Enjoyable listen for fans of film and film Editing

I listened to all 15 hrs of this over the course of a month or so. I have to say, the beginning was a lot more interesting, hearing about how he got in the business working alongside Brian DePalma and then of course editing the first two Star Wars films. After a while though it gets a bit repetitive, though never outright boring. Some of the films he made later on he barely mentions at all, assuming no one cares. I wanted to know more about Raising Cain but he pretty much glossed over it. It started to get a little more interesting at the end though as his role changes a bit. Overall, an enjoyable listen with a good presentation.

6 people found this helpful

Fantastic Book

Loved everything about this book. I happen to be a filmmaker, so I knew first hand many of things Mr. Hirsch addresses in the book, but even people unfamiliar with moviemaking will find this book a fascinating peek behind the curtain, as well as a wonderful account of a life well lived telling stories.

4 people found this helpful

Very Enjoyable!

Having spent many hours in a Avid Bay shaping storylines this book was an obvious choice.

It delivered too! His ascend in Hollywood working on Star Wars and Ray were especially interesting as was the times he went to London working on the score for various films. It was neat seeing the many connections and people who disappointed Paul. It’s also a little sad the friends you make only to realize many decades later many are short term when you run into them or they pop up as you ended up never seeing them again. Although this book is in my wheelhouse; I finish it by thinking anyone who loves Hollywood and movies just a little bit will enjoy this book.

3 people found this helpful

A fascinating look “behind the curtain”..

A great longitudinal look at the development of a film editor and his career. It is peppered with fun and insightful morsels from films, both hits and disasters.

The performer was an excellent choice, it was easy to imagine that the author was reading his own work.

Very enjoyable audio book.

3 people found this helpful

Really interesting

You don’t have to be an editor to be interested in the stories and experiences of the author.

1 person found this helpful

Decent story but the narration is intolerable

I'm barely 25% of the way through this, but I was on the Audible site anyway, so I thought I'd give this a review. I find it very difficult to listen to, which is why I'm not done with it a solid year-plus after purchasing it. The story itself is OK, if you've any interest in behind-the-scenes Hollywood tales. But the narration just ruins it. Once again, an audiobook narrator has decided that the best choice for narrating a non-fiction book is to sound as much as possible like Jack Webb from the old cop show "Dragnet." Every sentence is given a film noir-esque gravitas that just doesn't need to be there, and every last sentence of a paragraph has to be delivered like it's a mind-blowing POINT. This is a difficult concept for me to convey in a written review, just understand that the narration of this is (unintentionally and unironically) like a 1960's detective drama, with a smug self-seriousness that makes the author (who isn't narrating this himself) sound a bit like a jerk IMHO. I'm sure Paul Hirsch doesn't speak remotely like Richard Ferrone, but one can't help connect the narrator and author in an audiobook, and the result in this case is unflattering and, as I said, difficult to endure for any length of time.

1 person found this helpful

A must for anyone with passion for editing

This book for me was a game changer for me. Talk about an inside education. I was inspired and could not put it down. I was disappointed when was over. I'd love to meet Paul and I'm hoping if he does any lectures or appearances I'll hear about it. I searched him online with no avail. Really really loved it. I stumbled across it while searching audible for books about editing. I had not know Paul's name but his body of work is world famous. I know him now personally it feels. Can't thank him enough.

1 person found this helpful

Not just about editing

Full of career, life lessons and anecdotes of his long experience editing movies in the industry.

I thought it would be a lot better...

I was a fan of Star Wars in 1977 and after seeing it 17 times in theaters during it's original 16-month-run (and again in the "Special Edition" version in the Chinese theater in 1997), I got to know every name in the credits. The storytelling, the camera work, the visual and sound effects and definitely the editing made me look at movies in a completely different way.

In fact, like many of the generation that followed, it made me want to be in the movie business. It took a while but I got there and spent 25 years working on over 50 films, sometimes for a few days, others a year or more (including a two-year stint on a Spielberg sci-fi epic he never made).

Nothing against Paul Hirsch. I've never had his job but as a storyboard artist I've sat down with many a director and discussed the shots I created, often out of thin air because they were not in the script, as well as the editing of those shots. Many times I saw exactly what I drew up on the screen when the film was released.

This book, in my opinion, suffers from multiple problems, the biggest (for me) being the narrator.

How can I say this? He's terrible. He reads it like he's reading "Lord of the Rings." An editor's life is not that profound. As for the writing, my wife spent most of her adult life as a book editor. As I learned from her long ago, this book is overwritten and undercooked, as well as extremely self-aggrandizing. Even if the events took place exactly as written, their description as laid out like Paul is an under-appreciated genius.

Hey, I just realized I'm starting to sound like I'm full of myself.

I forced myself to finish listening to Paul's professional life story (hey, I paid for it) but it won't happen again. Sorry, Paul. You needed a better editor.

Captivating

A thoughtful and insightful view from inside the collaboration of making great stories and movies.