Best Sound: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
While I am still salty that the Academy Awards continue to smush the two drastically different sound categories into one (here is my lesson the differences between sound editing and sound mixing), I can at least say that this is a category that the academy usually gets right. This year is no different, outside of one major snub (that I will provide directly below). These nominees have the amalgamation of dialogue, music, effects, and other audible cues, that are lined up perfectly and mixed well enough that you should be able to hear everything distinctively and merged together at the same time. How do these Oscar nominations sound to my ears? Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Last Night in Soho
I get that Last Night in Soho wasn’t beloved by everyone; I myself, while a fan of the film, was admittedly let down nonetheless. Having said that, shouldn’t the best sounding films wind up in this category? Last Night in Soho balances all of its retro ‘60s music with horror sounds, frantic/comedic dialogue, and even some audible effects (slowing down melodies during transitions, sound-based hallucinations, and so much more). If much worse films can get nominated for their makeup, costumes, or visual effects, Soho should absolutely be here, particularly considering that it may very well be the best sounding film of 2021.
5. The Power of the Dog-Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie, Tara Webb
The sound in The Power of the Dog is more minimalist: the breezes that surround us, the little sounds that trickle down, and the allowance of Jonny Greenwood’s score to overtake scenes. While the sound work here is really good (I don’t think a film with particularly bad sound would ever be here, as it’s not the kind of category that allows for that), I feel like the other nominees provide a larger array of what they can accomplish via sonic palettes.
4. Belfast-Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather, Niv Adiri
Belfast is a mostly straightforward film when it comes to its sound, but it has a couple of strengths that work in its favour here, including the occasional sequence of calamity (the riots going on especially) and the nostalgic noises that surround the leads that immerse us; it’s not Roma, but it’s on the right track. There are stronger candidates this year, but Belfast fits in nicely enough.
3. No Time to Die-Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey, Mark Taylor
It’s difficult for a well-assembled action film to not make an appearance here, so the latest James Bond film — No Time to Die — makes perfect sense. Since the cast and crew went all out on this swan song feature, this includes the dazzling sound work, which certainly gets put on full display during the scenes of extreme chaos (so at least a third of the three-hour feature here, since this is a 007 film). There’s a big leap from the last ranking to this one, as I can recall being quite blown away by the array of bullet sounds, explosions, objects breaking, grunts, and other combat-based noises that were executed incredibly well here. It’s the kind of work that I dread thinking how long it took to pull off.
2. West Side Story-Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson, Shawn Murphy
When you look at a musical that’s done well, then you just know that the attention to sound will stick out. Such is the case for Steven Spielberg’s version of West Side Story, which has ben accoladed many times for its overall production and technical values. It does exactly what it needs to do: sound like the ‘61 film but better, and it pulls it off: the songs we know and love sound richer from a production standpoint, the tunes are integrated seamlessly with the larger city picture that Spielberg and company provide, and the film is as much a feast for the ears as it is on the eyes.
1. Dune-Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett
Once again, we have Dune either first or close to it. It really is an incredibly made film from a technical standpoint. Luckily Dune is blessed with one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores in years, but it’s how the sound team blend it in with the brilliant, epically-large noises of warfare, futuristic technology, and desert winds blowing and sands being kicked up that really seals the deal. When the sounds and music are as gigantic in scope as what we see, then you know Dune has done really well here as well.
Who I want to win: Considering that my pick — Last Night in Soho — isn’t even here, I’m going with Dune.
Who I think will win: Like other tech categories, I think Dune has this one in the bag; I can only foresee West Side Story coming close if the film is on its way towards a Best Picture win. Otherwise, Dune isn’t losing (unless something changes between now and the awards).
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee on every weekday.
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.