OVP: Best Sound Mixing (2003)
The Nominees Were...
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, & Jeff Wexler, The Last Samurai
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, & Hammond Peek, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Paul Massey, DM Hemphill, & Arthur Rochester, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David Campbell, & Lee Orloff, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, & Tod A. Maitland, Seabiscuit
My Thoughts: We are going to be attempting to do three articles this week as we catch up a little bit from our holiday sabbatical (we had a few series, but mostly we took a break & are back with more in the new year). We'll therefore be rounding past the halfway point of our 2003 articles, and headed into some of the headliner races. First, though, we have to talk about Sound Mixing, yet another category where Lord of the Rings dominated the competition.
Sound Mixing is not one of the categories that we necessarily have to deduct points because Return of the King is borrowing from previous films. After all, the mixing is totally unique (unlike, say, the costumes or set design). But that doesn't mean Return of the King isn't borrowing from previous films. The use of dialogue in a number of the scenes is perfectly framed against both the onslaught of sound effects and more importantly, accompanies Howard Shore's omnipresent, constant score with precision. Think of the line readings of "I can't carry the ring Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you" or "I am no man!" and how they are flawlessly rendered against the music for maximum effect-that doesn't happen without pitch perfect sound mixing.
Master and Commander doesn't have the same kinds of memorable scenes, but it does do something really technically impressive. We've talked a lot about Master and Commander's use of practical & visual effects, as well as the multiple different sound stages that they use to create the at-sea battles. That requires a really smart mix of sound mixing, using both on-hand effects (like the water, which you can't entirely control but have to account for in the sound room), while never having the dialogue feel under-heard or illegible. That's not easy to do (just watch a movie like Tenet), but it makes for a richer, more immersive film experience. Honestly, of all of Master and Commander's nominations, this is perhaps the most richly-earned...it sounds amazing & realistic.
The Last Samurai has a similar situation, though with this film I do feel that they falter slightly. Last Samurai does a great job of making the battle scenes feel real, and there are dialogue scenes (like the first standoff between Tom Cruise & Ken Watanabe) that land flawlessly. But the use of Hans Zimmer's score doesn't quite have the same effect as Howard Shore's work in Return of the King. It isn't necessarily that the dialogue is difficult to hear, it's that the score starts to take over the soundscape, not allowing for moments of reflection or feeling like we aren't having it inform the rest of the story itself. Of course Oscar has a separate category for Best Score (which Zimmer wasn't cited for), but it's such an integral part of the sound that I can't ignore it.
Seabiscuit is once again back, and while I feel like this is a refrain I've said every time we've mentioned this movie, it's so "meh" even with the sound work. The best running gag here is the announcer over the stampeding races, well-timed zingers coming from character actor William H. Macy, but...is that worthy of an Oscar nomination? Honestly, it's been done in countless films before it and while yes, the horses are impressive, I think that's more a testament to the horse wranglers than anything else-give them an Oscar category, and I'll happily endorse Seabiscuit. Until then, color me unimpressed.
We'll finish off with Pirates of the Caribbean, which like Return of the King is really good at framing a near constant score with spectacular moments of dialogue throughout the movies. The "you best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner...you're in one!" is probably the best example of it-you have a sea of crewmen working around Keira Knightley & Geoffrey Rush while Klaus Bedalt's score is working overtime...and yet you still feel goosebumps on the back of your neck with that line reading. It's a marvelous dance, and it's there throughout-the genius of Pirates of the Caribbean is that it never looks or feels like a "cheap summer movie"...which as a result it becomes a proper classic.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Cinema Audio Society had not started splitting the animated and live action films into separate categories in 2003, so they actually went verbatim with the Oscar race for their nominees, albeit giving it to Master and Commander instead. BAFTA also went with Master and Commander as the winner, here over Return of the King, Kill Bill, Cold Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean. In sixth place, my gut says we're looking at Finding Nemo, who made it in for Sound Editing, which is historically a sign that you're gunning for this category as well (there wasn't an obvious musical or musical biopic in 2003 that might've otherwise gotten this nomination either, which wouldn't be the case for virtually any other year in the 2000's).
Films I Would Have Nominated: It's weird to remember now, but there was once a time when a Quentin Tarantino film didn't automatically ensure a nomination for the Oscars, which is a pity considering that Kill Bill is a dynamite picture in terms of technical achievements.
Oscar’s Choice: Return of the King yet again, albeit this is one of the categories I think it won by a closer margin considering Master and Commander got both of the precursors and got in for Sound Editing (even winning there) while Return of the King didn't.
My Choice: I'm going to go with Return of the King as well...it just sounds too flawless to deny. I'm going to give a slight nod to Master and Commander over Pirates for the silver slot, with Last Samurai and Seabiscuit coming from behind.
Those are my choices-how about you? Is everyone siding with AMPAS/myself that this is Return of the King's or does someone want to side with Master and Commander's clear champions? Why do you think it took so long for Quentin Tarantino to become an Oscar mainstay? And was Finding Nemo nearly into this race or do you have a different candidate for sixth place? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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