It seems that Christopher Nolan's hit film has one major problem: a horrible sound mix. At least that's what film fans are saying as they flock in droves to see the movie.
However, Nolan recently addressed those issues by stating that the sound was exactly the way he intended. Yes, he meant for parts of dialogue to get lost under music and sound effects.
"Many of the filmmakers I've admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways," says Nolan. "I don't agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue."
Movie goers all over the world, though, disagree and theaters across the world are reporting customers complaining about the sound mix with the film. In particular, IMAX theaters are seeing the most complaints. In Rochester, New York, one theater even put a sign up outside, noting that the sound issues were not the fault of the theater's, but instead, placed blame directly on Nolan.
That theater was correct: Nolan is to blame, and he states his choices in drowning out dialogue in particular scenes was deliberate.
"The theaters I have been at have been doing a terrific job in terms of presenting the film in the way I intended," says Nolan. "Broadly speaking, there is no question when you mix a film in an unconventional way as this, you're bound to catch some people off guard, but hopefully people can appreciate the experience for what it's intended to be."
Unfortunately, what is unconventional to Nolan is mostly annoying to most film fans who struggle making out the dialogue in the film. Maybe we're just not ready for such "creative" choices.
Nolan is no stranger to sound issues in film. When we first heard Tom Hardy's Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, the voice was so muddled that most people could not understand the character's lines. That dialogue was then re-recorded, but even in the final version of the film, many film goers still complained that the character's lines were difficult to hear.
If you're an Interstellar fan, though, there's hope yet. If you need a few visits to the theater to make out the dialogue you missed the first time around, you can now see the movie all you want for anywhere from $15 to $30. Paramount and AMC Theatres are offering an unlimited ticket for Interstellar viewings, the first of its kind. However, you need to act now, because only a limited number of those tickets are available.
[Photo Credit: Legendary Pictures]
