I caught Gravity again in theaters this weekend and one of my biggest complaints remains in that I wish Alfonso Cuaron hadn’t used so much of Steven Price‘s score. As good as Price’s score is, the lack of sound in space, which Cuaron emphasizes in the opening seconds, would have been far more powerful, just as it is when Sandra Bullock‘s Ryan Stone asks George Clooney‘s character to turn off the music and the rumbling sound of bolts being unscrewed are all you can hear.
Of course, someone pointed out an interview with Cuaron at Wired where he addressed this very topic saying:
“I thought about keeping everything in absolute silence. And then I realized I was just going to annoy the audience. I knew we needed music to convey a certain energy, and while I’m sure there would be five people that would love nothingness, I want the film to be enjoyed by the entire audience.”
I don’t like this answer because I don’t understand what exactly would be considered annoying. I also don’t like the idea of compromising an artistic vision for the sake of the general audience. I understand making the decision for commerce and I can understand Cuaron viewing his film and thinking audiences used to the loud crashing of musical scores and explosions wouldn’t be satisfied by a quiet thriller, but I also think he could have reached a greater balance than deciding to largely lean entirely in the general audience direction.
I presume when Cuaron is saying the audience would be annoyed, he means they just wouldn’t “get it”, large numbers don’t go to see films such as those of Michael Haneke where the only sound is ambient noise that would exist in the scene, and Cuaron understands even silent films rely on a score to make sure audiences don’t get bored. I get it, but I would like it if he were able to say that. I also wonder how far he got with this “thought”. Is there a cut without the score, or at least less of it? Would make for a great Blu-ray feature.
Nevertheless, the sound mix and design behind Gravity remains excellent regardless of what I would have preferred and this new featurette from the SoundWorks Collection takes a look at it with Cuaron and Re-recording Mixer Skip Lievsay., including a peek at how they designed the Dolby Atmos surround sound.
Give it a peek below, and if you saw Gravity this weekend, click here to share your thoughts.
