Interstellar, the adored film-bro favorite, celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year. Both celebrated for this film and famous in their respective fields, director Christopher Nolan and composer Hans Zimmer form an unstoppable duo. Their partnership is a masterful duet, where their music and cinematography don’t just coexist—they interlace.
Interstellar follows Joseph Cooper, a former NASA test pilot in a world dying by dust storms. Cooper is tasked with piloting the Endurance spacecraft through a wormhole to find a new habitable planet and save the human species.
“His music is what takes you from viewing a movie to experiencing a movie,” fans say about Zimmer’s compositions. This use of dramatic and complex compositions set over high-quality, dark, and dramatic cinematography is what immerses the viewer in the story, almost as though the story is unfolding around them.
Interstellar was filmed in IMAX—a motion picture file format that records on film rather than digital and is praised for its high-quality resolution and immersive experiences.
“In the IMAX format, we aggressively mixed the sound in what we call the low-end. We want you to feel the seat shaking like you’re in a rocket. We want you to feel exhausted by the end of the film, but in a good way exhausted,” says Nolan in an interview for Forbes Magazine on Interstellar. Dramatic, bass-heavy music paired with high-quality imagery creates a sense of anticipation and leaves the audience in awe. A relationship between sound and visuals makes the movies feel deceivingly real, leaving a memorable impression on every individual.
Nolan continues “[I] want them to feel like they’ve been through an experience with these characters. It’s paramount to what we do.”
There’s a reason people know Christopher Nolan’s name; a majority of the film industry now shoots their movies digitally, but Nolan continues using film. Despite the pressure to evolve with the industry, “Film will always have this wonderful richness, the analog color, and the superior resolution,” says Nolan in an interview with the British Film Institute. This is something that Nolan has continually defended with passion. He says, “Anybody who sees an original-negative print of a film shot in IMAX is looking at the best image quality available to filmmakers today.” This distinctive approach to filmmaking is what makes Nolan’s films truly immersive—the exceptional quality and high resolution allow the viewer to feel like they are inside the movie.
Zimmer and Nolan have teamed up for a variety of iconic films, including Inception, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises), with their most renowned collaboration being Interstellar.
Since its release in 2014, Interstellar has been a hit, garnering high ratings from fans and critics alike. Not only has the movie garnered a dedicated fan base, it is also highly decorated, securing multiple prestigious awards including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, the Empire Award for Best Film, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie.
What makes this film truly great, and allows it to captivate large audiences, is the ingenious partnership between its cinematography and score. Zimmer’s composition alone is enough to send chills down one’s spine, and coupled with Nolan’s filmmaking, they twist together to create a profound immersive experience for the audience. Zimmer’s compositions feature an ominous “otherworldly” sound that makes for a heart-pounding viewing experience.
Nolan’s cinematography includes very few special effects, most every scene is filmed without a green screen in completely real environments. In an interview with Alistair Harkness, Jessica Chastain, who plays the adult version of Cooper’s daughter says, “The other great thing about working with Chris, is that it’s all practical effects. You actually have things to react to as an actor, which is awesome. There’s no green screen.” Not only does this create a unique experience for the actors, but it allows the cinematic experience to feel more real.
Not only is Nolan’s cinematography mind-bogglingly realistic, but he also makes great efforts to be scientifically accurate. The film included some of the most physically accurate images of a spinning black hole ever created, earning the firm an Academy Award and a BAFTA.
With such little dialogue, the score acts as a powerful vehicle for conveying emotion and advancing the plot to the viewer.
Hanz Zimmer was tasked with conveying the heart-wrenching intricacies of Cooper’s relationship with his daughter—Murphy. Nolan came to Zimmer before he had fully written the movie and gave him only a few pieces of dialogue. Zimmer states in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he “just wrote about what it meant to be a father,” thereby using music to capture an indescribable feeling.
“I believe that Hans’ score for ‘Interstellar’ has the tightest bond between music and image that we’ve yet achieved,” Nolan states in an interview with Business Insider.
When asked about experiencing a movie in an interview at the BFI, Nolan references Interstellar saying “You experience it, and the beauty, and the magnitude of the images, and the feeling of traveling across the solar system. I mean, that’s the point of the film.”
We can’t write about Interstellar without mentioning the infamous docking scene, a fan favorite due to its thrilling and suspenseful nature that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. The audience watches as Cooper attempts to manually dock his spacecraft in the floating station; if he fails, the ship will break apart killing all passengers, ending their journey prematurely and cementing humanity’s grim fate. Footage from inside the spacecraft and mysterious spinning depictions of space harmonizes with the powerful organ in the instrumental “No Time for Caution” to immerse the viewer, making the real world melt away.
The film has even managed to stay relevant over 10 years after its initial release, online forums still have users debating and theorizing about its deeper meanings, hidden details, and unanswered questions. Interstellar’s complex and intricate storyline, spanning across multiple timelines and dimensions, has proven to make the viewer think deeply and leave a lasting impression on their mind.
With the increase of digital movies and the decline of projectors and film, seeing films that were shot on IMAX played through a projector is a necessity. Not only that but it is highly recommended that if you are to experience Zimmer and Nolan’s movies in full, you must go to an IMAX theater. “[IMAX is] a very unique experience for the audience they can’t get in their living rooms,” says Nolan in an interview with BBC Newsnight.
Interstellar in an IMAX theatre is displayed on enormous screens reaching 100 feet wide, compared to a normal 30-50ft. Captured with special IMAX film cameras, these unique theatres offer superior image clarity and detail, and the high-quality surround sound speakers with lower and louder bass shaking the room.
If you’re interested in experiencing the movie in its true form, IMAX is hosting Han Zimmer and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar in IMAX 70mm film at select theaters from December 6th until December 12th! Find tickets here: https://www.imax.com/movie/interstellar.
