Listen: Before & After Comparison Of Bane's Voice In 'The Dark Knight Rises' Plus Deleted Scene Details

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by Drew Taylor
July 28, 2012 10:07 AM
57 Comments

If there's one thing we unapologetically love about the ambitious and occasionally irksome "The Dark Knight Rises," it's Tom Hardy and his deliciously evil voice as Bane, the muscular zealot behind much of the movie's jumbo-sized mayhem. While some audience members still claim that his voice was indecipherable, this was a much bigger problem a few months ago, when the IMAX-shot aerial prologue was shown attached to select prints of Brad Bird's "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol." Now someone has done a compare-and-contrast, while details of a brief deleted scene have also emerged.

Thanks to a Reddit post on the topic, we were pointed towards a brief Dailymotion video where someone has taken (admittedly bootleg and therefore inherently crummy) audio from both the IMAX presentation and the theatrical release, playing them side-by-side. It's true that the new audio is both louder and clearer, emphasizing the old school James Bond villain tone Hardy was clearly going for, but there's one huge difference that this cut-up example doesn't showcase. One of the reasons the original IMAX footage was harder to understand was that there was a kind of wheezy respirator noise that was threaded through the dialogue. It made Bane's dialogue even creepier and, on a narrative level, helped to explain what exactly his instantly iconic mask actually, you know, did.

While Christopher Nolan initially denied reports that he would be changing Bane's voice after complaints during the prologue screenings saying it would make sense in context, it's clear some major ADR and/or channel mixing was done. Something tells us that the original Bane voice vs. new Bane voice will be a debate (enthusiastically) carried on in nerd circles for some time. We love what Hardy was doing with the character/voice and it comes across in both examples, but there is something slightly more menacing and off-putting in the original conception. Still, we understand that Nolan and company would want people to actually understand what the evil genius is up to and we have a hard time imagining longer, talkier scenes, like when Bane addresses the city outside of the Black Gate prison, with the more mangled, crunchier, respirator-interrupted dialogue.

Elsewhere on the world wide web, the Comic Book Movie site has compiled dialogue from the official screenplay book and a screenshot from a making-of feature to give a brief look at a small deleted scene. The scene is a conversation between Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox and Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate about the fate of Wayne Enterprises stock (it comes just before Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne shows up in Fox's office). It's pretty insubstantial and goes over already-established plot threads about a possible hostile takeover of the company and if there's one thing the movie didn't need more of, it's people in suits talking about stock options. Wisely deleted. And while Nolan has never been big about putting deleted scenes on his DVDs, maybe this will make the home video edition (Blu-ray anyone?)

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More: The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale

57 Comments

| Reply
ROB WILLIAMS | January 2, 2013 1:38 PMReply

Deliciously evil? Only if you like Cheetos! WORST MOVIE VOICE EVER!!!
steprock | October 1, 2012 1:18 PMReply

***INTENTIONAL SPOILER IN COMMENT BELOW FROM BROBERT***
stereomatch | September 23, 2012 6:02 AMReply

http://www.stereomatch.com
stereomatch | September 23, 2012 6:01 AMReply

We have tried to create a Bane voice changer - search for it as BTVC voice changer - and see it's performance in our youtube response videos - stereomatch.com
Brobert | August 27, 2012 6:01 PMReply

Miranda, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, is the bad guy.
Norbert | September 6, 2012 3:12 AM

Bruce Willis is dead in Sixth Sense.
the enforcer | September 5, 2012 7:23 AM

You are a jerk. Why would you ruin the movie for people who have not seen it. It just shows you are a petty person who obviously has no friends. Hence the need to give a way the ending
bo camp | August 26, 2012 10:12 PMReply

one of, if not the worst movie I've ever seen!
ARRAY528 | September 15, 2012 6:15 AM

UP YOURs you piece of Sh!t... I'm not even a fan boy, just love movies. TDKR was INCREDIBLE.

You're just an a$$hole!
sean | August 14, 2012 5:02 PMReply

i find this video clip - just soooo entertaining! :D
poop | August 12, 2012 12:12 AMReply

People, keep in mind that any scene filmed with an IMAX camera had to be looped. The original audio was a dub as well. I LOVED Bane's voice and had zero trouble understanding. When I first saw the prologue, there were a couple of lines that I couldn't make out. I didn't mind, but the audio in the finished film is a definite improvement.
Go tigers! | August 11, 2012 9:09 PMReply

What a film. What a character. What a voice. Initially I thought bane sounded like Sean Connery on steroids, but once I'd adjusted to the uniqueness of the voice I fell in love with it. For me it created a fascinating fear that has left a smile on my face long after watching the film. Congrats on a fantastic choice, representation and voice of a memorable villain. Best voice since Vader and hannibal. "so you've decided to die with your city?"

Ps fuck off haters.
Mick
Chris138 | August 2, 2012 1:15 PMReply

I remember seeing the prologue back in December and only understanding about two things he said the entire time. When I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago it was very noticeable how much they had cleared up his audio since I could understand everything he said in that sequence. I'd say I understood just about everything he said in the movie, with the exception of after he says the line, "I'm Gotham's reckoning" and he blurts something else out that I literally could not decipher if I listened to it 5 more times. It was completely muffled and it lost me but other than that I didn't have a problem understanding him.
Bane'sLady | August 12, 2012 7:08 PM

I believe he says, "I'm necessary evil" after Daggett calls him pure evil.
tony | August 1, 2012 10:20 PMReply

Great article. Thank you.

I hope they release the movie on DVD with the original audio. Heck, they can call that version the Directors Cut.
ARRAY528 | September 16, 2012 6:08 AM

"I'm Gotham's reckoning; here to end the borrowed time you've all been living on."
DCR | August 1, 2012 3:08 AMReply

I liked what Tom Hardy did with the voice and I'm really glad they cleared it up compared to the original prologue (I couldn't even hear the last two lines at all). However, the respirator noise does compromise the audience's ability to understand him. It was still difficult to hear in the theater and also unnaturally loud at various points in the film.

Bane is a cool villain but I just wish I could understand 100% of what he says.
The Fire Rises | July 31, 2012 7:56 AMReply

The old version is hands down better I don't see the problem its perfectly audable and really coldly menacing. Props to Hardy for pulling that off. I would like to see both versions put onto the DVD it would certainly make up for my cinema experience being ruined by the fact that after the first ten minutes i sat through it like a grumpy child that just found out he didn't get the super nintendo that he had asked santa for.
If you agree and want both versions then please join my Facebook group and spread the word. even if you disagree just come and banter.
http://www.facebook.com/ChangeBanesVoiceBack
The fire rises brothers
bob kane | July 31, 2012 4:08 AMReply

the film was a piece of crap anyways!
ARRAY528 | September 16, 2012 6:10 AM

Fuck you!
Greg | July 30, 2012 9:54 PMReply

Bane's voice was awesome. I had zero problems understanding it. Would people have preferred he sound completely normal?

Great movie. Great performance.
Joe | July 30, 2012 1:07 PMReply

Clearly an improvement - but he still sounds like someone with a head cold talking into a coffee cup.
Salvo | July 29, 2012 9:39 PMReply

The rework definitely made his voice clearer but the real issue for most folks is that Hardy's mouth is covered - so his lips can't be read. This makes him tougher to understand right out of the gate - regardless of any audio processing, etc
dave | July 29, 2012 7:14 PMReply

the problem wasnt the processing on the voice, its the fact americans just dont understand non american english. in the final film banes voice was as clear as a bell to me. if anything it was far too clear really for someone wearing a mask. i understood every word with ease throughout the whole film. but it stood out and sounded artificial, it would of been better slightly muffled with a respirator effect. the only way around it really would be to have had an american voice over artist. unlikely, but i hope they put both versions on the bluray. the overprocessed final version for americans and the original version for everyone else. lol
KS | August 12, 2012 9:01 AM

@GMAN Maybe your Australian friends are just "dumb"?
gman | July 30, 2012 2:30 AM

Congrats on the dumbest comment of the year. That is not easy to achieve. Maybe you can explain to my Australian friends why they couldn't understand Bane.
Ginger in NYC | July 29, 2012 6:25 PMReply

I saw Dark Knight at Regal Cinemas Battery Park... Non-Imax. I couldn't understand Bane for most of the movie, especially when his timber would change or his voice got deeper. It wasn't until the last half I started to understand him... In the football stadium he was the clearest to me.

The theater I went to had a full polite crowd, so I didn't have to have any other noise to compete with... I know many of you praise how awesome and menacing his voice was, but neither myself nor my friend understood him. So for all the commentary on here of what people think we're the inner workings or secret winks to the audience and f-yous to the studios, the simple truth is a ton of people, even after the redub, had no clue what the heck he was saying.

So to me it wasn't menacing, just mush mouth.
the real gman | August 11, 2012 5:52 PM

Actually I digress. There was ONE Bane line I couldnt understand due to background noise. When that Hispanic police officer got shot when Banes men raided that office, Bane stepped on his neck and killed him then ordered him hung from the bridge. But right before Bane stepped on the cops neck he said something to him that I couldnt understand. It sounded something like "im on your schedule" or something like that but yet I dont think it was that. Anyone know what that was he said to him?
The REAL GMAN | August 11, 2012 5:30 PM

Imposter gman, i agree with you about Dave's post HOWEVER, there is one thing he said that was spot on. The redubbed Bane voice was clear as a bell and anyone who speaks ANY kind of English should have been able to understand him without no problems. Maybe your Australian friends have some kind of hearing issues? Now commish? Thats another issue. most of the things Gordon and a few of the other character said were either muffled or drowned out by special effect sounds or other things going on in the background.
i seriously hope you guys ross douthat | July 29, 2012 7:38 AMReply

Frankly most of this movie was poorly recorded, not just Bane. I couldn't make out dialogue a lot of the time. Fortunately for me, because Nolan is terrible at dialogue. I doubt any amount of ADR could make Bane's plan make sense.
a disgruntled fan | July 29, 2012 6:56 AMReply

Drew Is this a joke to you?! Say Spoiler Alert before you ruin potentially the best movie of the last decade. Why you acting liKe someone can't find out where your house is?
Oliver Lyttelton | July 29, 2012 9:49 AM

1) Drew didn't spoil anything 2) If you've already seen it, and called it the best movie of the last decade, why does it matter to you if was spoiled? Which again, it wasn't. 3) Don't threaten people, motherfucker. Given that we have your email address, it's not going to be that difficult for the police to find you.
pgtipsonfilms | July 28, 2012 7:30 PMReply

Using a 'crummy audio recording' is not a fair comparison. Plus, I heard Bane's voice when it first came out and had no problem then, as I didn't during the film. Have a read at my review of DKR,

http://pgtipsonfilms.com/2012/07/26/review-the-dark-knight-rises/

What do you think?
cool | July 28, 2012 6:35 PMReply

I much prefer the originals - one thing the redub does (that you can't really tell from the clip) is it actually sounds more out of place, too clean, and more clearly a re-dub. It doesn't fit his movements as well. I also don't think the redub is nearly as menacing - I love the dark darth vader quality of the original, especially with the tone of the scene. More evil and confident.

I always felt they should have rerecorded a few of the lines later on that he truly does mumble through, but speaking so so clearly and removing all the effects was overkill. Fortunately they didn't do the same with any other scenes.
Trevor | July 28, 2012 6:26 PMReply

The best way I can describe his voice is a combination of Merlin and... Gilbert Gottfried.
Lewis | July 28, 2012 2:13 PMReply

I love Bane's voice. Loved the original version in the prologue. Loved the redubbed version in the film.

My only issue is the way he says "...with no survivors" in the redub. In the original version he sounds so arrogant and cocky when saying it, whereas he comes across more angry in the redone version.

Apart from that, absolutely amazing voice, amazing performance - and an amazing film.
JoeS | July 28, 2012 1:59 PMReply

Saw it in Imax and the booming sound made it difficult to pick out certain words at times. Also, did Bane carry around a mini-surround sound system with him? I've heard of 'throwing your voice'. But, whenever Bane walked in to a scene his voice apparently was mixed high on all tracks of the sound mix. Ridiculous, and distracting.
PIKE | July 28, 2012 2:06 PM

I noticed that as well, I loved the effect though. For me it added to the whole bizarness of the character while also making his all-around presence even more menacing.
blue skies | July 28, 2012 1:54 PMReply

By loud I meant the audio.
blueskies | July 28, 2012 1:53 PMReply

I understood him completely both times that I watched the film. The theatre that I went was loud and completely silent.
zztop | July 28, 2012 1:11 PMReply

The biggest secret of the last Batman movie is the real name behind Bane's voice - Jared Harris.
Pike | July 28, 2012 1:05 PMReply

Such a staggering performance. Man, how did he come up with that voice? It's so, utterly bizarre, so unique for a character like this, he sounds like an old, English distinguished gentleman trapped in the body of a supervillain. It completely makes the character and adds a lot of mystery to him.
Topham6 | July 28, 2012 12:30 PMReply

I prefer the redubbed version, it provokes the same menacing outcome but adds personality to Bane allowing for the audience to fall in love with such a character even if he is evil.
Kenny's Mom | July 29, 2012 9:25 AM

Now Kenny, get off the internet and back into your bedroom. I don't want to see or read any more of your gratuitous stupidity on the movie forums for the rest of the week, do you hear me? It's my greatest regret that I smoked so much crack and crystal meth while carrying you, and had i been in my right mind, i would have placed a rock on you when i found you sodomizing the neighborhood cats - or that time I caught you wearing that Robin costume and jamming my good candles up your rectum. You are a terrible human being, but you are my terrible human being so please, kindly let these people continue their discussion without your ridiculously ill-informed opinions souring up the place.
sincerely,
your put-upon mother
Kenny | July 29, 2012 4:24 AM

You're a moron. The original was/IS better. And fortunately it will be reinstated in the DVD/BLURAY. It's quite OBVIOUS Hardy was delivering his lines flippant and mockingly as a big F-YOU to the Warner Bros. bigwigs that shoehorned this RIDICULOUS ADR overdub. Further evidence of this is the fact that "Crashing this Plane" was not touched. It was Nolan winking to the audience as to say: "don't worry, this ridiculous overdub won't stay in forever.

I reiterate, you and anyone who prefers this ludicrous ADR is an IDIOT.
EBo Rises | July 28, 2012 11:50 AMReply

Actually it sounds the same. If you're going to do a comparison, use the source audio. Comparing two bootleg audios that were recorded differently is pretty dumb.
The REAL GMAN | August 11, 2012 5:41 PM

Exactly. Im not sure why other people cant tell that both are actually the same. All they did was take his original lines into a sound studio and added some different levels and effects, remixed, remastered, and BOOM. There you have it. Its so hilarious that some people think the redubbed lines are also re-SAID lines.
Sam | July 28, 2012 11:43 AMReply

goddamn, i love Hardy's voice in this :)

ps. the wheezy sound makes it more sinister but also more Vader-like. the clearer theatrical voice makes it sound like it would fit with the animated series.
cirkusfolk | July 28, 2012 11:41 AMReply

Listening to these lines again (repeated here twice) just reminds me how bad a film TDKR was. Bane was completely mishandled, from his voice to his backstory to his plan etc. Blech.
The real gman | August 11, 2012 5:43 PM

Well at least this version is better than that ridiculous poison ivy version, where Bane is just a mindless meat puppet.
Danbo22 | July 31, 2012 10:16 AM

You can't say anything bad about this bane, not after.........1997. Oh and FYI I'm sick of people calling this a terrible movie if you don't like it fine, but after 1997 this by no means shape or form falls under the category of a bad batman movie. Not only that, but with all the crap out there we should be glad the film was made at the quality it was. Our expectations were high going into this, but just because it was not as good as the dark knight many people INSTANTLY said it was crap. Come on people, you don't have to like it more than TDK get over it.
Crime | July 28, 2012 11:19 AMReply

Dude should go to jail for recording & redistributing copyrighted studio owned media.

It's the law.
Ryan | July 28, 2012 11:00 AMReply

I really don't know what people are on about, not being able to understand Bane. Easily understood to me. It's just something for people with preconceived notions of hating the movie to latch onto to prove the movie was bad.
caley | May 25, 2013 2:05 PM

The final version `sounded' dubbed -- totally controlled, processed and apart from the environment. Very distracting. Every time he spoke the lack of believability pulled me out of the film -- a constant reminder of how fake it all really is.
Ryan | July 28, 2012 11:51 AM

Ok no it's not true for everyone. But I have some friends who heard reports that Bane was hard to understand from the IMAX prologue and that seemed to be their rally cry through the whole thing. Actually not sure why they even watched it. They also expect it to be exactly like the comics instead of just enjoying Nolan's brilliant interpretation.
Migilicuty11 | July 28, 2012 11:39 AM

I loved the movie but there was two instances where I couldn't understand his dialogue. I forget which scenes they were and it's not like it was whole sentences, just a couple words, that were hard to understand. It's not the movies fault because I lost a lot of the hearing in my right ear. My girlfriend, who is very dumb and doesn't pay attention, couldn't understand a lot of what bane was saying and I had to repeat a lot of his dialogue to her...so annoying to see a movie with.
Karen K | July 28, 2012 11:35 AM

That's not true. I had no preconceived anything going into it, and I loved TDKR and thought it was an incredible movie. But, I had a hard time understanding all of what Bane said. I got most of it, but I would have liked to understand all of it. It still worked, though. Bane was frickin' awesome.