THE READER is Stephen Daldry's Oscar-nominated film of Bernhard Schlink's acclaimed novel about post-WWII Germany. Blake Leyh's sound design for the film involved meticulously recreating the soundscapes of several decades of German life. Kate Winslet's character is a tram conductor, and Leyh travelled to New Orleans to make extensive recordings of the historic St. Charles streetcar system, which convincingly stood-in for it's German counterpart.

For the climactic "reading montage" scene, Leyh culled material from several hours of recordings of Ralph Fiennes reading classic literature, to create a dynamic multi-layered soundscape featuring many simultaneous overlayed texts, a veritable "literary fever dream."


For more information, visit the official site for the film.