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.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 12, 1943 (83)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Editor and writer, also director and actor
- 36 on Motif · 40 credits in all
What are Walter Murch's films like?
Across their 29 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Ideas.
Genres
Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 28
A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 5 · Dark 16
A split, not a type: Grounded 11 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 8
A split, not a type: Gentle 6 · Charged 11 · Intense 12
Steady 8 · Shifting 20 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 24 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
Slow burn 13 · Even-paced 16 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 8 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 15
A split, not a type: Easy watch 8 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 15
A split, not a type: Resolved 14 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 8
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet16
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Walter Murch's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 23 of their 36 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (8).
- The Godfather Part II (1974) · sound editor · sound re-recording mixer · free
- The Godfather (1972) · post production consulting · free
- The Godfather Part III (1990) · editor · free
- The Black Stallion (1979) · writer · free
- The English Patient (1996) · editor · free
- Ghost (1990) · editor · free
- K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) · editor · free
- Romeo Is Bleeding (1993) · editor · free
- Curiosity Stream
Subscription and free streaming for Walter Murch's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
40 credits, 36 with a Motif page; 25 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Megalopolis(2024)
Motif score: 12th percentile of all films
Her Name Was Moviola(2024)
Motif score: 77th percentile of all films
The Cinema Within(2024)
Motif score: 90th percentile of all films
Coup 53 (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)
Tomorrowland(2015)
Motif score: 55th percentile of all films
Particle Fever(2013)
Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films
Hemingway & Gellhorn(2012)
Motif score: 52nd percentile of all films
The Wolfman(2010)
Motif score: 33rd percentile of all films
Tetro(2009)
Motif score: 73rd percentile of all films
Motif score: 98th percentile of all shows
Youth Without Youth(2007)
Motif score: 50th percentile of all films
Jarhead(2005)
Motif score: 82nd percentile of all films
Cold Mountain(2003)
Motif score: 87th percentile of all films
K-19: The Widowmaker(2002)
Motif score: 68th percentile of all films
The Talented Mr. Ripley(1999)
Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Apostle(1997)
Motif score: 85th percentile of all films
The English Patient(1996)
Motif score: 90th percentile of all films
First Knight(1995)
Motif score: 39th percentile of all films
Crumb(1994)
Motif score: 98th percentile of all films
I Love Trouble(1994)
Motif score: 19th percentile of all films
Romeo Is Bleeding(1993)
Motif score: 60th percentile of all films
House of Cards(1993)
Motif score: 56th percentile of all films
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1992)
The Godfather Part III(1990)
Motif score: 91st percentile of all films
Ghost(1990)
Motif score: 85th percentile of all films
Call from Space (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1989)
Motif score: 87th percentile of all films
Captain EO (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1986)
Return to Oz(1985)
Motif score: 72nd percentile of all films
Dragonslayer(1981)
Motif score: 70th percentile of all films
The Black Stallion(1979)
Motif score: 90th percentile of all films
Apocalypse Now(1979)
Motif score: 99th percentile of all films
Julia(1977)
Motif score: 78th percentile of all films
The Godfather Part II(1974)
Motif score: 99th percentile of all films
The Conversation(1974)
Motif score: 96th percentile of all films
American Graffiti(1973)
Motif score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Godfather(1972)
Motif score: 99th percentile of all films
THX 1138(1971)
Motif score: 69th percentile of all films
Gimme Shelter(1970)
Motif score: 97th percentile of all films
The Rain People(1969)
Motif score: 74th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 40 titles from 1969 to 2024.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.
How do Walter Murch's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 35; across their 29 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up21
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
21 of their 36 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved10
- Crowd Pleaser21
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 27 reviewed titles; fans 53, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Walter Murch's work okay for kids?
Across up to 19 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Walter Murch work with?
People who share at least 2 of Walter Murch's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Francis Ford Coppola shares the most, 8.
Directors
- Francis Ford CoppolaShared titles: Tetro (2009), Youth Without Youth (2007), The Making of 'American Graffiti' (1998), The Godfather Part III (1990), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Black Stallion (1979), The Conversation (1974), THX 1138 (1971)See all 8 shared titles with Francis Ford Coppola
- Anthony MinghellaShared titles: Cold Mountain (2003), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996)See all 3 shared titles with Anthony Minghella
- Philip KaufmanShared titles: Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Philip Kaufman
- Jerry ZuckerShared titles: First Knight (1995), Ghost (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Jerry Zucker
Writers
- Gill DennisShared titles: Return to Oz (1985), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Gill Dennis
Actors
- Harrison FordShared titles: K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Conversation (1974)See all 3 shared titles with Harrison Ford
- Sofia CoppolaShared titles: Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019), The Godfather Part III (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Sofia Coppola
- Nicole KidmanShared titles: Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), Cold Mountain (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Nicole Kidman
- Peter SarsgaardShared titles: Jarhead (2005), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Sarsgaard
Composers and cinematographers
- Gabriel YaredShared titles: Cold Mountain (2003), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996)See all 3 shared titles with Gabriel Yared
- John SealeShared titles: Cold Mountain (2003), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996)See all 3 shared titles with John Seale
- Carmine CoppolaShared titles: The Godfather Part III (1990), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 3 shared titles with Carmine Coppola
- Mihai Malaimare Jr.Shared titles: Tetro (2009), Youth Without Youth (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Producers
- Fred RoosShared titles: Tetro (2009), Youth Without Youth (2007), The Making of 'American Graffiti' (1998), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Black Stallion (1979), The Conversation (1974)See all 6 shared titles with Fred Roos
- Steve E. AndrewsShared titles: Cold Mountain (2003), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996)See all 3 shared titles with Steve E. Andrews
- Paul ZaentzShared titles: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)See all 3 shared titles with Paul Zaentz
- Tom SternbergShared titles: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Black Stallion (1979)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Sternberg
Mixed roles
- George LucasShared titles: The Making of 'American Graffiti' (1998), THX 1138 (1971)See all 2 shared titles with George Lucas
