Buzz
Though sound design is often overlooked in films, it plays a crucial role in shaping the viewing experience. Sound design can be categorized into three primary elements: dialogue, sound effects, and music. While these categories often overlap, there is almost always at least one of them present. Silence is a rare but powerful tool, and when used effectively, it can leave a lasting impression.
This list highlights the top ten instances where silence is used to profound effect in films that predominantly feature sound (excluding silent films). The focus is not just on the absence of dialogue but also on the lack of music. For instance, Pixar’s Up (2009) opens with ten minutes of silence, but the music fills the void. The list also includes moments where silence is simulated or where the soundtrack is completely absent.
10. Contact (1997)
In Contact, the film opens with a stunning view of Earth from space, slowly pulling back and moving past distant planets, while TV and radio signals from Earth fade into the background. The sound begins as a cacophony of overlapping voices and transmissions, but gradually quiets down, culminating in a remarkable 30 seconds of silence in the vastness of space—an audacious way to begin a movie.
In the DVD audio commentary, director Robert Zemeckis discusses how the original shot was envisioned: 'the camera flying toward the Earth.' This is how the book by Carl Sagan began, as if 'the message' was heading straight for Earth. However, by reversing the shot, the opening sequence highlights the insignificance of humanity in the vast expanse of space. Producer Steve Starkey explains that this perspective offers 'a new view of planet Earth from so far out in the universe, making you feel rather insignificant in the grand scheme.'
9. The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese is known for his use of silence in his films, recognizing its importance despite audience expectations for continuous sound and music. One such moment of quiet tension occurs in The Departed. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a mole within the police force planted by mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), is mirrored by undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is infiltrating Costello’s gang.
A gripping moment of silence unfolds between Sullivan and Costigan after Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen), the only cop Costigan can truly trust, is killed by the mob. Sullivan, seated at Queenan’s desk, calls the last number dialed by the Captain. Costigan’s phone vibrates, and after a hesitant pause, he answers. The silence lingers as neither man speaks. This moment directs the audience’s focus entirely on the nuanced performances of Damon and DiCaprio. No music is needed to convey the emotional weight of the scene.
8. Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott’s Alien stands as a defining masterpiece in the sci-fi horror genre, a success in no small part due to Jerry Goldsmith’s chilling soundtrack and the meticulous sound design by Derrick Leather, Jim Shields, and Bill Rowe. The terror is often amplified by the film's minimalist soundscape, where only faint ambient noises rise to the surface. Terry Rawlings, the film’s editor, emphasizes the pivotal role sound plays in crafting a terrifying atmosphere
A perfect illustration of this is the moment when Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) searches for the crew’s cat, Jones, after the chestburster is unleashed. Rawlings notes that, without the sound design, “you sit there and look at him creeping around in the rain room silent, and it’s boring.” Throughout the scene, the quiet clink of chains and the steady rainfall punctuate the silence. These subtle Foley sounds, often unnoticed, elevate the sense of looming danger and keep the audience on edge.
7. Whiplash (2014)
The importance of sound is integral to Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, a story centered on a jazz drummer, Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), who faces both physical and verbal abuse at the hands of his demanding bandleader, Terence Fletcher (J. K. Simmons), all in pursuit of perfection. The final scenes feature an intense, nearly silent psychological battle between the two, as Andrew delivers an unexpected and electrifying drum solo.
At the heart of the performance, the sound gradually fades, focusing solely on Andrew’s facial expressions. His drumming, which ultimately earns admiration from his teacher, becomes a silent moment that forces the audience to confront the emotional and personal toll of his success. Once the solo concludes, the sound slowly returns, leading into a brief period of silence. In this moment, the student seeks validation, and the teacher silently acknowledges his brilliance. They exchange a knowing smile, and the band resumes playing for a brief moment before the film fades to black.
6. The Birds (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock, revered as the Master of Suspense, fully understood that sound design plays a pivotal role in evoking fear. In The Birds, he chose to forgo a traditional musical score and instead made the screeching calls of the birds the primary sound element. The overwhelming volume of these birds makes the moments of silence that much more unsettling. Though there is no conventional music, Hitchcock crafted an almost imperceptible electronic hum that “is the equivalent of brooding silence,” creating a sense of ominous anticipation: “a waiting mass, that if they were unduly disturbed, an attack would start again.”
A striking use of silence occurs when Lydia (Jessica Tandy) visits her neighbor. The profound stillness as she explores his house signals that something is amiss. In the bedroom, she discovers a scene of devastation, and her gaze lands upon the horrifying sight of her neighbor’s lifeless body, his eyes pecked out. The absence of sound during this reveal heightens the terror of the moment.
5. Interstellar (2014)
Upon the release of Interstellar, audiences complained about the sound mix, particularly regarding dialogue being drowned out by loud, overpowering sounds. In response, some theaters even displayed signs clarifying that the audio issues were not due to malfunctioning equipment, but were intentional choices made by director Christopher Nolan. Nolan defended his creative decision, explaining, “when you mix a film in an unconventional way as this, you’re bound to catch some people off guard, but hopefully people can appreciate the experience for what it’s intended to be.”
Though Nolan’s choices in sound are open to interpretation, one undeniably impressive instance occurs in the scene where Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) docks his ship with imperfect precision and overrides the airlock safety system. As Mann defends his reckless actions as being for the greater good of humanity, Hans Zimmer’s score gradually intensifies in the background. Just after declaring, “there is a moment,” Mann is abruptly interrupted by the airlock explosion. Following the initial sound of Mann being sucked into space, the subsequent explosion is presented in complete silence, a moment that paradoxically feels louder than any sound effect.
4. Attack of the Clones (2002)
Regardless of opinions on Attack of the Clones, the seismic charges deployed by Jango Fett against Obi-Wan in the asteroid field are truly spectacular. These seismic charges are bombs that draw in surrounding sound and, upon detonation, release a shockwave of blue light. As with most of the iconic sounds in the Star Wars universe, Ben Burtt is the mastermind behind the creation of the bomb’s unique sound.
Burtt conceived the idea of an “audio black hole” to convey “an explosion so cosmic that the sound energy is trapped at the moment of ignition but released shortly after.” This black hole effect is marked by an eerie silence just before the deep, resonating boom of the explosion. This brief moment of total silence amplifies the power of the blast. Burtt had originally wanted to incorporate this audio technique in A New Hope (1977), but “never had a sequence which allowed the explosion to be featured in a way that I could exploit the idea of delayed sound in space.”
3. A Quiet Place (2018)
In John Krasinski’s *A Quiet Place*, dialogue is minimal, as it unfolds in a world where deadly creatures kill anyone who makes a sound. Sound designers Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn aimed to make the audience feel the characters' experiences. Aadahl notes that the quietness of the film encourages viewers to 'hold their breath and become aware of the sounds they make, turning the audience into an active participant in the story.'
Sound design played a pivotal role in depicting Regan, a deaf character portrayed by Millicent Simmonds. The audience frequently hears what she perceives through her cochlear implant. Aadahl and Van der Ryn, drawing from their experience inside an *anechoic chamber*, which is so quiet that even one's heartbeat and nervous system hum can be heard, recreated those sounds. In scenes when the implant was off, they employed complete silence to heighten tension, contributing to the film's intense atmosphere.
2. *No Country for Old Men* (2007)
In *No Country for Old Men*, much of the film is devoid of music and dialogue, making the sounds that do appear all the more impactful. Sound editor Skip Lievsay explains that suspense films typically rely on music to guide the audience, but the Coen brothers wanted to strip that away. This decision creates a heightened sense of uncertainty, leaving viewers without the comforting structure of a score to anticipate what will happen next.
Silence is masterfully employed in the scene where Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) waits in a hotel room for his pursuer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). With minimal sound, the tension builds as only the faintest noises break the stillness, urging the audience to hold their breath. Ethan Coen remarks that 'Josh’s character is straining to hear, and you want to be in his point of view, straining alongside him.' The distant phone ring and soft footsteps heighten the suspense before the explosive gunfire erupts.
1. *Saving Private Ryan* (1998)
To emphasize the brutal reality of war, director Steven Spielberg deliberately excluded music from the battle scenes of *Saving Private Ryan*. With only screams and gunfire, these sequences are stripped of any cinematic comfort, making the chaos of battle feel all the more immediate and terrifying. The sheer volume of the war's violence makes the rare moments of silence all the more striking. Sound designer Gary Rydstrom recalls the Omaha beach scene, where the camera moves between above and below the sea, noting that 'Above water, the battle is chaos, its cacophony. Underwater it goes completely away.'
The sensation of silence is heightened during the scene where Captain John H. Miller (played by Tom Hanks) is shell-shocked. Spielberg's idea was for Miller to experience the battle without normal sound, offering a unique perspective into his mental state. Rydstrom crafted this effect by playing ocean sounds through a speaker and then capturing the muffled audio through a microphone placed at the end of a long tube, creating an eerie and disorienting experience of Miller’s shell shock.
