Christopher Nolan explains why people may struggle hearing dialogue in his movies
Topics: Christopher Nolan, Entertainment, Film and TV, Oppenheimer
Dominic Smithers
Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Topics: Christopher Nolan, Entertainment, Film and TV, Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan's movies are always blockbuster, that's a given.
However, anyone who has ever sat through any of the director's mammoth films can attest to the fact that the sound can sometimes be a touch... inaudible.
Fans of Nolan's Batman series will remember the outrage that came about from the difficulty many fans experienced trying to hear Bane's dialogue in The Dark Knight Rises.
And his latest release, Oppenheimer, appears to have come under the same level of scrutiny with regards to sound quality.
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Since it was released last month, the World War Two biopic has been met with rave reviews, with fans and critics praising Nolan and his cast.
However, questions have been raised by some who claim that the dialogue is pretty hard to follow.
Now, one of the reasons sound has been affected is due to the fact that Nolan used huge Imax cameras - which are certainly not soundproof - to shoot it.
Speaking to Insider, Nolan said: "There are certain mechanical improvements. And actually, Imax is building new cameras right now which are going to be even quieter.
"But the real breakthrough is in software technology that allows you to filter out the camera noise. That has improved massively in the 15 or so years that I've been using these cameras.
"Which opens up for you to do more intimate scenes that you would not have been able to do in the past."
Nolan pointed out to the outlet that he decided not to use Imas cameras for the Oval Office scene between J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and President Truman (Gary Oldman), as it would have simply been too noisy.
Looking over his work more generally, though, Nolan says he prefers to use Imax cameras as they allow for more realism to his work.
Whereas other films tend to add in dialogue post-production, the Inception director prefers to retain the original sound.
"I like to use the performance that was given in the moment rather than the actor revoice it later," he explained.
"Which is an artistic choice that some people disagree with, and that's their right."
And while some may disagree, the sound issues don't appear to have affected the reviews.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has a rating of 93 percent from critics and 91 percent from fans, which ain't too bad.
Praising the film, one reviewer said: “Oppenheimer isn’t just an epic masterpiece but one of the most important films of the year.”