We start off our first film sound review with 2017 Oscar winning Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Hacksaw Ridge directed by Mel Gibson and film score by Rupert Gregson-Williams also known for recent scores for The Legend of Tarzan and Wonder Woman.
Bravery and spirituality is the essence set throughout Hacksaw Ridge, a true story of Desmond Thomas Doss a WW2 medic who saved the lives of 75 infantrymen in the Battle of Okinawa atop the Maeda Escarpment or Hacksaw Ridge.
Throughout the film Desmond's persona is that of a non-violent person. During the first With the smooth instrumentals of a solo cello and the woody nature of a bassoon this is not your usual conventional war hero or film score. What Gregson-William's has tried to balance is the spirituality and bravery of Desmond's ideologies.
However an epic film like Hacksaw Ridge does exist just with an epic film score, it also requires an extraordinary sound mixer. Kevin O'Connell winner of the 2017 Sound Mixing Oscar award for Hacksaw Ridge alongside Robert Mackenzie, Andy Wright and Peter Grace. Kevin's previous nominations include Transformers, Apocalpto and Memoirs of a Geisha but with 21 nominations, Hacksaw Ridge was a welcome win.
Kevin's early work also includes working on Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Grease and Raiders of the Lost Ark back in the day of full analogue no digital mixing.
Hacksaw Ridge benefits from the immersive surround sound technology 'Dolby Atmos'. With Dolby Atmos sound is pushed all along the walls, in the ceiling and even behind the screen in order to push sound towards the audience. Hacksaw Ridge has embraced Atmos to bring a truly immersive sound experience from the explosive scenes of the artillary bombardment to the whizzing of bullets cracking overheard.
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