Interview: ‘One Battle After Another’ Editor Andy Jurgensen on Crafting the Film’s Specific Pacing

Editing any film is a yeoman’s task. Editing a Paul Thomas Anderson film? Well, that’s a horse of a different color. Anderson’s movies are not short, they’re complex, and they need to follow their own specific rhythms. Luckily, editor Andy Jurgensen is a PTA veteran, so cutting One Battle After Another, while a herculean effort, is one he was more than up for. With the home video release of the flick having been yesterday and Jurgensen about to receive, in all likelihood, his first Academy Award nomination tomorrow, we recently spent some time on Zoom talking all things One Battle After Another. You’ll be able to see me with cinematographer Michael Bauman tomorrow, but today, it’s Jurgensen’s turn.

In my rave review here, I spoke of the craftsmanship on display from PTA and company like so:

Paul Thomas Anderson is flexing a new directorial muscle here, giving us action scenes, a blockbuster scale (done on a blockbuster budget), and even making some moves towards the mainstream. One Battle After Another is almost certainly his most accessible film, yet at the same time, it’s also easily his most political. The fascist government the revolutionaries are fighting against are unnamed white supremacists, though you don’t have to squint too hard to see who Anderson is raging at. The loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon‘s Vineland never feels preachy, instead consistently seeking to entertain. The real world timeliness of the message just gives it all weight. PTA’s writing and direction is once again impeccable here, aided by another mesmerizing Jonny Greenwood score, as well as stunning cinematography (see it in VistaVision if you can!) from Michael Bauman.

Below, you can see my conversation with Jurgensen. We had about twenty minutes to chat, so we’re able to talk about the film in several regards, as well as some of Anderson’s other works, since Jurgensen has been with him for years now. Obviously, One Battle After Another is the one that is getting PTA and company their flowers, but it’s also clear to see that this is the result of long time collaborations bearing fruit. The movie is wonderful, Jurgensen’s editing is terrific, and it all just flows terrifically. Enjoy our discussion and stay tuned to see how they do with the Oscar nominations tomorrow morning.

Here now is my interview with One Battle After Another editor Andy Jurgensen. Enjoy:

One Battle After Another is available to watch now on 4K, Blu-ray, and HBO Max!