The worst sound, ever

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2004)

"Seabiscuit" has the worst-managed soundtrack of all time. This movie cuts back and forth frequently between whisper-quiet dialog scenes and jarringly loud action scenes. It's almost as if they intended to shock you with the sudden barrage of noise. Just as you adjust the volume level to hear the muted dialog of a quiet scene, suddenly you are assaulted by a blast of noise. Then, just as you adjust the volume again to make that sound level tolerable, back they go to a quiet dialog scene and the volume is too low to hear. This happens over and over again during the movie. It spoils any enjoyment you might have gotten from this movie. Compare this botched soundtrack with a well-made one, such as that in "Out of Africa," where every word is clearly distinguishable, while the louder scenes are well-modulated and flow smoothly from the quiet ones. Whoever edited the sound of "Seabiscuit" needs to go back to film school, and this time don't skip out on those audio classes. "Seabiscuit" has the most amateurish hatchet job of any soundtrack I have ever heard in my 44 years of watching movies. The really shocking thing is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences actually gave a "Best Sound" nomination to "Seabiscuit" - obviously nobody in the nominating branch has even bothered to watch this movie or tried to listen to it - and I don't blame them; it's unlistenable.