Now, for the first time in more than a century, sound and image have finally been reunited, thanks to the efforts of sound designer and editor Walter Murch and producer Rick Schmidlin, who previously collaborated on the reconstruction of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil." George Lucas is financing the restoration, and the work in progress will premiere tonight during a tribute to Murch at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Schmidlin, who has been an admirer of [Thomas Edison] and [William Dickson] ever since he was a kid growing up in New Jersey, introduced Murch to Dickson's writings during the reconstruction of "Touch of Evil." Schmidlin explains: "'Walter was fascinated by Dickson's ideas on sound and film. I knew if anyone could pull this off, it was Walter."