Oppenheimer fans slam movie over one major issue as Nolan defends choice
Christopher Nolan's sweeping biopic of nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer is riding high at the box office and leading to a rejuvenation of the theatre business.
Oppenheimer: Official trailer (2023)
Moviegoers have been left perplexed by Oppenheimer with the blockbuster hit by complaints over the audio quality.
The movie, which runs to around three hours, has attracted criticism from some audience members who have claimed they were left unable to hear the dialogue over the soundtrack.
Many took to social media to air their frustrations with British journalist @JaneHillNews posting on Twitter: "Saw #Oppenheimer Well, managed half of it.
"Disappointed that music & effects often drowned out the actors, I missed whole chunks of dialogue.
"Told the cinema I thought the sound needed rebalancing - staff said ‘we have this issue with all #ChristopherNolan films’…. Seriously??"
User @jamesdboys responded: "Sounds about right. Did you ever try and watch his previous film, Tenet? Virtually impossible to discern the dialogue in it."
While @RobertsMartinO wrote: "I managed all of it, and think it an excellent film, but agree on the sound.
"Audience rapt, even applause at the end, but I struggled with dialogue. Put it down to age but perhaps not."
Another user called @TVRadioPeg said: "Agree. The sound was too loud against the dialogue. In our cinema it was almost painful at times."
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User @MaryCoxon2 tweeted: "Yes. Superb acting performances, but subtitled needed. Glad it wasn't just me. SOUNDTRACK WAY TOO LOUD!
"So annoying when actors have to battle against it to be heard. Was wishing l could lip read....""
However, others disagreed about the noise complaints with @tinsoldier65 posting: "I saw it yesterday on an IMAX screen.
"I sometimes have problems with hearing dialogue clearly but Oppenheimer seemed absolutely fine to me."
A second @NicUalraig tweeted: "To be fair, it's often the cinema speaker system that's not balanced right, especially in complex soundtracks and even in 'good' cinemas.
"But equally, I can't follow dialogue in real life let alone film when there's a lot of background sound."
A third person @keithmc007 added: "Watched the film at my local Everyman Cinema - sound was great. Clear dialogue not drowned out by music. Perhaps you were right to highlight the problem to the cinema staff."
Director Christopher Nolan addressed the dialogue issue in a recent interview, saying it was an artistic choice on his part.
He told Insider: “I like to use the performance that was given in the moment rather than the actor re-voice it later.
“Which is an artistic choice that some people disagree with, and that’s their right.”
Nolan doesn’t use automated dialogue replacement (ADR), a standard process whereby the actors go back and re-record their dialogue in a studio to improve the sound quality of both films and TV shows hence why fans may have issues hearing the dialogue in his films.
Oppenheimer is screening in theaters now
