Christopher Nolan Breaks Silence on ‘Interstellar’ Sound

The director says the movie’s “adventurous and creative” sound is “the right approach for this experiential film”

“I’ve always loved films that approach sound in an impressionistic way and that is an unusual approach for a mainstream blockbuster, but I feel it’s the right approach for this experiential film,” Christopher Nolan said, speaking for the first time in detail about the use of sound in his new film Interstellar.

Describing his approach to the movie’s sound mix as “adventurous and creative,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview Friday, “Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions — I  try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal — picture and sound.”

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.