BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!

Subject: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 05:00 AM

We are seeing this new film today, and I've read comments that the soundtrack is too loud. Has anyone else experienced this film yet?

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 05:40 AM

I watched the 1958 version yesterday.
That was quite loud.
They say there is little dialogue in the new version.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Will Fly
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 05:46 AM

I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I stopped going to the cinema some time for these kind of films because I found the overall sound level hurtful at times.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 06:03 AM

Excellent depiction of the slaughter and the courage
If it was "too loud" so was the war
Worth seeing, if only to remind us what war is - don't bother waiting for it to hit the small screen - it won't work
I saw it on Wednesday - in 70mm
As much as I found it impressive, I don't think I'll bother again
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: gillymor
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 06:16 AM

It was very loud in the theatre I saw it in. You got the feeling that a Spitfire flying into your ear at times but it was a beautiful piece of film making and brought me to tears at times. If I were to see it again I'd bring along some ear plugs and experiment with them.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 06:43 AM

My husband's going to see it on Wednesday. I'm not. I'm like Will Fly, I find the sound in cinemas far too loud.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Will Fly
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 07:09 AM

No film or concert in the world is worth damaging your ears for.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: DMcG
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 07:19 AM

I wondered if it might be louder than the real thing and this link suggests it might be. Certainly in the real thing there would be moments of intense noise but it could easily have been more intermittent than the film.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 08:03 AM

Thanks, I'll be taking headphones in! I'll also use it to test my bonzofessional mics!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 09:37 AM

"I'll be taking headphones in!"
One of the problems with the aerial scenes is that yo 'feel' the sound rather than hearing them
"I find the sound in cinemas far too loud."
As an avid cinema-goer, I totally agree - especially in the Multiplexes
Pat and I have complained on numerous occasions and have ben told that they have to 'pump up the volume' to cater for the hard-of-hearing
I suspect my hearing has deteriorated because I have spent a great deal of time in cinemas
A bit of a Catch 22 really!!
I suppose it's a step up from when I first experienced Cinemascope 'Charge of the Light Brigade) in Liverpool and was advised by the joker in the ticket office - "Don't sit in the front row Wack - you'll end up covered in horse-shit".
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: gillymor
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 10:03 AM

I wonder if they could build theaters, or if they do, with sections where the audio wasn't so intense and perhaps even a section with headphone jacks with volume controls in the seats where those so inclined could plug in. Doesn't sound too high tech.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 10:05 AM

I'm sure the noise at the real Dunkirk was appalling and terrifying, and I have enormous admiration for the combatants. But I see no need to go to the cinema to experience the same dreadful suffering.

To me, a film at the cinema should be entertaining and uplifting, and not deafening.

Husband has just announced he's also going to see 'Planet of The Apes Number 3' sometime this week because it's in 3D. (He adores 3D) I couldn't go to that either, because the 3D effects give me vertigo.

Hee hee, I'm of no use to the poor man at all am I?

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 10:17 AM

Whenever I go to the movies I always bring headphones. Not to hear better but to cut decibels in half. In desperation I once had to stick popcorn in my ears.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 11:43 AM

"entertaining and uplifting"
Obviously not an Ingmar Bergman fan!!
Don't think you can make any such demands of any art form
Art, to be comprehensive, needs to reflect life as it is, not as we would like it to be.
My favourite book - Tess of the Durbevilles - the heroine is seduced and eventually hanged
Favourite film - Ivan's Childhood - travail of a young boy in war-torn Russia
Favourite play - Hamlet - everbody who is't poisoned is either drowned or stabbed
Favourite ballad - Clyde's Water - mother opposes son's choice of lover, sends her away - she is drowned - son goes looking for her - he is drowned as well......
All great art
"I once had to stick popcorn in my ears."
Chacun son gout
I've stopped gong to local cinemas because I can't stand the overwhelming smell of popcorn and the rustle of it being dragged out of the box makes me feel like force-feeding it to the owner anally
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 12:10 PM

My favorite Jesus Christ Biography - Powder

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 12:29 PM

I did preface my remark with the words 'to me'. I'm not saying Art should only be chocolate box stuff. It can be as horrific, true-to-life, raw, tragic etc as it likes. I'm just saying I personally don't want to pay good money to be depressed, terrified, stressed or annoyed, plus driven to putting my fingers in my ears (haven't tried popcorn!)

At my age I want a nice, quiet, gentle, pretty and charming film suitable for old ladies. I think the modern term is 'vanilla'.

As to Thomas Hardy's novels - well, I studied the lot as part of my A Level and Uni courses, and was nearly driven to hanging myself, never mind Tess. While I loved the earthy, rural and historical content, the characters were apparently 'doomed' and one wondered why the final pages of the books weren't damp from the copious tears of their readers. Miserable stuff...

My husband and I once wandered in to an Odeon cinema and bought tickets for a film called 'Saw 5'. We had no idea what it might be about. After five minutes, we looked at each other and got up hastily, after having been shown a woman sawn in half alive by some psychopath.
The ticket lady stopped us and asked if we were all right. We were shaking, and she actually offered us our money back! (We accepted) My black husband was as white as a sheet. I was green.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: olddude
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 01:25 PM

What is the sound level about anymore. For sure, when I go to any movie lately, I feel like I was shooting a weatherby 300 mag without ear protection. Every movie the sound hits you like a rock. My guess, kids today a deaf from ear buds constantly in their heads and it sounds fine to them

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 01:38 PM

I've wondered about the very same thing olddude. It seems young people today go to concerts, clubs and so on where the noise levels are dangerously high. As happened to the workers in the cotton mills last century, their hearing must be permanently damaged.

Of course, we live in an almost silent environment here in the village. To us, even a wood pigeon cooing on our roof at dawn is a 'blooming din'!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 01:42 PM

you'd have been alright with Saw 6. Its about a visit to B and Q one Wednesday for the pensioners discount.

The hero buys a Spear and Jackson saw - then they have nice cup of tea and a fairycake in the cafeteria.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Will Fly
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 01:55 PM

Remember folks: "If you leave a music or similar event with persistent ringing in your ears, that's permanent ear damage."

Advice from the bass player who played in the same rock'n roll trio as me for many years was, during the day, a chief audiology technical manager at the London Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. Many of the then rock stars were his "clients" from time to time.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 02:13 PM

Hahahahahaha Big Al! I'm spilling my tea here! That's really funny. Hee hee!.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 02:38 PM

My lifelong love of cinemas, 2 or 3 or more visits every week...
came to an abrupt end not too long after mobile phones became cheap enough for the half-wit masses...

Haven't been inside a cinema since 2003 "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

Now have to make do with a 50 inch HD 3D telly and high quality headphones..
as loud as I like at 3 or 4 in the morning...

A major compromise... but I'm much happier, far less aggravation and stress....
.. and no likelihood of getting into a punch up with cretinous youths..


plus, snacks and drinks, icecreams, are far more affordable and I can press pause for a pee any time I like..

To think 30 years ago I could sink 4 pints immediately before sitting for a movie,
and not need to go until the end of a 2 to 4 hour film...

Not any more.. 2 or 3 times a movie now I'm an old bloke... 🙄

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 02:42 PM

Absolutely first class film and not too loud at all!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 02:58 PM

Looking forward to it more than any other current movie..and got the 1958 version downloaded on catch up yesterday..

My grandad was at Dunkirk, a private in his late 30s or early 40s..

He never said a word about it to me..
but i heard from other family that he was in a very nasty battle on a bridge en route to the beach...?????

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: JHW
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 06:26 PM

I didn't think too loud - small planes really are very loud, louder than this

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 06:59 PM

It obviously depends on a Cinema's sound system, and abilities of the staff to work it effectively..

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Donuel
Date: 30 Jul 17 - 07:04 PM

My only direct experience with WWII fighters is the F4U Corsair. Its unbelievably loud, faster than jets at low altitude and disappears over the horizon in seconds.

I just saw Hidden Figures which has about a dozen happy tears moments and villains that smarten up.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Senoufou
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 12:41 PM

Husband could only get a ticket for today,and he's just come home. He said the sound was far too loud, and there were ages of adverts and trailers. But he found it very, very moving, and he admitted he cried, as it was so sad to see the courage of those men, some of whom met a dreadfully tragic end.
He said he learned a great deal about Dunkirk, and is very glad he went. (He loves studying British history)

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: sciencegeek
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 04:14 PM

saw the film here in the US... didn't seem too oud, but we both felt it was the worst film we'd seen in a very long time.

I grew up watching shows like Victory at Sea, then later Combat, The Gallant Men and 12 O'Clock High... not to mention just about every war movie made in the 1940s & 50s.... my dad fought in Europe and many of the people I knew growing up had fought as well. The movie Dunkirk pissed us off... it gave lip service to the very real sacrifices made by thousands of British and French troops and spent an absurd amount of time following a few guys who deserted their posts... and The Red Badge of Courage it was NOT. add to it the absurd technical mistakes made, it was more fantasy than factual.

We are still waiting for the great movie about Dunkirk to be filmed.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 04:24 PM

no more spoilers please.. a lot of us aint seen it yet....

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Acorn4
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 05:30 PM

Last went to the cinema to see Titanic, but will go to see this because my dad was there.


He didn't say much but he did say that the idiot officer class who had made such a balls up in the previous war were still there at this time. Apparently on the way back to the beaches he hadn't eaten for three days - he broke open a bar of chocolate that he had been keeping and was told off by an officer that it was for "an emergency".

Had the sense to get on one of the small boats as the Luftwaffe were targeting the larger ones an naval vessels.


He was found wandering around Folkestone in a daze and obviously had what we nowadays call PTSD before it got a set of initials.

Later on in the war he was in the desert campaign but did express great regard for Bernard Montgomery who apparently was a brilliant communicator.

I don't like loud but will go and see it anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: robomatic
Date: 03 Aug 17 - 06:06 PM

Just saw Nolan's "Dunkirk" during a cloudy morning in Anchorage. It was not too loud where I saw it. Film score was good, embellishing the film. Good looking actors, looking more like people of the 40s (thin).

But on the whole I was underwhelmed. It is hard for me to believe there were so few Spitfires and Heinkels and Stukas present during the original festivities. It is easier to believe that there are so few now. It is acceptable to show how little is known of the general situation by those in the middle of it, it is less acceptable to leave the audience just as ignorant.

Spoiler alert:
A lot of time spent in the belly of a beached boat that is getting shot up as the tide comes in and starts filling up with salt water. It is scary boring.
Too much time spent in an out of fuel Spitfire gliding gliding gliding, shooting down an enemy, gliding, gliding, gliding, cranking the gear down, gliding, gliding, gliding, normal landing on a sandy beach.

Briefly: Too much English understatement for me. Something I normally admire in the islanders.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Teribus
Date: 03 Aug 17 - 08:00 PM

Anybody wanting to know anything about Operation Dynamo and the evacuation at Dunkirk should look to other sources than the motion picture industry - Read non-fiction on the subject, watch documentaries, just recently there have been two absolute crackers on the subject.

As far the evacuation goes there are still loads of misconceptions:

1. The RAF played little or no part, according to British Army eye witness accounts drawn from those on the beaches - grossly unfair and untrue - without their efforts very few would have got away. German bomber formations were broken up inland from the beaches where the Spitfires flying out of Duxford only had about 30 minutes combat time. Other German formations attempting to sink vessels on their way back to Dover and Ramsgate were attacked further out to sea.

2. The "Little Boats" saved the Army and brought the men home - No they did not, the vast majority of those who were taken off, were taken off the Mole in the larger ships. The only troops brought back to Britain by the "Little Ships" were the ones picked up on the "Little Ships" final run into the beaches prior to them making their return voyage. Throughout the course of the evacuation the job allotted to the "Little Ships" was to ferry troops from the beaches out to larger ships at sea then run in again and again to fetch more troops - none of that is shown in the film. To give you the figures, 98,671 men were ferried from the beaches, while 239,555 men were taken off the Mole.

3. The story of three RAF pilots recently emerged, all shot down during Operation Dynamo.

Alan Deere - NewZealander - he trudged up the Mole where a Roya Naval Officer told him to "Fuck Off" - Deere, an RAF Boxing Champion, decked the Officer and climbed aboard when his turn came - Just as well he later went on to acquit himself rather well during the Battle of Britain and throughout the remainder of the war shooting down 18 enemy aircraft.

Casenove - He too was thrown out of line while waiting to board - he ended up captured by the Germans.

Stephens - A Squadron Leader and a very experienced pilot - It was his Spitfire that robomatic complained of - damaged he remained in the area doing what he could with what was left of his fuel and ammunition. His beach landing was further down the coast towards Calais - he escaped and stayed on the run for 11 days he reached Brussels and tried to gain entry to the US Embassy there but he was refused and had to give himself up. An inveterate "escaper" he ended the war in Colditz, where he planned nd built a glider to escape. In Colditz he was reacquainted with an old flying pal of his Douglas Bader. Stephens' Spitfire was uncovered by the tide in 2012 and it was recovered and restored to full flying condition - this is the aircraft that you see in the film (Casenove's Spitfire was also recovered and restored to flying condition).

Great pity Stephens and Casenove didn't make it back they would have been useful men to have around during the Battle of Britain.

In the air over the Dunkirk evacuation German pilots met the Spitfire in combat for the first time - the experience shook them rigid.

4. There was no British Only policy as shown in the film.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: robomatic
Date: 03 Aug 17 - 10:14 PM

Thanks Teribus.

I think the movie would have been helped by some way of communicating the importance of this 'retreat'.
Similar to Washington's retreat from Long Island. Tough, thankless work at high risk, but ultimate victory impossible without it.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 02:52 PM

Jesus fucking Christ, going to the cinema is supposed to be fun not an educational exercise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 03:05 PM

Bonz - agreed... there seems to be a huge divide between pedantic military history buffs, and a film makers creative poetic license, while making their best of budget constraints...

However, having said that.. I do feel disappointed, even cheated, when I've enjoyed a tremendously moving film "Based on a true story / Inspired by true events",
and I discover the entire story is riddled with significant characters who were invented and never existed, and plot developments and dramatic situations that are completely fabricated...

The latest one that pissed me off was after watching "The ****** ****** Club" a couple of nights ago...

[trying my best to avoid spoilers...]

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: robomatic
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 03:21 PM

So......


Was "Dunkirk" 'FUN' fer ya, fella?


I've had almost a day to think about it and I think the whole thing kind of floats there without context. That may have been the whole idea but then again, the idea might not be a good one.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 03:33 PM

I certainly had fun testing my "Bonzofessional" mics at the film's high volume!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: gillymor
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 03:49 PM

Any one going to "Dunkirk" expecting to witness a historical documentary or a wide-ranging cinematic epic is sure to be disappointed. I quite enjoyed as a beautiful filmed human drama, if I'm looking for history I'll go elsewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: gillymor
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 03:51 PM

beautifully

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Teribus
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 08:27 PM

As you agree with Bonzo, pfr please tell me why YOU specifically:

".... feel disappointed, even cheated, when I've enjoyed a tremendously moving film "Based on a true story / Inspired by true events", and I discover the entire story is riddled with significant characters who were invented and never existed, and plot developments and dramatic situations that are completely fabricated..."

Anything to do with the fact that anything that has been shot, or written, retrospectively, where all facts are known has a duty to represent the event truthfully? If it doesn't then that is how myths and lies are reinforced and propagated.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 09:08 PM

Teri - been here before... it's not escaped our attention that imaginative art is not strongly uppermost in your priorities or appreciations...

For me, verisimilitude in cinema is not 100% essential at all times...

It's the movies after all - artistic expression can be far more important than mere exact facts...
It depends on so many factors, how much allowance is accepted for liberties with truth...

I take it film by film............

But for me there are important films purporting to be bio pics,
were I place more trust in the honest portrayal of a specific individuals life.
These are more likely to leave me feeling cheated, lied to, and manipulated...

It's not an exact science, with easy explanations...

Hollywood magic / trickery........?????

At the end of any film, my immediate impulse is to read about it's production and background history..
that's when critical analysis kicks in..
Some films demand more follow up than other...

Too many nights I've finished watching a movie by let's say 2:00 am,
and still been reading up on all aspects of it when the wife's alarm goes off for work...

Such movies, whether honest depictions, or a pack of fanciful lies, have worked effectively to stimulate my personal research on the subject..

Either way, that movie worked effectively to provoke interest and ideas....

Btw.. the Dunkirk documentary exonerating the RAF was very educational, but could have been far longer, or a series..
I wanted to know more.. That's how a good factual documentary works..

The movie which I hope to see as soon as the Blu-ray is cheap enough,
will be more about immersing one's self in the fearful emotions of the appalling terrifying situation, identifying with the plight of the human beings being blown to atoms, or drowned..
Trying to feel what my grandad would have endured fighting for escape...
Maybe even the vicarious adrenaline rush of bloody combat which my generation was thankfully spared...???
By all accounts, this movie is not a just a big dumb loud gung ho action movie, it has real respect for the individuals involved..

A sense of impressionistic reality, but not a reality documentary...

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 09:12 PM

As for "Hacksaw Ridge"...

Now that's an interesting mash up of daytime TV soap opera, and astonishing bloody battle carnage..

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 09:18 PM

Dunkirk too loud? I am reminded of the comment about the Somme made by the actor Ernest Thesiger years later "0h my dear! The noise! And the people!"

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 04 Aug 17 - 09:51 PM

When "All Quiet on the Western Front" was on TV back in the early to mid 60s..

That one film literally changed my entire life, it had that much of a powerful frightening impact on me as a small child.

I no longer saw war as just a fun game of soldiers with my schoolmates.. it was real and terrifying, and I suddenly understood what death meant...!!!

It's very rare a single work of art achieves that much intense reaction.
I've never again felt anything like it.

For a 'pacifist', I have a 'perverse' lifelong enthusiasm and morbid fascination for war movies...???

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Teribus
Date: 05 Aug 17 - 01:41 AM

Thanks pfr your post of 04 Aug 17 - 09:08 PM explains a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: robomatic
Date: 05 Aug 17 - 01:50 AM

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."— Robert E. Lee, at Fredericksburg.

"Some of you young men think that war is all glamour and glory, but let me tell you, boys, it is all Hell!"-
William T. Sherman at the Michigan Military Academy

Subject: RE: BS: Dunkirk - apparently too loud!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 17 - 02:40 AM

I've skimmed only, so apologies if this already was linked: Boatlift, narrated by Tom Hanks. A little over 11 minutes telling the story of the rescue of people from Manhattan after the World Trade Center plane assault on 9/11. The energy and motivation were the same, I think, as Dunkirk. People had to do something.