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Walter Murch Biography

Birth Name:Walter Scott Murch

Birth Place:New York City, New York, United States

Profession Editor, Sound department, Writer, Editorial department, Director, Music department

Fast Facts

  • Won Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound for "The English Patient"
  • Attended John Hopkins university and met future director and screenwriter Matthew Robbins
  • Quote: "You have to be very careful about what sounds you put behind the audience․ They can distract attention away from the screen․ We had a whole list of do's and don'ts: sounds that were permissible in the back and sounds that were not permissible in the back․"
  • Came out with the book "In the Blink of an Eye", a book on film editing
  • Founding member of northern California cinema, along with George Lucas and Francis Coppola
  • Chooses to work standing up, which is unusual for film editors today
  • In his free time he enjoys being a beekeeper and making his own honey

Awards

  • 1972Hugo-Best Dramatic Presentation: nominated
  • 1975Oscar-Best Sound: nominated
  • 1975BAFTA Film Award-Best Sound Track: winner
  • 1975BAFTA Film Award-Best Film Editing: winner
  • 1978Oscar-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1979BAFTA Film Award-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1980Oscar-Best Sound: winner
  • 1980Oscar-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1980Eddie-Best Edited Feature Film: nominated
  • 1980BAFTA Film Award-Best Sound Track: nominated
  • 1980BAFTA Film Award-Best Editing: nominated
  • 1991Oscar-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1991Oscar-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1991Eddie-Best Edited Feature Film: nominated
  • 1996ACCA-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1997Oscar-Best Film Editing: winner
  • 1997Oscar-Best Sound: winner
  • 1997Eddie-Best Edited Feature Film: winner
  • 1997BAFTA Film Award-Best Editing: winner
  • 1997BAFTA Film Award-Best Sound: nominated
  • 1997C.A.S. Award-Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Feature Films: winner
  • 1997OFTA Film Award-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1997Golden Satellite Award-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 1999Special Citation-: winner
  • 2000Eddie-Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic: nominated
  • 2000OFTA Film Award-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 2000Golden Satellite Award-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 2004Oscar-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 2004Eddie-Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic: nominated
  • 2004BAFTA Film Award-Best Sound: nominated
  • 2004BAFTA Film Award-Best Editing: nominated
  • 2005Hollywood Film Award-Editor of the Year: winner
  • 2005Satellite Award-Outstanding Film Editing: nominated
  • 2011Felix-Best Film Editing: nominated
  • 2012Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie: nominated
  • 2013Eddie-Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television: winner
  • 2017Felix-Best Editing: nominated
  • 2019British Independent Film Award-Best Documentary: nominated
  • 2019Best Editing-: nominated