OVP: Best Sound Editing (1999)
The Nominees Were...
Ren Klyce & Richard Hymns, Fight Club
Dane A. Davis, The Matrix
Bet Burt & Tom Bellfort, Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
My Thoughts: With the My Ballot awards (where I pick my own nominations at the end of each season of the OVP), I try not to totally telegraph whom I'm going to honor in each category, so there's at least some suspense. But given that I always do a five-wide field (and thus there's two names you haven't heard yet), I will admit-Oscar's is my exact lineup if I have three films submitted. We've done this before...a couple of the Animated Feature races for sure...I want to say I did it in one five-wide race but can't think of it off-hand...but it's rare. So know going in that (unless I see something in the next two weeks before I finalize the My Ballot, which given the films I have left feels unlikely as none are particularly sound effects-driven), you're looking at your medalists.
But what order are the medalists? That's the real question. I mean, you've first off got to hand to it to The Matrix. The film lives and dies off of its sound effects. The movie is not only a series of data screens and action-sequences, but it's also taking place largely underground, so the gears and chairs of this sewer-like set design work in the sound editors' favor. We also see a lot of really well-done scenes in the rain, which normally movies will struggle with, trying to find a way to get the pounding of the water against pavement behind dialogue and other action, but in this case it's all precise-you hear everything without feeling like you're having to forget other things. Really strong stuff.
The Phantom Menace has less on-screen realness than The Matrix, but it also lives-and-dies off of its sound effects. Think of a scene like when they "activate the droids." We get a series of preparations for battle, with robots clinking & clanking and shields going up. These are all unique, specific sounds. Star Wars does this better than virtually any other franchise (a lightsaber being turned on is a noise you could identify if you were in a coma), and that shows in what they're doing in Phantom Menace, adding a new aural vocabulary to the pictures as it comes for a new generation.
Fight Club is not reinventing the wheel or adding a new franchise of noises to moviegoers' memories, but it is really upping the ante of noise, particularly in its fight sequences. David Fincher does a great job with making his movies sound amazing, and that's true here. Think of the scene where Edward Norton is shooting Brad Pitt, and the bullet not only goes through the back of the van, but also through the front. The crackling, moving sound gives you a sense of the power of the bullet (something you don't get in a lot of movies), and also the seriousness of this escalation in the picture. It's really something the way the editors stay on that level the whole picture.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Reel Awards split their categories between live-action & animated. Animated gave their trophy to The Iron Giant (all of those robot noises, makes complete sense) atop Perfect Blue, Pokemon: The First Movie, Princess Mononoke, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut, Tarzan, The King and I, and Toy Story 2, while The Matrix won Live-Action atop End of Days, Fight Club, Inspector Gadget, Sleepy Hollow, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Green Mile, The Mummy, & Three Kings. 1999 is another year with a bake-off, so we know that the fourth place was either Any Given Sunday, The Green Mile, The Mummy, or Three Kings, and given both made it for Mixing, I would assume the contest is between The Green Mile or The Mummy...my money is on The Mummy, though I picked that for fourth in VFX so I might be overestimating its Oscar strength at this point.
Films I Would Have Nominated: In a three-wide field, this is exactly what I pick. You'll have to wait for the My Ballot before I give you my 4th & 5th.
Oscar’s Choice: The Matrix continued to pound George Lucas into the ground on this one.
My Choice: And in this case, George had it coming. Both films are really incredible, but the detailing in The Matrix and the way it creates its own language of noise is something else. I'm not going to deny it the top spot, giving Phantom Menace the silver and Fight Club the bronze.
Those are my thoughts-what are yours? Is everyone on Team Matrix with this one, or does someone want to go with the Naboo (or Tyler Durden)? Is this maybe the best Sound Editing lineup the Oscars ever assembled? And was it The Green Mile or The Mummy in fourth place? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
Also in 1999: Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously, in 1999
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