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Watching Dunkirk? Bring earplgus, shit was LOUD

rogue74

Member
The only part that I found slightly uncomfortable was when the dive bombers attacked. It was a cool effect but they should have toned it down just a tad. The rest of the sound mix was fine. It will win the Oscar.

Saw it in a Dolby Cinema theater.
 

Jkmetal

Banned
ITT everyone on GAF has tinnitus

It happens. Usually most people who have it get it in middle age but it can happen younger. I got it at 19 and I was lucky to get it so young. My ent doctor said at the time that my brain was still flexible enough to accommodate to the three different tones in my left ear and another tone in my right. I don t hear it all the time but like anyone with it will tell you certain sounds will get it going.

My sensitivity is so great that It's actually a combination of two other hearing conditions, hyperacusis and recruitment. Recruitment because of my congenital hearing loss and hyperacusis because my sensitivity across both low and high frequencies is far greater than it should be with my level of hearing loss.

Long story short, not everyones experience of the world is the same, in all ways that you can and cannot imagine.
 

Davide

Member
I had tinnitus for a month years ago and was very lucky it went away. I still always have a hum in my ears when it's really quiet, it's not that bad.

Normally I'm actually not careful with my ears but I'm considering earplugs going to this, tinnitus for the rest of your life isn't worth it.
 

OnPoint

Member
Getting hearing damage due to war is one thing, but you should not have to experience ear damage watching a movie.

As someone who has ear damage/slight hearing loss along with my entire family due to the war, I would not want anyone to experience this just for "immersion".

Thank you for the warning OP.

lol

It's like people aren't even reading

Nobody is getting hearing damage from this

Fuck, y'all buy so deep into hyperoble it hurts sometimes lol

Go see the film and wear earplugs. Or don't. You'll be fine either way.
 

samn

Member
Who cares about plot, character or historical background/insight when we can blow out the audience's eardrums for the sake of 'immersion'.
 

robotrock

Banned
I go to the cinema all the time and I can't remember the last time the sound system hurt my ears.

nah sorry i mean loud noises in dunkirk specifically

Who cares about plot, character or historical background/insight when we can blow out the audience's eardrums for the sake of 'immersion'.
i can't believe directors choose to focus on different things when making a movie
 

Ashhong

Member
Saw it in 70mm IMAX and thought it was perfect. Less loud than interstellar. Some parts were loud but they needed to me
 

Arttemis

Member
Fuck all the stealth bragging about seeing the 70mm IMAX version. The closest theater with that projector it's 8 hrs away.
 

Sho Nuff

Banned
Yo I just saw this shit in 70mm at Cinerama in Seattle. I also brought a set of earplugs for myself and the missus, she was quite appreciative. This movie was fucking loud, definitely went into the pain threshold for a bit.
 

deo

Banned
The sound made the movie more immersive IMO. Hearing fighter planes screeching from a distance and gradually get louder was extremely tense.
 
oh god no, please tell me its not like interstellar where there is a dead silent scene and for some odd reason the subwoofer is blasting like crazy due to a low hz signal being sent through

Lol I thought that was just me when I was watching that the other day!
 
I have never complained about a movie at the theater being too loud. Sometimes too quiet, but NEVER loud.

10 mins into the movie I went and complained to management and they turned it down.

Movies are loud. I like them loud. What I do not like is sounds that are so fucking ear-splitting loud that I walk away with permanent hearing damage.

I've been to metal concerts that we're quieter than this movie was before they turned it down.
 

Kambing

Member
So is this just a problem with Imax or are regular showings also super loud?

I think this is definitely a YMMV type of situation. It is quite dependent on the theater setup as well. In reality it only takes an extra 5 db in volume to go from 'this is loud and immersive' to 'okay time to cover my ears'. People on the fence about not going due to volume should still go. Concerts can get extremely loud, but all it takes is earplugs to make the experience a good one for people. At the end of the day, it's my enjoyment that counts, even if it means having an experience not as the creator intended. If you can, watch in 70mm IMAX because I haven't had a sensory experience quite like it before.
 

Flux

Member
Yeah earplugs are a good suggestion. Still love Nolan's movies, but as everyone is pointing out, the audio mixing has been terrible in his recent works. Deafening explosions, inaudible dialogue is the only source point about the movie to me.
 
Lol at those claiming it won't damage your ears. No wonder so many people suffer from tinnitus.

Objectively speaking, sustained or repeated sounds over 85db will damage your hearing. A normal theater experience will definitely go above this.

Dunkirk was so loud it was causing pain. The pain threshold for hearing is about 120db. Your also causing instant permanent hearing damage.

You may not agree, but this is how sound and hearing works.
 

vivekTO

Member
In my theater The sound mix is, I can say perfect, obviously some shots have loud noise , like bullet Hit or Aircraft engine Rolling, But I don't think it is that loud as Interstellar(That was too loud). What a great Movie by the way.I saw it in IMAX.
 
Lol at those claiming it won't damage your ears. No wonder so many people suffer from tinnitus.

Objectively speaking, sustained or repeated sounds over 85db will damage your hearing. A normal theater experience will definitely go above this.

Dunkirk was so loud it was causing pain. The pain threshold for hearing is about 120db. Your also causing instant permanent hearing damage.

You may not agree, but this is how sound and hearing works.

Dunkirk did not damage my ears, the person I was with covered her ears once and a while, but in general, I thought it was loud, but not ear-shattering loud.
 
I watched it in imax and it was definitely loud as fuck. I liked the sound setup and how you can feel the thumps in your chest with the amazing low end sound, but the cracks of the gunfire where near ear splitting levels.

It didnt ruin it for me at all, but I think they should have dialed it down a few db at my theater. It was definitely borderline too high.
 
Dunkirk did not damage my ears, the person I was with covered her ears once and a while, but in general, I thought it was loud, but not ear-shattering loud.

If the person you were with had to cover her ears from time to time, then it was too loud and I guarantee it was over 85db.

Hearing damage is generally not something you notice right away. It's something gradual and slow that get worse and worse over a long period of time.
 

besada

Banned
If the person you were with had to cover her ears from time to time, then it was too loud and I guarantee it was over 85db.

One of the guys on the avforums took his decibel meter. The IMax is running an average of 89dB, while it peaks at 110db.

The regular theater version is apparently about 5dB lower across the board.
 

mdubs

Banned
I found Interstellar worse, and found Dunkirk to be at a tolerable volume. Interstellar was incredibly and uncomfortably loud
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
This is crazy talk, music is glorious. And probably the best thing about the movie.

At no point I thought it was too loud
 

jtb

Banned
Listen up nerds, your puny ears are the sacrifice that must be paid so that Nolan can make ART.

One dB = one ART point.

No dBs, NO ART.
 

Foxix Von

Member
As someone who works around live music for a living, look into Earasers. A little pricey but a goddamn life saver and it sounds like you don't even have earplugs in. I literally never leave home without them now, lol. They're also easily picked at Guitar Center. :D
 

Punks

Member
Thanks for the heads up. I wear earplugs every single time I go to the movies. If I don't have earplugs I don't go. Movie theatres are just too loud. People protect your hearing. Once it's gone it's gone, worse if you develop tinnitus, the very definition of pure misery.
 

Artdayne

Member
the sound mix is loud on purpose, because war is fucking loud- airplanes, gunfire, big ass boats, etc. it's part of the film. wait for the blu ray if you don't like it.

personally i thought it was the best part of the experience.

This. The sound design combined with some of the well crafted shots was the best part about the movie.
 
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