The Wise Touch

Robert Wise, one of our greatest film directors, has died. I interviewed him for Conversations with History in 1998.  http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/Wise/wise-con0.html Although he is best known for popular academy award winning films such as The Sound of Music and West Side Story, his greatest memorial is a body of work that is remarkable---a thoughtful reflection on some of the important issues of our time done so as to enhance the public's understanding.  Examples include:  The Andromeda Strain(the implications of technology for human survival) The Day the Earth Stood Still (the dangers of an unchecked arms race), and I Want to Live (a  stinging  indictment of the death penalty in our imperfect system of justice). Wise was also the film editor of Citizen Kane. Wise discusses these and other films in my interview.  See also the Conversations with History movie archive, "Movies and the Imagination." http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/PubEd/research/film.html