Some directors make a choice to have poor audio mixing. Others just don’t care. These are the movies that you’ll need to turn the subtitles on to know what the heck everyone is saying.
Interstellar (2014)
There’s no question that Interstellar is a great movie. However, its director, Christopher Nolan, has a reputation for creating movies that are difficult to hear. Whether it’s mumbling, quiet audio, or loud background noise, he focuses on the realism of the shot as opposed to making it easier for audiences to know what’s going on.
Between Matthew McConaughey’s mumbling and Nolan’s audio mixing, you won’t be able to hear much of this movie.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Nolan strikes again with The Dark Knight Rises. There were a few auditory problems with this movie. First, Christian Bale’s tendency to mumble made certain scenes hard to hear.
Then there’s Tom Hardy’s Bane mask which keeps him muffled as well. You’ll definitely want the subtitles on to appreciate the script for this film.
Tenet (2020)
Strikeout for Nolan. Tenet, another film by him, also has moments where it’s just too hard to hear what the actors are saying. Sometimes it sounds as though their mics are on low. Other times, the background noise is just too loud.
Either way, Nolan clearly prefers garbled speech to crisp audio.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
If you saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse when it first hit theaters, then you may have noticed how terrible the audio mixing was. This may have been a technical error. Edited versions of the film were released to theaters that supposedly fixed the audio problems.
You may still need to turn on the subtitles though.
Dune (2021)
Although Dune received a lot of love from fans and critics, one common complaint was its audio. Between mumbling and loud background noise, it was difficult to hear what anyone was saying.
Hopefully, Dune: Part Two learns how to properly mix its audio.
The Witch (2015)
There were a few audio problems that plagued The Witch. Thick accents made the movie difficult for Americans to hear and understand. Add to that the movie’s realism for the vernacular that the Puritans used.
The biggest problem, however, was that the movie was overall quiet. Aside from laughing and screaming children, the actual dialogue was often in whispers.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Vin Diesel in a sci-fi-action movie sounds like a great time. Except you won’t be able to hear much of this movie. The background noise and music are just too loud compared to the dialogue.
Diesel’s trademark mumbling doesn’t help either.
Constantine (2005)
Most of the movie is pretty clear, but there is one problem. Keanu Reeves. While he may be a beloved actor, he has a tendency to mumble, whisper, or just speak quietly.
Some movies can boost his audio well. Constantine did not.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
A common problem with modern Westerns is that the cowboys don’t know how to articulate. This was a problem both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal suffered from during the filming.
They whisper and mumble at the same time. Subtitles are the main way to watch this movie.
I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
Audio mixing wasn’t great in the 1970s, and that’s never more clear than in I Spit on Your Grave. People might be talking, but you won’t hear it over how loud the background noise is.
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