# Most Excessive Sound Effect in a Movie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2003, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722 "2003-12-08T07:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/21 "2003-12-09T21:17:58Z")
The Death Star tractor beam sound effect in **Star Wars - Special Edition.** As soon as the beam kicks in I can hardly hear a word said in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon, I’m sure the original was _not_ like that ☹ ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/22 "2003-12-09T21:41:34Z")
The new scream in Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition when Luke falls down the shaft. Similar to the ricochets: The metallic scraping sound when anyon unsheathes a sword. (never noticied it until Peter Jackson pointed it out in one of the LOTR commentaries, and now it bugs the heck out of me.) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/23 "2003-12-09T22:05:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by devilsknew \* > \*\*“xhi xhi xhi…ah ah ah” > > Carpenter’s Halloween movies \*\* Actually I think that’s Not-Carpenter’s Friday the 13th movies. And that’s more a part of the soundtrack and not a sound effect so I don’t know if that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Haniver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jenny\_Haniver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Haniver)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/24 "2003-12-09T22:14:45Z")
My vote goes for the “Hey guys, the camera’s doing something impossible! Isn’t this neat?! Swoooosh!” Sound in **Panic Room** whenever Finch took his camera through the coffee cup handle/railing/walls. That drove me batty. Why is it necessary to assign sound effects to something that theorectically ISN’T THERE?! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/25 "2003-12-09T22:16:13Z")
Howyadoin, The Death Star explosion in _Star Wars - Special Edition_. Damnnear brought the theater roof down. For that matter, most of the movie was way to damn loud, and I’m not one to shy away from loudness (singer in a rock band)… -Rav ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/26 "2003-12-09T22:22:05Z")
The music crescendo during every Neo fight scene in the last two Matrix movies annoyed me no end. (not a sound effect, but certainly excessive). The best use of a sound effect in a movie was the insect sound that arose whenever the press came around in The Right Stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/27 "2003-12-09T22:53:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duderdude2 \* > \*\*In Jurassic Park, when the fat dude (Newman from Seinfeld) slips in the rain, a cartoon type sound effect plays. It sounds ridiculous. \*\* IIRC, his jeep is stuck in the mud, and he’s looking for a tree to wrap a metal cable around so the winch can pull it out. He’s holding the cable in his hands and it’s unrolling as he walks. When he falls, you hear the sound of a bunch of it rolling off the spool really quick. The excessive “singing” of the swords unsheathed in _Kill Bill_ bugged me, that’s a really annoying sound when it’s at a significant volume and it’s sustained for several seconds. LC ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/28 "2003-12-09T23:24:34Z")
Just about anything in _Armageddon_. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/29 "2003-12-09T23:49:23Z")
The streaming water sounds in [Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery](http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1800020374&cf=info&intl=us) when AP relieves himself after waking up from his decades long hibernation. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/30 "2003-12-10T00:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mellon \* > \*\*It’s not usually very realistic in any given movie but there is usually a whooshing sound when a someone trained in a martial art throws a good punch. It comes partly from the clothing and partly from the way the guy throwing the punch tenses the muscles in the upper body to get the full weight of the body behind the punch, causing the air in the lungs to exit. Look at a Bruce Lee movie in slow motion and observe how his entire body from the belt up works as he punches. > \*\* For me, it’s more prominent with kicks. It’s been years since my last karate lesson, but I loved the sound doing a sideways kick. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/31 "2003-12-10T01:23:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by labtrash \* > \*\*How about the gratuitous “ricochet sound” in every old western? \*\* And, while we’re on the subject of bad sound effects in old movies: How about that screaming parrot in _Citizen Kane_? It damn near ruptured my eardrums. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/32 "2003-12-10T02:07:21Z")
[/quote] The Death Star explosion in Star Wars - Special Edition. [/quote] You nuts? That explosion was a mere whisper compared to what it should be… Anyway, the worst abusers of excessive sound effects are shows that depict any computer use or operation - including pressing a button on the keyboard - results in a beep or a swishing sound. Maximize a window? VWEEEOOOP! Installing software? BZEEEEEEEEEBOOP! Jerking off to porn? Well, we won’t go into the FX needed for _that_ one… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/33 "2003-12-10T03:31:24Z")
The Bond movies tend to use the same divebomber-scream everytime a plane is about to crash – regardless of the type of plane. They even do this with helicopters! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/34 "2003-12-10T03:32:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bughunter \* > \*\*The streaming water sounds in [Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery](http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1800020374&cf=info&intl=us) when AP relieves himself after waking up from his decades long hibernation. \*\* Made you regret buying that extra-large Pepsi at the concession stand, did it? ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/35 "2003-12-10T03:36:12Z")
The ‘swish, swish, swiiish’ of Eowyn’s sword in the LOTR TT. I’m sure there was other poor foley work on that movie, but that one stands out because it’s a quiet scene. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/36 "2003-12-10T03:39:26Z")
Although I’m sure it was done for effect (to get your nerves on edge) I hated how **every thing** was so loud at the start of _The Exorcist_. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/37 "2003-12-10T03:40:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*How about the “whoosh” whenever anyone in a kung-fu movie throws a punch, delivers a kick, or picks up his mail? > > The “whoosh” of passing spaceships makes less sense, but I’ll admit that I miss it when it’s absent. \*\* Speaking of absent “whooshes”, what about the Superman movies. IMO, Superman has a “whoosh” when he takes off to fly somewhere. Only silence from Christopher Reeves. WTF? Mr. Ruby likes it but I really dislike the dinosaur noises that makes the windows rattle in _Jurassic Park_. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/38 "2003-12-10T04:18:25Z")
The boxing sound effects in the _Rocky_ movies always made me laugh, they got progressively worse with each installment. The blows sounded like they were made with an aluminium bat rather than a padded glove. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/39 "2003-12-10T06:15:54Z")
OH! I just remembered the thw worst offender that no one will ever top. The scene from Cabin Fever where the dude gives that chick a massage “down there”. ---
**Author:** ![Jplacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722/40 "2003-12-10T06:21:52Z")
In Goldfinger, At the beginning, Bond is with one of his lady friends pool-side. Felix walks over to Bond to give him his assignment. Bond introduces his girlfriend to Felix Bond: “Say Hello, Dink” Dink: “Hello” Bond: “Say Goodbye, Dink” Bond: “Man Talk!” and he slaps her on the ass. To make it worse, they added a really loud smacking sound. Like a bullwhip. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-excessive-sound-effect-in-a-movie/217722.md?page=3)