When it comes to movies, I rarely watch one a second time… but last weekend Annihilation came to mind for some reason and I remember being completely immersed during the Lighthouse scene, immersed in a way that messed me up for days, the only movie that’s managed to that before was End of Evangelion…
I got my wife to watch it with me even though she’s no a sci fi fan, but during this scene I heard her gasping “music is so important” and yeah, I couldn’t agree more.
The music and sound design in the particular scene really does the leg work. It is honestly a masterpiece.
Let’s share some inspiring sound design in movies!
I saw it in the cinema first time, and when the bass comes in it was almost overwhelming and very powerful, I have since watched the film at home and it does not have the same impact, maybe the guy at the cinema was a basshead or maybe the cinema version had the bass mixed louder, but I am glad I heard it first in the cinema for sure.
A lot of Zimmer for sure (Blade Runner, Inception) Tenet would be nothing without the soundtrack. Micah Levi’s soundtrack for Under The Skin is central to the film. Chinatown and Taxi Driver both have scores that are central to the film. So many examples (I love soundtracks!)
I can’t watch a film with terrible music, but I can watch a bad film with great sound: Contagion and Solaris both have Cliff Martinez soundtracks that are great, truly great. Interstellar is a terrible film with an astounding soundtrack. Arrival is really made by the score. So many examples. (FWIW, I thought Annihilation was terrible, sorry.)
EDIT: The Conversation (Gene Hackman film). Original Blade Runner. No Country For Old Men (hahaha, only kidding). John Hopkins score for Monsters. Another Earth’s Fall On Your Sword’s soundtrack has some great moments
I think one of the best soundtracks is Conan the barbarian (yeah the old one with Arnie)
The first half basically has no dialog, but the soundtrack is amazing and conveys everything.
First time I saw that movie, I thought this is the greatest soundtrack of all time. Really crunchy HEAVY bass throughout. Stunned! Then I went back for a second hit and realised that whoever played it the first time had it so loud it was distorting in a truly mesmeric way. I’m might have to buy the soundtrack and an Analog Heat to get back to perfection.
Pi by Darren Aronofsky - a low budget film elevated by its sound track and use of sound design (and to a lesser extent A Requiem for a Dream too).
Edit: whiplash - whilst obviously a film about music, the way the music was recorded so intimately and overwhelming, and was almost treated like dialogue, was genius. That final scene was one of the most satisfying endings to a film for me. I was looking up buddy rich solos for weeks after
There were quite a few fairly mediocre 80’s movies elevated by the soundtrack of Tangerine Dream… Risky Business, The Keep etc.
I thought the Zimmer’s Dune score was interesting, but also quite annoying at how crazy loud it was. At times it seemed 5-6db too loud, to the point of being distracting from what was being visually portrayed… stealing the scene in a bad way (maybe if the script had been better developed they wouldn’t have had the need to do that )
But back on topic, I think Renzor/Ross have been doing impressive work over the last decade or so, elevating potential dry material into something tense and immersive (Social Network et al)…
I’ve read that mentioned a few times of Dune. It was fine when I watched it and the mix with dialogue/soundtrack noticeably better than, say, Tenet.
I know this isn’t really what you mean but I’ve noticed my local cinema has been horrendous with inconsistent sound volumes. It was either Fall Guy or Jungle Cruise (don’t judge, for the kids!) but it was incredibly loud to the point my youngest was covering his ears at points. Crazy loud.
Back to Dune though, I thought everything about it sonically and visually contributed immensely to the scale of things. Really enjoyed the soundtrack - and the bagpipes was a nice touch!
Impossible to pick a favourite soundtrack, I love what Zimmer does though. Crazy to think he did the theme for Going for Gold what shit afternoon tv that was.
It’s not really fitting with the vibe I think the thread is aiming for but I have to mention The Blues Brothers for having a superb soundtrack. Opened my ears up to a whole world of music as a kid. And I still find the whole thing ridiculously hilarious.
I saw it at a crazy Dolby Atmos cinema (that I drove to just for the system) and I imagine it wouldn’t have been as jarring in a standard theater. I watched it again at home and it didn’t call attention to itself in a negative way.
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what shit afternoon tv that was.