"Please note that all of our sound equipment is functioning properly. Christopher Nolan mixed the soundtrack with an emphasis on the music. This is how it is intended to sound," read a sign at Cinemark Tinseltown USA and IMAX in Rochester, New York (via Slashfilm). And while the unauthorized announcement was taken down after word reached corporate headquarters, it’s an indication of just how unique and/or problematic sound mix of "Interstellar" has continued to provide a wide range of experiences for moviegoers (read The Playlist staff reactions to our own screenings right here). Well, Christopher Nolan has finally broken his silence and addressed the sonic backdrop of his sci-fi drama.
Speaking with THR, the director noted that he visited a handful of movie theaters — including TCL Chinese Imax Theatre, the Arclight Cinemas Dome in Hollywood, and the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York — to check in on what he calls an "unconventional" mix for this movie, and goes on to defend his choices that sometimes rendered the dialogue inaudible.
“We made carefully considered creative decisions,” Nolan explained. “There are particular moments in this film where I decided to use dialogue as a sound effect, so sometimes it’s mixed slightly underneath the other sound effects or in the other sound effects to emphasize how loud the surrounding noise is. It’s not that nobody has ever done these things before, but it’s a little unconventional for a Hollywood movie.”
“The idea is to experience the journey the character is going on,” he added. “[For instance] the experience of being in the cockpit is you hear the creaking [of the spacecraft]; it’s a very scary sound. We wanted to be true to the experience of space travel. We wanted to emphasize those intimate elements.”
Indeed, Nolan elaborates that he wanted the environments the characters were in to sound realistic — racing through a cornfield, or with dust and sand hitting the exterior of a vehicle — even if this meant some dialogue became hard to hear. And as long as the scene is true to the character and emotions, that’s what counts.
“The creative intent there is to be truthful to the situation," Nolan said about (**spoiler alert**) Michael Caine‘s character in the hospital, "an elderly man dying and saying something somewhat unexpected. We are following the emotional state of Jessica [Chastain]’s character as she starts to understand what he’s been saying. Information is communicated in various different ways over the next few scenes. That’s the way I like to work; I don’t like to hang everything on one particular line. I like to follow the experience of the character.”
But is this an approach that works? Or one that renders watching "Interstellar," a movie with no shortage of exposition, a sometimes incomprehensible experience? Let us know what you think of Nolan’s comments below. And if you want to see the movie more than once for one price, AMC is now offering an unlimited ticket for "Interstellar" via their AMC Stubs program. Prices range from $19.99 to $34.99.
INTERSTELLAR in Five Dimensions: A Trip through the Many Formats of Christopher Nolan’s Epic
at EatDrinkFilms
I tend to fall asleep in the theater, so the sudden blasts of sound were good for me. The movie was terrific! I would love to see it again. I saw the movie in IMAX. I thought the Michael Caine scene was very well done, but I understood him quite well. Sometimes I can\’t hear at all and sometimes I can hear things from rooms away.
Saw at the Chinese Theater and there were many moments where the audience needed to understand dialogue to know what was happening in the story, and the music was breaking our eardrums instead. I totally understand the spaceship scenes where the music and effects take over, but Michael Caine dying and when Jessica Chastain is yelling something and throwing papers in the end, not so much. TDKR has scenes with this issue, too.
I saw it at the IMAX in King of Prussia, PA and it sounded excellent. There were maybe two lines of dialogue I couldn\’t make out, which is less than I experience at the average Hollywood blockbuster. I did have trouble understanding Bane, but there was nothing like that here. The music was often beautiful, one of Zimmer\’s better efforts, so I\’m glad it played at the level it did.
the mix at the Dome in Hollywood was just dreadful. Music so loud it drowned out important voice over dialogue. I was seated to left of the screen, maybe better at center?
The Academy will want screener and will most likely have the subtitles switch on to understand this one. If Nolan wants any recognition at all for script or overall plot.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Name another major director who gets complaints like this for two movies in a row.
I agree with Sean, the music was overloud, overmuch, and for me often drowned out Matthew McC\’s nearly whispered dialog. Overuse of any artistic device is an egregious flaw. The music appeared designed to evoke awe and grandeur, but no human being is capable of experiencing awe and grandeur for 2 hours and 45 minutes straigh, and instead after about half an hour of sonic assault you feel like the director is just trying to manipulate your emotions. The awe and grandeur in the music was often not reflected in any events taking place on the screen. I feel this movie has been grossly overhyped and didn\’t enjoy it much at all.
The fifth dimension is music.
I haven\’t seen it but based on the fact that Nolan saw little need for Bane to be audible or understandable for much of the last Dark Knight movie, I\’m worried already about this.
I saw/heard it last night. I understand the dialog/music/FX ratios Nolan was going for, and for the most part I was OK with it. What I was NOT OK with was the dreadful pipe organ sound that screamed and screamed in so many parts of the film. It was like a siren wailing (maybe that was the point) but DAMN it was hard on the ears. This is in light of the EQ of the overall sound mix being WAY too mid-range heavy. The sound was painful, and I think inducing discomfort is OK, just not pain.
(ears still ringing)
I watched the film two weeks ago and didn\’t notice anything strange in the audio. But then again, I\’m in Brazil and the copy was subtitled, though I understand Engçlish perfectly without them when needed.
Dialogue being hard or impossible to understand wasn\’t an issue, but (seeing it at the Dome in L.A.) the mix was so over the top loud that I had to cover my ears. It was really annoying. They didn\’t choose moments to scale to the heights of audio intensity, the just blasted the sound between 9 and 11 for like half the movie! I hate having to cover my ears for minutes on end. It detracts from some great sound design otherwise.
I went to see the movie in 70mm at the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan where there was an excellent presentation. Except for the Michael Caine scene, which is now explained in the article, the dialogue was clear and not lost in the music or effects. I don\’t know if the mix was different for 70mm or whether the theater is so well set up sound-wise, but it was both a wonderful visual and audio experience.