Batman V Superman: Hans Zimmer blames cinema speakers after audiences complain o

[Peter CINERAMAX]

Batman V Superman: Hans Zimmer blames cinema speakers after audiences complain of inaudible dialogue
Cinema-goers said the pounding score created by the Oscar-winning composer drowned out the dialogue in the film - a bonus for some attendees


Challenged on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Zimmer said: “No, I don’t have control over it. Nobody sets out to make an incomprehensible movie. When we mixed the film, we mixed it to the highest possible standard and we could hear every word.”

The German-born composer added: “That doesn’t mean every cinema has the same speakers. So what’s our choice? To create towards the lowest common denominator or tell people ‘make your sound systems better.’”


However cinema operators rejected criticism of their audio systems. Phil Clapp, Chief Executive of the UK Cinema Association, said: “UK cinema operators recognise that the cinema experience is as much about sound as it is about vision and want every guest to enjoy films on the ‘big screen’ as the director and his team intended.

“The hundreds of millions of pounds invested in digital projection technology in the last few years have been more than matched over a longer period by continued investment and improvement in the quality of in-cinema sound systems.

“Indeed many of the developments now found in the home, such as ‘surround sound’, were first found in the cinema. That innovation continues, with the increasing prevalence of ‘immersive sound’ technologies such as Dolby’s ‘Atmos’ system.”


Hans Zimmer said he was bowing out of scoring superhero films after Batman V Superman (Getty)
Mr Clapp said that cinema operators are “mindful that people have different tolerances to volume and sound quality and seek to strike an appropriate balance in discussion with technology suppliers. While they regularly review and – where necessary – adjust settings on their sound systems, should any guest be unhappy or uncomfortable in a cinema, then they should always make staff aware.”


Zimmer, who performs highlights from his career with a band including guitarist Johnny Marr at Wembley Arena next week, said he was bowing out of scoring superhero films after Batman V Superman, which has proved a box office smash despite a critical mauling. “It was 11 years of my life. I have officially retired from the superhero business. This one was very hard for me to do, to try to find new language,” he told the BBC.

Zimmer will reunite with Christopher Nolan, the Dark Knight director, on Dunkirk, the epic story of the World War II evacuation, starring Tom Hardy, which is due for release next year.

[donaldk]

Broadcast is a different matter, dialogue is always compromised, even on CRT TV big box front facing speakers.

[Peter CINERAMAX]

IF THERE is such a thing as superhero-film fatigue, then it seems to have claimed its first official victim.

Hans Zimmer, the Oscar-winning composer, announced in recent days that he’s closing the book on scoring comic-book movies. This comes as a stunning announcement from the man who created the music for such DC films as the Dark Knight Trilogy and the new “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and who has worked on the soundscapes to accompany Iron Man and Spider-Man.

Zimmer told the BBC that after devoting a dozen years of his career to working in “the superhero business,” he finds it difficul to “stay fresh.” And so the German-born composer — who is a 10-time Oscar nominee, but never for a superhero film — is saying Auf wiedersehen to the Spandex.

And so for fans who were hoping that his symphonic creations would continue to propel DC’s connected cinematic universe, a key bridge between the Christopher Nolan- and Zack Snyder-directed films has been lost.

[Does ‘Batman v Superman’ prove that critics are irrelevant? Whatever, that’s not the point.]

Zimmer, who also scored Nolan’s “Inception” and “Interstellar,” not only created a new sound for Batman during Nolan’s trilogy — music every bit as recognizable as Danny Elfman’s 1989 “Batman” score. He also reached the same sonic heights for Superman in “Man of Steel.” John Williams’s ’70s “Superman” score is iconic, yet Zimmer managed to create something powerfully unique for his Son of Krypton, too.

[How Hans Zimmer flies high with ‘Man of Steel’]

Listen to the “Man of Steel” trailer that introduced this soaring score to the world, and you can appreciate that it’s a beautiful and perfect fit. When Superman takes flight for the first time, it’s as if the music is lifting him toward the blue skies of truth and justice.

And in “The Dark Knight Rises,” when Bruce Wayne must make a dangerous jump with no rope to escape his Bane-made prison, Zimmer’s score elevates the hope of his fellow prisoners, who are convinced that Bruce will escape. The sound gives energy to the fearlessness of the moment.

“Batman v Superman,” however, will likely now stand as Zimmer’s swan song.

Perhaps having to create yet another sound for Batman might have led Zimmer to the realization that it was time to walk away. Imagine trying to create fresh sonic magic for the same character over and over and over again. The fatigue showed in “Batman v Superman’s” score, which won’t go down as near Zimmer’s best work.

No one expected Zimmer to score DC’s forthcoming “Suicide Squad,” but now his announcement puts to rest any hopes that he would score next year’s Wonder Woman movie or other Justice League member solo film projects (be it Aquaman or Cyborg or the Flash).

Zimmer could have been the one constant that DC could rely upon to ensure one form of continuity. Instead, Warner Bros. and DC Comics will now have to find at least one other composer to guide their screen titans.

On one hand, Zimmer’s retirement from the capes-and-cowls business couldn’t have come at a worse time for DC, especially as “Batman v Superman” proves polarizing to filmgoers.

Although it’s not the end of the world for DC, it is the end of the worlds that were musically built through Zimmer’s propulsive superhero sounds.

Years after scoring “The Lion King” and “Gladiator” and “The Prince of Egypt,” Zimmer gave so much with a fresh template for how superhero cinema should hit the ears.

Now, we look back with gratitude, even as we look forward to his future projects. Wherever he lands, the great composer rises.

As you may or may not know every loudspeaker in hans Zimmer studio is made by Quested.