OVP: Best Sound Editing (2019)
The Nominees Were...
Donald Sylvester, Ford vs. Ferrari
Alan Robert Murray, Joker
Oliver Tarney & Rachael Tate, 1917
Wylie Stateman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Matthew Wood & David Acord, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
My Thoughts: We continue our study of the 2019 Academy Awards this week with a look at the Sound categories, both Editing & Mixing. This is an unusual race since, thanks to AMPAS rule changes, this is the last time this category will exist-after years of your nerdy Oscar friends (i.e. me) explaining to you the differences between Sound Editing & Mixing, we now have just one sound category, and the split sound categories will go the way of Dance Direction & Song Score. But we are completist at the OVP, and we will not be skipping a category just because it's now defunct. And so today & Wednesday, we're going to attack the (admittedly very similar field) of Sound nominees, starting with the editors.
One of the things with the OVP is you have to check your prejudices about films at the door when you come into a conversation-it shouldn't just be about the movie you enjoyed the best, but about which was the best at exhibiting a specific technical element. Ford vs. Ferrari is not a movie I enjoyed (it's the film of this bunch I liked the least, in fact), but the sound editors' work is strong. The movie does a great job of recreating not only the noises (oftentimes overbearing) of the race track, but of giving us a proper personality to each stadium. The noises we get at Le Mans are different from the noises we get at a small-town track, and that care is impressive. Ford gets tripped up in its storytelling & acting, but its technical team is first-rate.
The same can be said for Rise of Skywalker, the least of the Star Wars sequels, which finds a beauty in its aural work, particularly in the way that it creates some of its battle sequences. I've talked a few times now about the majesty of Rey's battle with Kylo on a wave-dominated beach, and it's extraordinary not only visually, but also for the ears. This isn't typical Star Wars stuff-we get to hear the lasers amidst water, amidst constant crashing, and alongside the John Williams' score. The film is so crisp in its sound work, again being tripped up more by its storytelling than anything that's happening in the tech departments.
The final film I gave a "poor" review to is not so lucky. I don't understand (at all) why Joker is on this list. The sound editing in the film is routine-this isn't a movie that has car-racing and it isn't a movie that has battle sequences-so you either need an overall soundscape that's just immaculate (think Roma) to convince me that we should be considering this nomination (and even with Roma, I'm not sold), or you need some sort of added tricks that are clearly actually adding sound. But Joker doesn't have that-there are chase & action sequences, but not important ones, and nothing about them would stand out any different than your average crime feature. Joker is a sign that a year after the criminal nomination for Bohemian Rhapsody, this branch hadn't learned its lesson.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not much more inspired of a citation. This is a movie I actually liked, and Tarantino at least has one major action set-piece (the over-the-top finale), but that's it, and while the sound work isn't bad throughout the movie (the Spahn Ranch sequence in particular is sizzling), there's not enough "there" to be able to judge properly whether the sound editors are doing their job. Plus, that sequence at the end isn't special-it's pretty routine by Tarantino's standards, and something he could do in his sleep. Another case of over-nominating a Best Picture favorite.
1917, though, finds success where others produce failure. Obviously this movie has a trope (a war film) that it can lean into for this category, but there's more than just having an angle to being great in this field. You also need to have quality, and 1917 does that. The immersive effect of the film's editing & cinematography wouldn't succeed without pristine sound design, and that's what you get, particularly in the plane crash sequence, where much of the edited sound is happening offscreen. You put lazy sound design, work that isn't specific to the film, and suddenly it becomes routine, and 1917 is a movie that is only special because of its "you're there" brand-of-cinema.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Reel Awards split their categories between live-action & animated, and frequently have a lot of nominated pictures in the running. All five of the nominated movies with Oscar made it into this lineup, along with A Hidden Life, Avengers: Endgame, and John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum (how much am I missing out by not seeing this trilogy...is this something I should try?); Ford vs. Ferrari won. Toy Story 4 took the animated prize, here over Abominable, Frozen II, How to Train Your Dragon III, Missing Link, Spies in Disguise, The Lion King, and White Snake. In terms of fourth place, I kind of think it was a film we didn't list here (Ad Astra) since it made it into Sound Mixing, but I wouldn't be stunned if Avengers was close considering its gargantuan box office.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I'll keep three of these in my personal ballot, but I'd find room for two more films. First, there's no reason why Ad Astra is not on this list-it makes zilch sense, and honestly while I personally prefer its sound mixing (rare for an effects film), its sound editing is showier so it's a bizarre snub. I also would have found room for the third How to Train Your Dragon, which is a series that regularly has superb sound design, but also it stands out here as we enter a new world of magical creatures.
Oscar’s Choice: If Oscar was going to go for it anywhere, it was here-Ford vs. Ferrari takes the prize.
My Choice: I see why Oscar went there, but I can't ignore the brilliance of 1917 (it's just operating on a different level). I'd follow it with Ford, and then Skywalker, Hollywood, and Joker coming in behind.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Are you siding with Oscar and his cars, or do you prefer me with my battlefields? Why do you think this branch got so lazy with nominating Best Picture contenders that aren't sound editing superstars? And what Sound Editing nominations will you miss most next year when the categories are joined? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
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