Carolyn Giardina for The Hollywood Reporter:
Since the movie’s opening on Nov. 5, some viewers have complained about the movie’s sound, claiming some key dialogue is difficult to hear and raising questions about whether it is the fault of the sound mix or the sound systems in some of the theaters where the film is playing. But Nolan said the movie’s sound is exactly as he intended and he praised theaters for presenting it correctly.
Some friends mentioned this as we exited the theater. I didn't and don't agree because everything else in the theater sounded fine, so I trusted that we experienced what Nolan intended. Not only that, I really enjoyed Nolan's choices. At potions the soundtrack was the driving force in a scene and dialogue was simply ornamentation. And it always felt right.
Turns out that's what Nolan was aiming for:
Nolan attributed Interstellar’s sound to “very tight teamwork” among composer Hans Zimmer, re-recording mixers Gary Rizzo and Gregg Landaker and sound designer Richard King. “We made carefully considered creative decisions,” he said. “There are particular moments in this film where I decided to use dialogue as a sound effect, so sometimes it’s mixed slightly underneath the other sound effects or in the other sound effects to emphasize how loud the surrounding noise is. It’s not that nobody has ever done these things before, but it's a little unconventional for a Hollywood movie.”
Dialogue as a sound effect. Whether you agree with it or not, Nolan is not one to shy away from experimentation just because he's making blockbusters.
“The idea is to experience the journey the character is going on,” he said. “[For instance] the experience of being in the cockpit is you hear the creaking [of the spacecraft], it’s a very scary sound. We wanted to be true to the experience of space travel. We wanted to emphasize those intimate elements.”
Mission: accomplished.
