Today is a sad day.  I will not be playing games nor making jokes at this post.  One of my greatest heroes has died.  One of the people on my top 10 list of people I wished I could meet and on my top 5 list of people I wished I could mentor under is no longer with us.  Sally Menke has died.

Menke was the editor, the visual voice behind all of Quentin Tarantino’s masterful pieces of work. From the very beginning Quentin has said that he wanted a feminine voice in the editing room.  His over-sense of masculinity should be pleasantly complimented with a woman’s touch and eye for detail.  His films proved that this was the correct move.

When looking through an artist’s collection of films once can gather if they keep the same people on for key jobs through out the films.  Cinematography is pretty easy to finger since most DPs have a style they like to follow and create.  Sound Designers have their own style as well to make it pop out with audio.  And most visually similar is that of the director.  However, the editor, having the title of the “Unseen Artist,” not only describing the lack of visual time in the film world (how many of you can point out a film editor from another?) but rather they must create the illusion that they have never touched the film to begin with.  The best editors are not the ones that come and flash bang the cuts so rapidly that your eyes feel numb, the best editors are the ones that can craft a scene without you knowing that the shot cut from one angle to the next.  Sally Menke was among this elite group of specialists.

The LA Times states “Director Quentin Tarantino’s longtime film editor, who went hiking with her dog amid the extreme heat Monday, was discovered dead early Tuesday morning by searchers in Bronson Canyon, according to law-enforcement sources.”  The article continues to discuss where she was seen last and where they found her body, ” just after 2 a.m. at the bottom of a ravine near the 5600 block of Green Oak Drive in Bronson Canyon…Her dog was sitting next to her body, which was about a football field’s length from nearby homes.”  One-Sheet continues in his article saying, “sources familiar with the death investigation believe Menke became disoriented and collapsed, and the weather conditions contributed to her death. Winter said the coroner’s office is trying to determine whether the heat played a role in Menke’s death.”

So it is with a heavy heart, a tear in my eye, and a respect that I give to very, very few, that I wish you a good journey to where ever it may be you are headed now, but please know that you have touched lives in ways you will never know.  Thank you.

A short piece about Sally Menke on the Death Proof DVD.

Inglorious Basterds collection of “Hello Sally” scenes.  This was made to make Sally Menke smile in the editing room.