An Introduction to the Art of Film Constructionby Edward Dmytryk
Focal Press; Published: 1984-11-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.54
Price in other shops:
In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Editionby Walter Murch
Silman-James Press; Published: 2001-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: