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The bad sound mixing in certain Christopher Nolan films; TDKR, Dunkirk, Tenet etc
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I'm torn on this. I feel that sometimes it works, other times it doesn't at all. I haven't seen Tenet and probably won't until it's out of theaters, but it was a serious problem in Interstellar. Legitimately could not understand a large portion of the dialogue the first time I watched it. I don't remember it being an issue with TDKR but I saw it at a midnight release in a normal theater. Bane's voice was always pretty spotty though.
With Dunkirk, I saw it in IMAX and I thought it worked well because there wasn't a whole lot of dialogue and the loud gunshots and plane engine sounds helped with the immersion of being in the middle of a war quite a bit. The constant barrage of sounds all the way up until the moment at the end when the two soldiers get on the train and the sound completely stops was pretty crazy. I don't know, I just thought it was neat. You felt the same moment of relief that the soldiers felt having all sounds of the gunshots/sirens/bombs dropping stop when they get on the train and it's just complete silence. At the same time, it's one of those movies that loses a lot of its appeal when you see it at home rather than in IMAX.
With Dunkirk, I saw it in IMAX and I thought it worked well because there wasn't a whole lot of dialogue and the loud gunshots and plane engine sounds helped with the immersion of being in the middle of a war quite a bit. The constant barrage of sounds all the way up until the moment at the end when the two soldiers get on the train and the sound completely stops was pretty crazy. I don't know, I just thought it was neat. You felt the same moment of relief that the soldiers felt having all sounds of the gunshots/sirens/bombs dropping stop when they get on the train and it's just complete silence. At the same time, it's one of those movies that loses a lot of its appeal when you see it at home rather than in IMAX.
TDKR on bluray is the worst sound mixing I've ever heard. Every other scene is way too loud and every other is barely audible
Count me as one of the people that actually enjoys it. The scenes were this happens are supposed to be overwhelming and voices get drowned out by things that in real life should be way louder than the voices. In a way, it makes you actually try to read someone's lips and look for visual cues to aid you as you would if talking to someone next to loud machinery etc. It's actually jarring when the opposite happens and the dynamic range is so compressed that voices and gunshots or explosions are about the same volume.
I genuinely forgot how loud Dunkirk was. I think it's the first movie where I actually had to cover my ears because it was so loud. I was lucky to bring earplugs.
So... As an international (where subtitles in theaters is the norm) I ABSOLUTELY love the sound mix. I love how crazy Interstellar is (the sound can straight give you anxiety). I never felt I missed anything simply because there were subtitles so I kind of get what he is going for with his sound mixes (they can evoke a lot of emotions). I can not imagine watching any of his movies without subtitles, that sounds like a painful experience.
I love Nolan, but why the fuck does this keep happening? Just fucking why? It's been happening since DKR in particular, if we specifically exclude the Baleman voice. I legitimately don't get it. Has anyone who interviewed asked him if his ears are broken?
I haven't seen Tenet but read 2 impressions and both complained about this.
Yeah, in Dunkirk I'm with you. It worked really well and it does work at times in his other movies. But sometimes I feel like I'm Sherlock Holmes trying to decipher whatever the fuck Bane said for the 30th time. I'm someone that never uses subs for English movies when I watch at home so I can be fully immersed, and it takes me out of the immersion when I'm trying to figure out what the fuck people are saying. :S
I haven't seen Tenet but read 2 impressions and both complained about this.
Yeah, in Dunkirk I'm with you. It worked really well and it does work at times in his other movies. But sometimes I feel like I'm Sherlock Holmes trying to decipher whatever the fuck Bane said for the 30th time. I'm someone that never uses subs for English movies when I watch at home so I can be fully immersed, and it takes me out of the immersion when I'm trying to figure out what the fuck people are saying. :S
Was just watching Inception and have this problem. I usually watch movies at 60-65 db in my condo and have to really focus to hear the characters clearly. I could go louder but the issue is that increasing the volume more affects everything and not just voices.
I can't believe this is a persistent issue. It's always been an issue but Interstellar was absolutely ridiculous I started laughing at one point when Michael Caine was delivering a monologue and all I could hear was the aggressive soundtrack.
Nolan needs to be told he's not perfect it's absurd that his movies can go through so many people like this. If it is an intentional choice like the sound mixer said then it's a terrible one. That's no excuse.
Nolan needs to be told he's not perfect it's absurd that his movies can go through so many people like this. If it is an intentional choice like the sound mixer said then it's a terrible one. That's no excuse.
As long as critics let this crap slide, then Nolan will continue doing it. Interstellar was terrible in this respect.
i bet it's something like he has those $34,000 headphones and mixes for them and it sounds perfect in his ears but everyone else gets shafted for not having the most optimal audio hardware and it's all of our fault lol
Mixing films on headphones lmao
Dunkirk mix was terrible. They are all his decisions for artistic vision, but they're not the correct ones, especially for sound. Such a thing as too loud.
I'm not in the US and I have never had this problem with a Nolan flick in a cinema. I literally don't know what people are complaining about in this thread? I only have a stereo output at home or I have watched with headphones (shure 1840s) and all the stereo mixes are excellent. A lot of this sounds like a home surround system problem to me; I wonder if the stereo mixes are better for people?
Does anyone know if US theaters are using limiters on their outputs to push up the volume or something? I wasn't planning to go and see Tenet because of covid but I might go along just to test this.
As a means of making sure an audience pays attention it comes across as ham fisted and slightly pompous.
Unsurprisingly Fincher does a far better job of this technique. The opening scene in The Social Network comes to mind as does the "I'm CEO bitch" scene.
Unsurprisingly Fincher does a far better job of this technique. The opening scene in The Social Network comes to mind as does the "I'm CEO bitch" scene.
I watched Dunkirk at a UK iMax and the sound levels were ridiculous.
Admittedly Dunkirk is the only Nolan film I haven't seen in a cinema; the stereo mix sounded fine to me tho.
Ah yes, the joys of being surrounded by sycophants.
Because that's all it is. He might think he's doing it for artistic vision or something, but it's a one trick pony and the sound in Nolan movies by now is just straight up lolworthy.
There's a scene in Tenet where two people are standing on the deck of a ship at sea discussing really important things. The camera is close to them, and it's still a mumbling mess with important plot points getting missed as you're not quite sure what they just said. It's indefensibly bad. It's the equivalent of a book being shoddily printed so badly that words are faded out and them telling you there's nothing wrong with it.
You can have a dynamic audio mix, and a believable one but still make the clearly important dialogue understandable.
Are you watching dubs? Maybe foreign distributers fixed the mixes.
Also, where are you finding stereo mixes?
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I still have no idea what was said during a character's deathbed confession in Interstellar.
I couldn't hear it over the obnoxiously loud Zimmer score.
I couldn't hear it over the obnoxiously loud Zimmer score.
That must have left an impression. To be fair, Dunkirk was the only time I've seen members in the audience actually wince due to the volume. (And the only time I've ever needed earplugs.)
I've not had any problems with previous Nolan films in the past (seen all in fake IMAX in the UK) or noticed enough to be annoyed, but I genuinely asked my mate if it was me that was going deaf as I heard so little of the dialogue through Tenet at times.
It's like the central channel for voices was absent at times. Honestly it ruined my enjoyment...
I remember Dunkirk being obnoxiously loud but I expected that.
ps3ud0 8)
It's like the central channel for voices was absent at times. Honestly it ruined my enjoyment...
I remember Dunkirk being obnoxiously loud but I expected that.
ps3ud0 8)
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Tenet was a really unpleasant experience because of this. The opening action scene in the opera was way too loud. The gunshots physically hurt my ears.
Due to seeing a dubbed version thoug, the dialogue problem wasn't as apparent as in the original. That's at least one advantage of a dub.
Due to seeing a dubbed version thoug, the dialogue problem wasn't as apparent as in the original. That's at least one advantage of a dub.
I was completely unprepared. Immediately after landing back in my seat I realised I was fucked. Stuck it out and glad I did (giant panning shots aside) but in no way did the ridiculous volume enhance the experience.
I have been wondering about this myself because I have never had any problem with the sound mixing in Nolan films. Sure they are on the louder side but definitely not "have-to-wear-earplugs loud". I haven't noticed dialogue being especially muddled or unclear either. I'm in Finland where only children's stuff gets dubbed..
I absolutely did not have a problem with dialogue outside of action scenes in Tenet, not sure why you (or others here) did. The usual quiet dialogue scenes were very clear to me and sounded like any other movie.
I'm in Australia and it sounded good to me, maybe a bit difficult to hear during action scenes but I kinda like that. Normal dialogue scenes were perfectly clear (although attmiddedly I guess there isn't a huge amount of them since its an action movie)
Nolans movies are always loud, yes, especially the gun sounds. But it's also related to the particular theater the movie plays at. First week showings in a big city is like suicide for the ears, no matter the movie. I never ever go to the movies in a big city.
watching nolan movies on tv is so annoying
i literally have to watch it with my tv remote because i have to have my fingers on the volume buttons all the time
i literally have to watch it with my tv remote because i have to have my fingers on the volume buttons all the time
I saw it in Odeon on an iSense screen which as someone else stated is apparently an Atmos mix. I was on the back row. Even in the scene I mentioned the dialogue was rather quiet and difficult to understand everything said. In other moments where the music was louder it was even worse. I don't know what to say, my hearing is reasonably good, no known issues, but I personally couldn't decipher a lot of the dialogue, and it was super important in this film which is rather complex to begin with.
It will just default to a stereo mix once you have your outputs to stereo. No I'm not watching dubs. Stereo mixes and surround mixes are mixed independently. IMO surround sound is a massive investment to do right; most people have untreated rooms and they are going to have massive problems with imaging and dynamics, for the average Joe it's not worth the expense, time and effort. Getting a decent stereo setup is hard enough. If I were a millionaire I would be enjoying my movies in a home theater... but I'm not.
Maybe Mr. Nolan has some hearing problems...?
Yeah, this happens for dubs, the dialogue is given a greater role in movies / TV; often I watch dubbed English media for this very reason, sound is clearer and not muffled at all.
Saw Tenet on Wednesday and totally agree, half the dialogue was inaudible, from the very first scene at the opera House i was struggling to hear what was being said.
Richard King and Christopher Nolan must just think it's a joke at this point. They've seen the criticism and don't care cause this is the 5th movie they have done this too.
It's annoying when you're straining to understand plot points in complex scenes that have been building for an hour. It takes you out of the experience and does the opposite of what they want you to feel.
It's annoying when you're straining to understand plot points in complex scenes that have been building for an hour. It takes you out of the experience and does the opposite of what they want you to feel.
It proves that you'll believe any old shit if you've not seen Prisencolinensinainciusol, I think
I actually really like watching Nolan's movies at the theater, IMAX especially. The sound always leaves a lasting impression and definitely not a negative one.
