Great Sound Design that didn't win an Oscar
by xanderlane0 | created - 28 Aug 2014 | updated - 28 Aug 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. A Knight's Tale (2001)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon
Votes: 201,861 | Gross: $56.57M
Not nominated. Beat by Black Hawk Down. I have truly no idea why this wasn't even nominated, much less beaten by Black Hawk Down, which I thought would was rather stale and painfully plain. This movie took its potential in audio and went far beyond. Even the mixing was really great, but I'm okay with Pearl Harbor taking that oscar. Usually when you hear sounds from a horse it's related with disgust, but this movie truly turned that around and made it sound beautiful. Either the sound had a large enough budget to record actual horses, or the foley artists are simply wonderful at what they do. This is the kind of movie you wanna watch with a Klipsch Palladium series 7.4 surround sound system.
2. Drive (I) (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Votes: 704,887 | Gross: $35.06M
Nominated. Beat by Hugo. If I could change anything about the sound of Drive, I wouldn't. The style of sound design put into this movie is something I've always wanted to see (or hear), and I think I will one day try to translate it into my own style of sound design. As an audio enthusiast, I have always said silence is the loudest sound. And this movie truly proves that. The way the mixer utilized silence and ambience should make most mixers rethink the way they work. Another thing I loved about this movie's sound is that the tone of a noise changed with every different camera angle. I thought that really made the movie seem much more real and the sound more notable and I think more movies should use that tactic. And to be honest, I was very unimpressed with the sound of Hugo, as with everything else about the movie. Book was infinitely better. jussayin.
3. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,201,176 | Gross: $223.81M
Nominated. Beat by The Dark Knight. Arguably the best sound design I've heard. 'nuff said.
4. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
PG | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Ten years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker shares a forbidden romance with Padmé Amidala, while Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Lee
Votes: 759,400 | Gross: $310.68M
Not nominated. Beat by Chicago. Watching the Sound Design special feature for this movie was what made me want to become a sound designer. Watching the way, Ben Burtt and George Lucas saw one thing and heard something completely different, but still managed to put the two together and made it believable. The imagination that went into the sound of this movie astounds me, and I absolutely love to sit back and listen to the sound of this movie. Getting through the acting is the hard part, however.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Votes: 1,211,269 | Gross: $305.41M
Nominated. Beat by Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It has good sound, however, I definitely do not mind it being beaten by the amazing audio experience of Master and Commander.
6. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
PG | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Two Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd
Votes: 857,204 | Gross: $474.54M
Nominated. Beat by The Matrix. I say that it has good sound design, but sometimes the sound effects stick out like a sore thumb. There are few movies I would not be okay with beating The Matrix in sound design. That being said, many sounds from this movie have inspired my sound design in electronic music.
7. Lone Survivor (2013)
R | 121 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Votes: 306,826 | Gross: $125.10M
Nominated. Beat by Gravity. The sound in this movie, much like Black Hawk Down, is very plain, but this movie somehow just did it right. It's plain, but it truly offers a different experience for the movie. I don't think that this movie's sound is deserving of an oscar, but it certainly deserves a higher place than the very dull, unremarkable sound of Gravity.
8. Transformers (2007)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
Votes: 675,136 | Gross: $319.25M
Nominated. Beat by The Bourne Ultimatum
9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
PG-13 | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel
Votes: 432,209 | Gross: $352.39M
Nominated. Beat by Hugo
10. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.
Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 979,511 | Gross: $289.92M
Not nominated. Beat by Black Hawk Down
11. War of the Worlds (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto
Votes: 475,470 | Gross: $234.28M
Nominated. Beat by King Kong
12. Elysium (I) (2013)
R | 109 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
Votes: 471,234 | Gross: $93.05M
Not nominated. Beat by Gravity
13. Oblivion (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Votes: 553,394 | Gross: $89.02M
Not nominated. Beat by Gravity
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