Where I Watched it: Amazon

English Audio Description Provided By Deluxe

Narrated By Tanzi Alexander

I actually started rewatching all of Nolan’s films this year when I was asked to be a guest on a podcast, so I could discuss how Nolan’s films are great, and how they translate in terms of audio description. Since I’ve only been blind for the past six years, it means most of his catalog was available to me in their initial runs visually. So, I’ve seen interstellar, and I’m fairly certain a deep dive on my site will reveal my initial thoughts. I remember watching it a second time when i got the BluRay, so i believe this is my third time, but first with audio description.

It’s not my favorite Nolan film, but that bar is so high at this point. I think it is a very interesting and daring film from him that mostly works, and is especially rewarding on a second viewing. At first, you might have questions, or think the propositions he makes here about wormholes are silly, but as you maneuver through a second viewing, Nolan’s skill comes out clearly. And, honestly, Matthew McConaughey gives one hell of a performance. Watching him sit there and sob was one of the most effective shots in the film, and oddly one of the most memorable shots Nolan has put to film. In that moment, we all feel what he’s feeling, and it’s brilliant.

Surprisingly, I thought the movie held up quite nicely with audio description. This is a movie that is very visual, with Nolan’s shots being incredibly evocative and specific, and his use of cinematography and lighting being the strengths for a sighted viewer. Yes, i said lighting. that whole dust thing would look worse without proper lighting. It also has one hell of a score, and a damn fine third act. It’s likely never going to be remembered for being Nolan’s best work, but rarely do you find someone who notes Spartacus as Kubrick’s best, but it’s hard to find someone who would also call that a bad film.

My only complaint with Interstellar is that of all the films in Nolan’s body of work, this was the first film I felt the runtime, and now is one of only two (the other being Tenant), where I wonder if the editing room couldn’t have been frequented again. There is quite a lot of buildup to anything happening, and even then the journey is a long one. I think I would have trimmed 5 minutes out of the first act, and the film would be better for it.

Some characters are more relevant to the totality of the plot than others, and checking in and hoisting up characters who eventually go nowhere seems like a thankless effort. It’s one of the things that will keep Interstellar just below some of my all time Nolan favorites. It’s definitely worth watching, and tanzi’s audio description is exceptional. I do think that I would have spent more time establishing the robot character later in the film. A cursory representation of his being isn’t good enough, because he comes across almost too much like an android. The conversations he has play him a lot more like Data than Hal, so a more definitive description, or perhaps continued description as he continues to appear in a scene would be helpful.

if you are afraid of watching this science fiction film, I think you’re missing out on the story Nolan is proposing, and forgetting that the human element in any film like this is what brings us in on a deeper connection. The actors here are superb, and McConaughey arguably deserved an Oscar nomination.

But, it is long.

Final Grade: A-