Best Sound: Ranking Every 96th Academy Award Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
This article is a part of the Academy Awards Project, where Andreas Babiolakis from Films Fatale ranks every Oscar nominee from worst to best, and goes through every category once a day five days a week.
Welcome back to another week of ranking Academy Award nominees! Before we get into the two music categories, we must finish off the tech categories with a nice segue into the other groups that test our ears: the Best Sound nominees. I’ve complained about this category before, and I will do so again. One of the most egregious decisions the Academy has made in recent memory was combining both the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories into one group, which is a highly problematic choice given how much it screws over certain films (more on that shortly) and doesn’t honour how different both categories are (you can read more about the difference between sound mixing, the piecing-together of sounds, and sound editing, the creation of sounds, in my Films Fatale article here). All things considered, this year is incredibly stacked. I had a tough time ranking these nominees, especially because I don’t think any of them should be considered “last” (you’ll see my rationale shortly). What films had my ears perked up the most? What motion pictures had me listening more than any other? Which project had believable sounds? Wonderful, audible blending? The most textured noises?
Here are your nominees for Best Sound ranked from worst to best.
Biggest Snub: Ferrari
I wouldn’t actually change any of the nominees that got selected, but I am a bit curious that Ferrari didn’t get a single nomination across the board; not even for its sound. It wasn’t exactly my favourite film last year, but the crunchy engines roaring, the crowds erupting, the tires screeching, and the reverberating echoes of racecar cacophony were definitely highlights of Ferrari. I felt like the sound was well balanced throughout the film and it exploded when it needed to. In fact, half of the exhilaration of Ferrari stemmed from how ferociously this film sounded. I’m not suggesting that Ferrari should have won here or anything. I’m just mildly surprised it didn’t make the final cut is all (when this category is usually a sucker for these kinds of films).
5. Maestro-Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
Okay, don’t kill me just yet. The only reason why Maestro is last is because of the Academy’s decision to smush all things sound into one category. Does Maestro have the best sound mixing of the year? Unquestionably. The lush experience of the film mostly came from how sublimely compiled the music, chatter, and even the quiet drone of empty spaces were. Now, regarding the sound editing (there’s the kicker), Maestro has pleasant sounds that fit within the contexts of the film, but, in my opinion, it can’t compete with the other nominees that A) have more going on, B) have imaginative sounds that have been brought to life, and C) prioritize their sounds far more than Maestro does. I’d have ranked Maestro very highly in the sound mixing category and quite low — as I have — in the sound editing category should there have remained two categories (and all five nominees were found in both). Don’t blame me. Blame the Academy on this one.
4. Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One-Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
Dead Reckoning is ranked lowish not because of the same issues that Maestro faces with the Academy, but rather because it has another slice of bad luck: it’s a part of a highly competitive year. Any other year, Dead Reckoning may be even in first place. There is so much going on audibly, between the balanced mixture of ten thousand sounds at once (and that bombastic score to boot) while we can still hear dialogue being delivered, and the sonic palette of all of the created sounds that bring this domino effect of stunts, combat, and disaster to life.
3. The Creator-Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van Der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
The Creator pulls off what Dead Reckoning has but with even more difficulty once you start incorporating all of the tech sounds that come from another galaxy. As I discussed in the Best Visual Effects category ranking, The Creator is a mediocre film that is saved by the spectacle of it all, and part of that triumph comes from the tangible sounds I feel like I can grasp in my hands. There’s always a myriad of noises emanating at the same time, and I feel like I can still make heads and tails of what is going on audibly regardless. I’m not someone who would revisit The Creator again, but if I ever were to, I’d maybe close my eyes just to get lost in the landscapes of sound presented here, where even war zones come off as symphonic.
2. Oppenheimer-Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
Like before, Oppenheimer pulls off what Dead Reckoning and The Creator achieve but… wait for it… even better. Especially regarding the sound design department, where the noises of science, nuclear discharge, bomb deployment, and so many other incredible noises had my jaw on the floor, Oppenheimer is one of the best-sounding films of last year. Having said that, I’m not placing it in first because I’ve been forced to split hairs, and if Maestro is getting penalized because of the Academy’s condensing of two categories into one, Oppenheimer will have to be as well (albeit at a more marginal level). The mixing is slightly better for Christopher Nolan’s standards, but it is still tricky enough to have gunshot-loud explosions next to quiet dialogue; it works in a movie theatre (despite the fact that I nearly had a heart attack every explosion), but it doesn’t work in every film-viewing environment. Still, Oppenheimer sounds great, but it’s a tough year for this category, and I need to be a little more blunt as a result.
1. The Zone of Interest-Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
If any film had my ears going wild last year, it was The Zone of Interest: a film that basically begs for you to listen in and make sense of what is going on. Because the film is based so much on the ignoring of those who are suffering, I’d argue that over half of the film’s story is based on what you hear and not what you see. Thus, we have some of the deepest wells of sound I’ve experienced since Roma. I can always tell how far away a sound is (even if it is meant to be very far away, I can still make out what it is I’m hearing). There are always countless events happening, and yet the sound never clutters or clips. I cannot emphasize how individualistic each sound is (so, great sound editing), and how the sound mixing is even better; not a single sound feels artificial, out of place, or vague. The Zone of Interest is not just the best sounding film of 2023: it is one of the best sounding films of all time, in my opinion.
Who I Want To Win: As great as every nominee is, I’m fully rooting for The Zone of Interest, which, again, is an audible masterpiece.
Who I Think Will Win: Right now, this is yet another win I foresee happening for Oppenheimer. I doubt it, but there may be a last-second push for The Zone of Interest to win in this category (it was released very last minute and hasn’t been on everyone’s radars just yet, after all). I still think Oppenheimer will win, but you never know what tomorrow will bring in the always-changing award season race.
The Academy Awards Project will continue tomorrow with another category. We’re going to rank every single nominee in every single category, Monday through Friday. You don’t want to miss it!
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.