Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542296
33 W I N T E R Q 4 I S S U E F E A T U R E August 1953 to overthrow the democrat- ically elected Iranian Prime Minister and reinstall the Shah as absolute monarch. Murch subsequently won the Best Docu- mentary award at the Milano International Film Festival. I n "S u d d e n l y S o m e t h i n g C l i c k e d ," Murch invites readers to join him on a voyage of discovery through film, using a mixture of personal stories and meditations on his own creative tactics and strategies together with reminiscences from working on "The Godfather" films, "Apoc- alypse Now," "American Graffiti," "The English Patient," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." THE PUBLISHER'S PRODDING What prompted Murch to write this new book? "I was prodded into it by Walter Donahue, an editor at Faber & Faber, the book publisher. He's been in charge of their film division for the last 30 or 40 years," Murch said. "He approached me about 10 years ago, asking about writing a new book. My previous publication, 'In the Blink of an Eye,' was written in 1988 at the transition from analog editing, which I'd been doing for 30 years, to digital editing, which I've since been doing for 30 years. It seemed like a good idea because so much has changed in film construction, with advantages and peculiarities of digital editing. "When Walter asked me what kind of book it was going to be, I said he should think of a twisted, three-bladed rope. It will be a mixture of history, science, tips, tricks, and metaphys- ics, I told him. It alternates between the ridiculous and scary things that happen when you try to make a movie and deeper thoughts about why we do what we do — and how we can make it as good as it can be. "As frequently happens, once you start writing, you are no longer in complete control of where you're going; things start to pop out of your subconscious. I had been taking notes on a potential book starting in 2013. So it all dovetailed together with Walter as the trigger." As readers learn from the book's pref- ace, Murch soon realized he had more than one book and decided to break the manu- script into three volumes. "Yes, 'Suddenly Something Clicked' is Volume One, focusing on post-production, with Volumes Two and Three looking at production and cinematic philosophy — writing, casting, direction, and aesthetics. And there's no duplication of content with 'Blink of an Eye,' which was based on a lecture right at the midpoint of my film career. In general, editors don't tend to write about what they do while they're in the middle of doing it! So I broke that rule with 'Blink.'" Murch also states within the book's preface that planning is the most critical step. How did he envisage the final prod- uct? "I would quote Dwight Eisenhower, speaking about D-Day. He said: 'Planning is everything; plans are nothing,' meaning how you're going to beat the Germans or how this book is going to be put together — that's the important thing. But once you actually engage in battle — or once you actually start writing — other things take over, and you have to abandon some of your plans. But you've had the backup of thinking about it. If you didn't do that, you're more subject to a tornado of events." Of the book's 30 chapters, distributed pretty much equally between film editing and sound design, Chapters 7 and 8 illustrate the author's c r e a t i v e b a c k g r o u n d a n d attention to detail. Subtitled "Tetris 1" and "Tetris II" after the popular video game with falling shapes that sort into piles, these two chapters reveal the complex challenges faced d u r i n g p o s t - p r o d u c t i o n o f writer/director Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-nominated " The Conversation" (1974), a f i l m a b o u t a s u r v e i l l a n c e expert, Harry Caul, hired to re- cord the private discussions of a young couple walking around San Francisco's noisy Union Square. The film's well-deliber- ated conclusion hinges on the interpretation of a single ambi- guity. Starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, and Allen Garfield, the film won the 1974 Cannes Festival Palme d'Or. THE CIRCUS RINGMASTER "Francis casts all his heads of departments pretty much the same way as the actors," Murch said. "Once cast, as far as Francis is concerned, 98% of the work is done; he's a great believer in the collaborative nature of filmmaking. His definition of a film director is 'The ring- master of a circus that is inventing itself.' 'The Godfather' (1972) had just come out, b u t w e w e re a l re a d y m o v i n g to w a rd s making 'The Conversation.' Francis said to me: 'You're a sound man, as is Harry Caul