Bane Voice Comparison - Original IMAX Prologue vs. TDKR

There were a lot of complaints about Bane's voice from fans who watched The Dark Knight Rises prologue which played in front of IMAX screenings of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, about half a year ago. The complaints over indecipherable dialogue were so numerous that it had WB execs in cold sweats. With all the hits under his belt, director Christopher Nolan has a lot of creative control over his projects, so reports that he was ignoring WB's requests to remix Tom Hardy's performance seemed pretty legit. Nolan is reported to have told execs that he planned "only to alter the sound slightly, not to rework it completely."

After watching the final product up there on screen, it certainly sounded like Bane's voice was brought up drastically in the mix. So much so, that to me, it sounded like some disembodied voice from a fourth dimension that was magically heard throughout every nook and cranny of Gotham City.

This video, which provides back to back comparisons of the original IMAX prologue and the theatrical release of The Dark Knight Rises is clear proof that Hardy's voice wasn't just remixed, but that they went back and redubbed much of his performance. The audio is much clearer, and as you listen carefully, his delivery is different, or there are complete lines altered. 

This isn't too shocking considering most movies today use ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement). 90% of The Lord Of the Rings trilogy was redubbed. This was partly due to poor sound conditions during initial production, but it was also utilized to change the tone of certain scenes. In TDKR, since Bane's mouth is covered, there's a lot of room to play not just with the audio, but the intensity of the scene itself.

Check out the video and let us know if you liked the changes.

A special thanks to MrStevenRichter who cut the video together.