This is something I saw on Randy Thom's blog about film sound that I thought needed re-posting. The article is as follows:
Most great sound design sequences have stylized visuals, sparse dialog, and sparse music. It never ceases to amaze me how many directors think great sound means shoehorning as much dialog, music, and sound effects as possible into every shot, with the only “stylized” aspect of the visuals being shots that don’t last for more than a few frames.