I can’t wait for tonight’s episode.
It will be unlike anything we’ve seen. It’s directed by Walter Murch, who was as responsible for THX-1138 as George Lucas. And if you haven’t read his book, In the Blink of an Eye, you’re missing out. The man is a genius. His book taught me stuff about editing that I use every single day at work.
From the press release:
The Republic assault on the shadowy planet of Umbara continues in “The General,” a new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, November 4th on Cartoon Network.
The fierce General Krell orders Captain Rex and the clone troopers of the 501st to conquer a heavily fortified Umbaran airbase. It is absolutely essential the clones succeed, for the rest of the planetary invasion depends on it. Krell will accept nothing less than victory, but the mission seems impossible – the clones must march overland through hostile territory and monstrously advanced enemy technology. Unless the clones can use their ingenuity to counter these threats, it will be a certain suicide mission.
This second installment in the epic four-part Umbara story arc raises the stakes and is filled with big screen cinematic action – and with good reason. Helming the episode as director is Walter Murch. A renowned film editor and sound designer, Murch won an Academy Award for his sound editing work on Apocalypse Now, and an unprecedented double-Oscar win for both sound and picture editing for The English Patient. A longtime friend and creative collaborator with George Lucas, Murch worked with Lucas on the films THX 1138 and American Graffiti. He quite literally wrote the book on film editing, the influential In the Blink of an Eye.