During the filming of his celebrated novel The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje became increasingly fascinated as he watched the veteran editor Walter Murch at work. The Conversations, which grew out of discussions between the two men, is about the craft of filmmaking and deals with every aspect of film, from the first stage of script writing to the final stage of the sound mix. Walter Murch emerged during the 1960s at the centre of a renaissance of American filmmakers which included the directors Francis Coppola, George Lucas and Fred Zinneman. He worked on a whole raft of great films including the three Godfather films, Julia, American Graffiti, Apocalypse Now, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being and many others. Articulate, intellectual, humorous and passionate about his craft and its devices, Murch brings his vast experience and penetrating insights to bear as he explains how films are made, how they work, how they go wrong and how they can be saved. His experience on Apocalypse Now - both originally and more recently when the film was completely re-cut - and his work with Anthony Minghella on The English Patient provide illuminating highlights.
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
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'A revealing mix of memoir and masterclass' -- Empire
'A sublime example of how to produce a fearsomely intelligent book about the aesthetics of film-making' -- Sunday Times
'As rich and rewarding a film book as I've read all year, a real meeting of minds ... immersive and expansive' -- Time Out
'A sublime example of how to produce a fearsomely intelligent book about the aesthetics of film-making' -- Sunday Times
'As rich and rewarding a film book as I've read all year, a real meeting of minds ... immersive and expansive' -- Time Out
About the Author
Michael Ondaatje is the author of several prose works including IN THE SKIN OF A LION, RUNNING IN THE FAMILY, COMING THROUGH SLAUGHTER, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, for which he won the Booker Prize in 1992, and most recently ANIL'S GHOST. His collection of poetry HANDWRITING was published in 1998. He lives in Toronto.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Jan de Groot
Format:Hardcover
This book is a transcription of a series of conversations between Michael Ondaatje, the author of "The English Patient", and Walter Murch, the editor of the film version of the book. Walter Murch has worked on many important modern films, including "Apocalypse Now", "The Conversation", and all the Godfather films, doing mostly sound design and film editing.
He discusses the creation of these and many other films with an insiders intimate knowledge of how each part adds to the whole. He mixes his strong technical knowledge with his love for the artistic process.
It is one of the best books I have ever read on film making. Both film makers and discerning film lovers will be knocked out by it.
He discusses the creation of these and many other films with an insiders intimate knowledge of how each part adds to the whole. He mixes his strong technical knowledge with his love for the artistic process.
It is one of the best books I have ever read on film making. Both film makers and discerning film lovers will be knocked out by it.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
An excellent collection of transcripted interview / conversations between novelist Ondaatje and editor/sound designer Walter Murch. Murch provides great insight into his specialist fields of film making and discusses all his major work, from editing The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation etc through to directing Return To Oz and recent work on The English Patient. It's not all technical however and there are frequent, and equally interesting, digressions into cinema and the arts in general. Fantastic!
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'll be brief..
The book is half Walter Murch insights and half another guy (forget his name but a book writer's insight) - the book writer guy more prompts Walter into giving information by directing questions/conversation topics at him..
The book started well and finished well, it dragged a little somewhere in the middle and I remember I had to force myself to keep reading it.. but it was worth it in the end..
I am a relative newcomer to editing/film-making and to my pleasant surprise I discovered many insights into the whole process of film making and editing.. some of my own experiences that I thought were unique to me I found were common to many people.. eg some of the challenges faced when editing, where you change one part of the film, and it then effects another part of the film later that you hadn't anticipated etc etc..
Overall, Im glad I read this book
The book was recommended by an
The book is half Walter Murch insights and half another guy (forget his name but a book writer's insight) - the book writer guy more prompts Walter into giving information by directing questions/conversation topics at him..
The book started well and finished well, it dragged a little somewhere in the middle and I remember I had to force myself to keep reading it.. but it was worth it in the end..
I am a relative newcomer to editing/film-making and to my pleasant surprise I discovered many insights into the whole process of film making and editing.. some of my own experiences that I thought were unique to me I found were common to many people.. eg some of the challenges faced when editing, where you change one part of the film, and it then effects another part of the film later that you hadn't anticipated etc etc..
Overall, Im glad I read this book
The book was recommended by an
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