Best Sound: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Last year’s winners: Ford v Ferrari, 1917.
We’ve finally reached this insane decision the Academy Awards deemed logical: to combine both sound categories back into one generic group. No more will we have Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing, which might seem like great news to anyone that just likes the big categories, but this is a disgrace to me. There are massive differences between sound mixing and editing, and lumping them together to me is like rewarding both the editor and director of photography of a film under one umbrella term, because the film looks a certain way. Sound creation and sound balance are not the same thing. They aren’t even close. Nonetheless, how great are these… ugh… sound nominees? At least they are great. I think there aren’t any obnoxiously out-of-place candidates, but I also think there is a winner that is undisputed. If you don’t know the film I’m talking about, then you may not have seen it. Let’s get started. Here are your nominees.
Warning: the following clips may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.
Biggest Snub: Tenet
One glaring omission is the lack of Tenet here. I’m actually flabbergasted that it isn’t here, especially since it did pick up a couple of tech related nominations, so it was on the Academy’s radar. The precise usage of sounds in both forwards and backwards fashion is… I mean… do I even need to say anything else here? It’s extraordinary. I think, maybe, the major reason why Tenet didn’t get the nod here is because of Christopher Nolan’s infamous problem with having his dialogue mixed so low to the point of inaudibility, so Tenet could have suffered because of the Academy’s combination of both sound categories as a result. I still feel like it should have gotten something, and it wouldn’t have been the first time a Nolan film would have been nominated for its sound even with his usual mix problems.
5. News of the World
Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller & John Pritchett
Placing News of the World last feels strange, because it does have great usage of sound; I just don’t think it competes well enough with the other nominees. Otherwise, it’s standard and solid. The Foley sound illusions work. The natural sounds of a barren landscape whisk you away. The occasional gunplay feels like it’s right beside you. News of the World does everything right, but I do think at least three of the other nominees are either better at doing exactly the same thing, or are more creative. Still, not a bad nomination by any means.
4. Mank
Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance & Drew Kunin
I was initially surprised that Mank made an appearance here, because it isn’t something I really considered: that Mank has the best sound of the year. Upon a revisit, it does make sense in the way News of the World does: the sound is great enough that the illusionary world (either a western setting, or the Golden Age of Hollywood) is matched by the right sounds. Mank gets the slight upper hand, because there are some scenes that really take advantage of what a great sound team the film has (like the scene above). It’s maybe not more inventive than some of the other nominees here, but Mank does sound so nice!
3. Greyhound
Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders & David Wyman
Out of the standard sound nominees, Greyhound is easily the best. How can you compete with the crashing waves, chunky bullet sounds, cacophonic warfare, and other nautical goodness? If anything, this being the only nomination Greyhound got makes perfect sense, because it’s easily the strongest element of the film (except for its great effects). Even just the voices heard over radios, or system beeps, or background chatter, are a delight to listen to. Greyhound is just a standard war film, but you can’t ignore its excellency in this department, even within the first ten minutes.
2. Soul
Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott & David Parker
It’s rare for an animated film to be mentioned here, but boy does Soul deserve this nod. Let’s examine the two major reasons why. Firstly, life is simulated in a way that you’re meant to appreciate everything you see and hear, and the “living” moments perfectly achieve this. The little audible details are so specific, and so wonderful to hear (see the scene above for an example). Then, Soul gets the extra edge in the scenes that take place beyond life, and that’s where the film gets creative in how it wants to sound: futuristic-yet-organic noises that feel foreign yet plausible. Soul is absolutely an auditory wonderland.
1. Sound of Metal
Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés & Phillip Bladh
Come on. Do I need to explain anything? The film’s three act structure is almost dictated by its sound. We first hear the loss of hearing, where muted-yet-audible sounds and dialogue are a main focal point of this palette of noise. Then, we have the world around our perspective, where sound is detailed in its most beautiful forms (perhaps the most neutral Sound of Metal even is in its sound department). If that wasn’t enough, we have the final act. I don’t want to spoil, but this is some of the most immersive, inventive sound design I may have ever heard in a film. Its concept is strong enough, but its execution is pitch perfect. I cannot stress enough: this is Sound of Metal’s category.
Who I want to win: I usually go in-depth in these closing remarks, but Sound of Metal. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Who I think will win: Sound of Metal. I will eat a shoe if it doesn’t win (not a promise, because you never know, and I wear size 14 shoes, and that just seems like a disaster waiting to happen).
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.