Recommended by Jodie Foster and it does not disappoint. Solid insight into the art & craft of editing from a master. Truly engaging with insight into editorial philosophy and the why, not just the how, of editing. I recommend to any serious editor or filmmaker.

Walter Murch crafted one of the most timeless (and eerily timely) books on the essence of filmmaking. The relatively chapter-less free format felt like a journey through the mechanical age of movie magic up until now where we stand on the precipice of another technological advancement in the industry.

At the time of writing this review, a strike is taking place to combat the unceremonious exclusion of flesh-and-blood writers, actors, and various other industry workers in exchange for a completely A.I. run system. Murch chronicles, and practically predicted, these exact events and advancements. His literature is not only educational and a crucial read for every film student, but also acts as a clear warning to keep watch over the creation of a solitary algorithm based system attempting to recreate only what humans can produce.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murch’s poise and entertaining voice as each section carried me through a humbling realization of how privileged I am to experience films in this era. I only hope the film industry treads softly enough with each advancement as to not warp itself into an unfamiliar entity.

“…out of this apparent butchery our creation can sometimes gain not only a life but a soul as well. It is all the more amazing because the instantaneous displacement achieved by the cut is not anything that we experience in ordinary life.”


First film book of 2025 and kinda thought I’d enjoy this a bit more… but that’s probably my fault since I know practically nothing about editing film lol. Murch discusses different systems he’s used for editing the various projects he’s worked on and while he does a great job explaining it, I feel like I just need to see it in person.

However, this book has definitely made me realize just how crucial, time consuming and meticulous editing is. It’s obviously not going to be the easiest job, but reading about how technical it can be while also providing you with hundreds/thousands of different ways to build the story was so eye opening. Editing films forces you face almost every possible option for the story and it’s up to the editor(s) to feel it out and do what is right without getting carried away.

The changes that filmmaking has gone through is crazy and I cant even imagine what 2099 will have in store for cinema.

Helped to know that being an editing nerd/theorist could also end up prolific. Personally just lovely.

ადრე მინდოდა ამ წიგნის წაკითხვა და კარგია რომ To Read-ში არ ჩავაგდე, წასაკითხი წიგნების ლიმბოში.
ხოშიანი იყო. "აპოკალიფსი ახლას" მემონტაჟის საბაზისო რჩევებია დამწყები კინოშნიკებისთვის, რეჟისორებისთვის, მემონტაჟეებისთვის. დაჟე უბრალოდ სინეფილი მაყურებლისთვისაც სასიამოვნო წასაკითხი იქნება.
თუ ამ კუთხით შეფასებ ალბათ ხუთიანის ღირსია მაგრამ ზედმეტ დროს უთმობს ტექნიკურ ასპექტებზე საუბარს. კი, ამით ხაზს უსვამს რო ფირიდან ციფრზე გადასვლა არაა კინოს აღსასრული (2000-იანების დასაწყისშია მეორე გამოცემა, პირველი მგონი 1995-ში) და, პირიქით, გააუმჯობესებს შემოქმედებით პროცესს. ეს გასაგებია, მაგრამ არ მაინტერესებს ზედმეტი დეტალები, ძველი სამონტაჟოების აგებულება და ა.შ
მონტაჟის თეორიის შესახებ უფრო მეტ საუბარს ველოდი ვიდრე ციფრისა და ფირის დაპირისპირებაზე მსჯელობას.
შეიძლება ჩემი პრობლემაა, არასწორ რამეს ველოდი და მაგიტომ. მაგრამ თეორიის მხრივაც ხოშიანი რამეები წერია დასაწყებად. ხოდა, რავიცი, გირჩევთ ყველას ორივე ხელით და ათივე თითით.

o restinho do posfácio sobre analógico pro digital vai ter que ficar pra depois, visse, walter. beijo pra tu, obrigada pelos insights!

Certified hood classic

Essentially, one of the worst books I ever read. This book was perhaps relevant when it came out, 20+ years ago, and then immediately became outdated. While it's unfair to judge Murch's book by how fast editing evolved in the two decades after it came out, I do not approve of the status this book has. I guess this book is to editing what Syd Field's stuff is to screenwriting. In fact it's worse, because at least Field gives you something to work with, a guideline to write your first screenplay perhaps, but Murch, my Gawd, he gives you nothing. If In the Blink of an Eye was to be distilled to its essence, the 'original ideas' would take no more space than one and a half pages. The rest is just Murch going on and on with 'clever' analogies to explain what editing is to an audience that maybe never before thought about the fact that movies are edited at all. That's only when he's not nagging on about the fact that he likes to put his KEM on an elevated surface, because he prefers to edit while standing up.

This book is certainly a useful tool for considering how to conceptualize the editing process. I only gave it two stars because it is short on information and reads like a children's book.

The book starts off on a solid interesting pace of intro and body, containing walks through memory lane side by side with priceless information since it is my first book I read on the filming category, the first 40-50% of the whole book is good. After that it's the pros and cons of the past equipment a d future possibilities. Which was a little disappointing since the reading was satisfactory at the beginning.

tostón

Walter talks about editing and the art of filmmaking with such passion and with such beautiful analogies that you can't help but fall in love with films all over again, now with the knowledge of these new insights.