Dark Knights and Loud Noises
For reasons I can no longer recall, I did not make it to the local cinema to see "The Dark Knight" when it was first released. Instead, I waited until the DVD hit the stores and made a purchase with full confidence that neither my enthralled reaction to "Batman Begins" nor all the media hype could be wrong and it would be satisfaction guaranteed. It wasn't. It was aggravation in an eared mask and black body suit accompanied by a cacaphony of noise.
I have no complaint with the continuing story line, even if The Joker character was pretty over-the-top. After all, it all came from the comic book. I have no major complaint with what in the first movie was a terrific repertory cast, although I can offer two minor grumbles. First replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gylenthaal offended my sensibilities. Holmes was perfectly cast as the idealistic albeit naive female love interest for the 'bat,' even if in real life she seems to prefer a disgusting toad, but Gylenthaal was too old and jaded to be credible. As she played the assigned part, you could see her still dripping from having been ridden hard and put away wet. Grumble number two centers on the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. I found it uneven, making me wonder how much all the critical acclaim was deserved for his work while alive and how much was simply press agent bereavement after his death.
No, my discontent stems directly from the sound mixing between dialogue and special effects noise. This is not something just recently noticed, but something that has been getting worse over a period of time, and this movie has the dubious honor of being the first time I've put my disgruntlement at noise overwhelming dialogue in writing. Are we as a species or as a movie devouring public going collectively deaf? Or, is it simply that we don't care what words are spoken (or sung, for that matter) as long as they are excessively loud so as to gain our attention? There were sections of this movie where, no matter what I did to the tracking on my disc player or how many times I went back to try listening again, the dialogue was lost in what passed as background music, or crashes, or explosions, or some other special effect noise. Has dialogue lost its importance? Do the actors think that way too?
Hey, I like special effects. Even if they don't advance the story line, by themselves they can be very impressive and the brains behind their creation are amazingly inventive. I also happen to like most movie music, believing it necessary to aid in advancing whatever emotion or psychological setting is intrinsic to what is happening on screen. But...so much of either that the only thing being noticed is the effect or the sound kills my enjoyment. Isn't any movie or other story supposed to be a fusion of all parts?
Granted, there are times when the effects garner all the attention and because the story is weak or garbled for other reasons, and it does't matter a great deal. A good example of that to my mind is "The Matrix - part II". There are other times when the movie itself is basically silly or imbecilic so that little could detract from it's weakness. My example for this goes against every bit of hype I've heard and all those many people who've oozed love for the movie, but "Iron Man" fills that bill for me. I found it excessively boring.
When it comes to movies, I have wide-ranging tastes, although they are frequently out of the norm. Whether it's pure drama, something action packed, a chick flick, classical comedy, a costume classic, science fiction, or documentary, I'm open to and generally enjoy them all within the restrictions of how well they are presented by all involved. However, when it comes to the sound engineering and effects being too overpowering, such as in the case of "The Black Knight," my criticism is highly valid and this has to be the combined foolishness or ineptitude of the editors and mixers. Celebrity egos are generally absurdities made flesh, but since when did such an affliction begin to creep into the mentality of either those behind the scene professionals and technicians and those of us who pay our money to see the results of all those combined efforts? Shouldn't we both expect and demand better?
I do not like walking away from a movie experience I've gleefully anticipated feeling like I've been cheated. And, contrary to some excellent performances in the "The Dark Knight," I feel like I've been had.
I have no complaint with the continuing story line, even if The Joker character was pretty over-the-top. After all, it all came from the comic book. I have no major complaint with what in the first movie was a terrific repertory cast, although I can offer two minor grumbles. First replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gylenthaal offended my sensibilities. Holmes was perfectly cast as the idealistic albeit naive female love interest for the 'bat,' even if in real life she seems to prefer a disgusting toad, but Gylenthaal was too old and jaded to be credible. As she played the assigned part, you could see her still dripping from having been ridden hard and put away wet. Grumble number two centers on the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. I found it uneven, making me wonder how much all the critical acclaim was deserved for his work while alive and how much was simply press agent bereavement after his death.
No, my discontent stems directly from the sound mixing between dialogue and special effects noise. This is not something just recently noticed, but something that has been getting worse over a period of time, and this movie has the dubious honor of being the first time I've put my disgruntlement at noise overwhelming dialogue in writing. Are we as a species or as a movie devouring public going collectively deaf? Or, is it simply that we don't care what words are spoken (or sung, for that matter) as long as they are excessively loud so as to gain our attention? There were sections of this movie where, no matter what I did to the tracking on my disc player or how many times I went back to try listening again, the dialogue was lost in what passed as background music, or crashes, or explosions, or some other special effect noise. Has dialogue lost its importance? Do the actors think that way too?
Hey, I like special effects. Even if they don't advance the story line, by themselves they can be very impressive and the brains behind their creation are amazingly inventive. I also happen to like most movie music, believing it necessary to aid in advancing whatever emotion or psychological setting is intrinsic to what is happening on screen. But...so much of either that the only thing being noticed is the effect or the sound kills my enjoyment. Isn't any movie or other story supposed to be a fusion of all parts?
Granted, there are times when the effects garner all the attention and because the story is weak or garbled for other reasons, and it does't matter a great deal. A good example of that to my mind is "The Matrix - part II". There are other times when the movie itself is basically silly or imbecilic so that little could detract from it's weakness. My example for this goes against every bit of hype I've heard and all those many people who've oozed love for the movie, but "Iron Man" fills that bill for me. I found it excessively boring.
When it comes to movies, I have wide-ranging tastes, although they are frequently out of the norm. Whether it's pure drama, something action packed, a chick flick, classical comedy, a costume classic, science fiction, or documentary, I'm open to and generally enjoy them all within the restrictions of how well they are presented by all involved. However, when it comes to the sound engineering and effects being too overpowering, such as in the case of "The Black Knight," my criticism is highly valid and this has to be the combined foolishness or ineptitude of the editors and mixers. Celebrity egos are generally absurdities made flesh, but since when did such an affliction begin to creep into the mentality of either those behind the scene professionals and technicians and those of us who pay our money to see the results of all those combined efforts? Shouldn't we both expect and demand better?
I do not like walking away from a movie experience I've gleefully anticipated feeling like I've been cheated. And, contrary to some excellent performances in the "The Dark Knight," I feel like I've been had.
posted by kaz at 11:34 AM
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