Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) Review

Plot: An exploration of the history, artistry, and emotional power of cinema sound, as revealed by legendary sound designers and visionary directors, via interviews, clips from movies, and a look at their actual process of creation and discovery.

Review: As stated in the description above Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound is an exploration of the history, artistry, and emotional power of cinema sound and includes interviews with the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, Hans Zimmer, David Lynch and Christopher Nolan while also focusing on innovators like Ben Burtt (Star Wars) and Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now) who helped transform the art-form into what it is today.

Making Waves is an eye opening and genuinely fascinating documentary that explores the history and evolution of sound design and it really gives you a great insight into one of the lesser known parts of the filmmaking process. Where we think making movies is all glamour this gives us an honest portrait of what it is really like: long hours, painstaking detail and in Ben Burtt’s case nervous breakdowns.

At 90 minutes long what could easily be a dry documentary manages to enthrall as we see the thought behind the sounds of classics like Star Wars and Apocalypse Now. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of cinema will eat this up as it is engaging from the start.

The only problem I had was the unnecessary gender politics which wasn’t felt like pandering but it wasn’t a massive dealbreaker and didn’t detract from the entertainment factor.

Clearly a lot of time and effort went into making this film and it shows as watching our cinematic icons discuss their artform is never less than absorbing where we get a real idea of the passion behind these people who clearly enjoy their jobs but still work very hard.

Overall, Making Waves is a must-see for any cinephile, but even just casual viewers will find plenty to enjoy and is one of the best documentaries of the year.