Walter Murch

Editing

Walter Murch

Born 1943-07-12 · New York City, New York, USA

Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. His work includes THX 1138, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather I, II, and III, American Graffiti, The Conversation, Ghost and The English Patient, with three Academy Award wins (from nine nominations: six for picture editing and three for sound mixing). For his work on Apocalypse Now, Murch was the first person to receive a credit as "Sound Designer." Murch was also the editor and re-recording mixer of Apocalypse Now Redux. In 1998, producer Rick Schmidlin chose Murch as his editor for the restoration of Orson Welles's Touch of Evil. Murch is the author of a popular book on film editing, In the Blink of an Eye, and is the subject of Michael Ondaatje's book The Conversations. Famed movie critic Roger Ebert called Murch "the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema." David Thomson calls Murch "the scholar, gentleman and superb craftsman of modern film", adding that in sound and editing, "he is now without a peer." Description above from the Wikipedia article Walter Murch, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound poster
6.9

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

2019

78/52 poster
7.1

The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the story of the man behind the curtain and his greatest obsession.

78/52

2017

Side by Side poster
7.3

Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Keanu Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, and many more.

Side by Side

2012

The Emperor poster
7.0

Comments on the background and popularity of disc jockey "Emperor" Bob Hudson, who bases his shows on the idea that radio is a fantasy.

The Emperor

1967

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles poster
6.5

The extraordinary life of Orson Welles (1915-85), an enigma of Hollywood, an irreducible independent creator: a musical prodigy, an excellent painter, a master of theater and radio, a modern Shakespeare, a magician who was always searching for a new trick to surprise his audience, a romantic and legendary figure who lived only for cinema.

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

2014

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché poster
7.2

The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

2018

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing poster
7.0

Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

2004

Fog City Mavericks poster
8.5

Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco is a compelling exploration of the legendary filmmakers who call the San Francisco Bay Area home including George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Chris Columbus and producer Saul Zaentz. The special weaves interviews, commentaries and unforgettable moments from some of the most visionary movies ever created such as American Graffiti, the Star Wars film series, the Indiana Jones film series, The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Toy Story, The Incredibles, Lost in Translation, Flags of Our Fathers and many others. It also features interviews with those who have worked with Bay Area mavericks: Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Anthony Minghella, Milos Forman and Frank Darabont.

Fog City Mavericks

2007

The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't poster
7.2

On the 35th anniversary of the release of the landmark film "The Godfather," (March 15, 1972) we look back at the time and place of the film's conception and shooting.

The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't

2008

No artwork available
7.0

The Making of feature for the George Lucas movie 'THX 1138'.

Artifact from the Future: The Making of 'THX 1138'

2004

Coup 53 poster
8.0

Tehran, Iran, August 19, 1953. A group of Iranian conspirators who, with the approval of the deposed tyrant Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, have conspired with agents of the British MI6 and the US CIA, manage to put an end to the democratic government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh, a dramatic event that will begin the tragic era of coups d'état that, orchestrated by the CIA, will take place, over the following decades, in dozens of countries around the world.

Coup 53

2019

George Lucas: Creating an Empire poster
5.0

A Biography of George Lucas.

George Lucas: Creating an Empire

2005

The Godfather Family: A Look Inside poster
7.8

A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."

The Godfather Family: A Look Inside

1990

A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope poster
7.6

A fascinating chronicle of the birth and rise of the radically different independent studio founded by director Francis Ford Coppola.

A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope

2004

Her Name Was Moviola poster
NR

A documentary about cutting film... the way it used to be done.

Her Name Was Moviola

2024

Don't Expect Too Much poster
6.0

Documentary about director/artist Nicholas Ray and his time as a University professor

Don't Expect Too Much

2011

Bald: The Making of 'THX 1138' poster
6.7

The film features a conversation between Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, producer of THX 1138. They discuss Lucas' vision for the film, including his ideas about science fiction in general and in particular his concept of the "used future" which would famously feature in his film Star Wars. Intercut with this discussion is footage shot prior to the start of production of THX 1138 showing several of its actors having their heads shaved, a requirement for appearing in the film. In several cases the actors are shown being shaved in a public location. For example, Maggie McOmie is shaved outside the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, while Robert Duvall watches a sporting event as his hair is cut off. Another actor, Marshall Efron, who would later play an insane man in the film, cut off his own hair and was filmed doing so in a bathtub.

Bald: The Making of 'THX 1138'

1971

Sight & Sound: The Cinema of Walter Murch poster
7.0

Legendary film editor and sound designer Walter Murch talks about his work and philosophy. (Based on over 50 hours of Murch's lectures, interviews, and commentaries.)

Sight & Sound: The Cinema of Walter Murch

2020

Remembering Return to Oz poster
NR

The gathered memories and warm recollections of the cast and crew of the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures film, RETURN TO OZ. For the first time, we get intimate details about the production of the cult classic fantasy, from such names as director Walter Murch, producers Paul Maslansky and Colin Michael Kitchens, the late Gary Kurtz, and actors Fairuza Balk, Emma Ridley, Justin Case, Pons Marr, Deep Roy and Sophie Ward.

Remembering Return to Oz

2021

The Godfather: When the Shooting Stopped poster
6.6

Members of the crew recall the post-production process on the three 'Godfather' movies.

The Godfather: When the Shooting Stopped

2008

Emotional History: The Making of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' poster
NR

Milan Kundera's rambling novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, though greatly admired, was thought by Hollywood studio executives to be "unfilmable." Director Philip Kaufman and producer Saul Zaentz proved them wrong. Emotional History follows Kaufman and Zaentz as they enlist the help of screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière and legendary film editor Walter Murch to turn the Kundera novel into an imaginative exploration of politics and eroticism, set against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Our documentary goes in-depth to discover how indelible moments in the film - Lena Olin kneeling on a dressing mirror; Russian tanks invading Prague; Juliette Binoche photographing her boyfriend's nude mistress; became a part of cinematic history.

Emotional History: The Making of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'

2006

The Making of 'American Graffiti' poster
7.8

Documentary that features many interviews and other footage of the cast and crew for the film American Graffiti (1973)

The Making of 'American Graffiti'

1998

Vivien’s Wild Ride poster
8.0

When veteran film editor Vivien Hillgrove discovers that she is losing her sight, she embarks on an unconventional documentary memoir.

Vivien’s Wild Ride

2025

No artwork available
NR

Docupod gallery showcasing Murch's pioneering work on THX 1138

Master Sessions with Walter Murch

Behind the camera

Return to Oz poster
6.7

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

Return to Oz

1985

Return to Oz poster
6.7

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

Return to Oz

1985

The Black Stallion poster
7.1

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

The Black Stallion

1979

THX 1138 poster
6.4

People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship.

THX 1138

1971

Coup 53 poster
8.0

Tehran, Iran, August 19, 1953. A group of Iranian conspirators who, with the approval of the deposed tyrant Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, have conspired with agents of the British MI6 and the US CIA, manage to put an end to the democratic government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh, a dramatic event that will begin the tragic era of coups d'état that, orchestrated by the CIA, will take place, over the following decades, in dozens of countries around the world.

Coup 53

2019

Her Name Was Moviola poster
NR

A documentary about cutting film... the way it used to be done.

Her Name Was Moviola

2024