Apocalypse

Incredible...absolutely and profoundly so.  The first time I viewed this film was when I was in Elementary School and could still remember scenes clearly from it.  One that I think is incredible from a sound perspective is the scene of the bridge, when they receive a mail package. As the boat pulls up, lilted notes of carnival music float across the water, lights blink and flash. It is almost like a dream and I think it is all the sound that does this. The constant eb and flow of the background carnival sounds, a tape player playing music as the characters pass, the screams of the enemy that somehow doesn't break the musicality of the scene but rather adds to it. The complete silence as a grenade leaves the barrel and plunges the whole scene into a silent peace.  I think this scene could stand for itself, a short film all on its own.

When I look at sound in a film , I try to imagine what it would be like both without that sound or with sound that...isn't so unique (this may not be the exact word I'm looking for here).  When looking at the scene I was just discussing, without the carnival music and other sounds...it wouldn't be nearly as compelling.  If they had normal bullet sounds and other mundane sounds, it wouldn't have the same sort of impact.

In Murch's interview, they talk a lot about the helicopters and helicopter scenes. When thinking about Apocalypse, the one sound that everyone knows, or at least associates with the film is the helicopter blades. I thought it was interesting that they created most of these sounds with a synthesizer and used it quite often.. It kind of says that, even though sound isn't authentic, doesn't mean it won't have an impact.  The use of sounds for other things is prevalent in films and helps to immerse the viewer.  The helicopters in this film do this in a physical and overbearing way, you can't get away from the sound and it is omnipresent. It's similar with the willow sticks and arrows.   A sound from something else used for something else is effective and I think speaks for film sound as a whole. Sounds are often appropriated however the viewer would never know unless told or from reading.  It is interesting that they can play with perception in such a way that everyday sounds aren't the same in film however seem like they are...