Cold Mountain

Walter Murch cut Anthony Minghella’s film on Apple’s Final Cut Pro, running on several off the shelf Power Mac G4s, when expensive Avid systems were usually the standard at that budget. The mountain in the title is real, in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, but most of the shooting happened in Romania, for infrastructure rather than scenery: Transylvania had fewer power cables and paved roads than the Appalachians, so less modern life reached the frame. T Bone Burnett brought in Tim Eriksen to teach the cast Sacred Harp singing, and Jack White of the White Stripes wrote songs and played Georgia. The awards are not one line. The 76th Academy Awards brought 7 nominations and 1 win: Renée Zellweger took Best Actress in a Supporting Role, while Jude Law, Gabriel Yared’s score, two songs, John Seale’s cinematography and Murch’s editing lost. Neither Best Picture nor Directing named the film. At the 57th BAFTAs it led with 13 nominations and won two, that acting category and Best Original Music for Yared and Burnett. A good fit if you want the road strand and the farm strand advanced in turn, with the Sacred Harp singing treated as a reason for the film. Not for anyone who cares that Appalachia be photographed in Appalachia; most of those slopes are Romanian.