Splice of Life
A dear friend of mine, a Buddhist, went to India a few years ago and met with a really high-up guy in that discipline. He described this fellow as being, in some ways, the opposite of a stereotypical "wise man": he was accessible, down-to-earth, informal, ebullient, and yet also ... wise. Having spent a little time with Walter Murch, my guest on tonight's show (at 7:30), I think I know how my friend felt.
A three-time Oscar winner, Murch is revered in the film industry as one of its greatest editors. But what's most striking about talking with him is the breadth of his interests, and his fantastic enthusiasm for making connections -- from science, music, philosophy, literature, you name it. It's as if his mind is overflowing into his surroundings; delighted, you just try your best to keep your balance as you ride his brainwaves. I could talk with him for days -- in fact, if someone could arrange that, please let me know!
In the meantime, you can enjoy his thinking as recorded in two extremely cool books: his concise, witty, mystical primer on editing, In the Blink of an Eye, and the delightful, compulsively readable The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film -- a series of wide-ranging discussions with the novelist Michael Ondaatje. Can you say "Ondaatje"? I can't -- but I'm way jealous of how much time he got with Mr. Murch. ...
Get the podcast, download now, or stream the video (requires Real)
1 comment April 23rd, 2007
