The Troubles sit on the periphery of the narrative and, consequently, the sound design. Despite taking place against a backdrop of civil unrest and sectarian violence that would result in the largest forced mass movement of people since the Second World War, it's Buddy’s own story is front and centre. Rent or buy No Time to Die in Dolby Atmos from Appleīuy No Time To Die 4K Ultra HD from Amazon Belfast (2021) - opening sceneīased on the recollections of director Kenneth Branagh’s childhood growing up in Northern Ireland, Belfast is told uncynically from the point of view of 10-year-old Buddy. The sound of No Time to Die supports the film’s larger than life visuals and hits all the beats a well-versed audience demands but is still bursting with original, narrative sounds. As the shots are fired, each concise crack and crunch varies, keeping the relentless onslaught dramatically interesting until the sound of crystals fragmenting hints to the audience that the car, like Bond, is not infallible. The rain of bullets on the Aston Martin while Bond, thinking he’s been betrayed, belligerently sits inside alongside Madeline, is exquisitely rendered in 360 degrees from both an exterior and a cocooned interior perspective, interwoven with the vertiginous sound of the village's relentless churchbells. After swinging off a bridge and flying into the air on a motorbike it's a moment towards the end of this scene that we think yields the greatest sonic dividends. In the spectacular chase through Matera that follows, there are plenty of wonderful details to be found, particularly if you get the opportunity to listen on a Dolby Atmos system. Even the score gets this treatment, and for the first time, Bond’s vulnerability is alluded to before the crack of the bullet whizzes across the soundfield, and we’re back in classic 007 territory. Instead of relying on a tinnitus ring, the designers filter out most of the sound, leaving just the low, vibrational elements of Bond’s gasps and movements, disorientating the viewer.
The explosive sequence in the graveyard leads onto one of the film’s standout sound design moments as Bond temporarily loses his hearing and the audience is given his sonic point of view. We’re used to Bond films opening with a big set-piece, but No Time To Die switches things up, beginning instead with a flashback to Madeline's childhood in Norway that’s much more low-key and quietly terrifying. Mirroring the bleakness of the landscape, every sound is given acres of space, building intensity without overloading the viewer with layers of sound. The film’s slow-burn start means that subsequently, the ambush at Vesper’s tomb in Matera has an even greater impact.
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