POLL: Favorite DVDs?

[Adam01]

Im intereseted in what those who are experienced in hi-fi audio/video consider their favorite DVDs. I have a hard time buying a DVD, because there arent many that I am going to watch again and again. But here are my top 5:

Gladiator - great battle scenes early, cinematography and soundtrack are awesome.
Lord of The Rings - an amazing epic. graphics are well done, goes without saying.
Shrek/Shrek 2 - Great movies, funny, look incredible on my plasma.
Matrix - Although its getting a bit "old", I have renewed interest since getting a plasma.
Heat - The infamous bank robbery at the end, is big, loud and in yer face. Top notch crime drama.

[Eric Z]

adam- you'll find a handful of threads in this forum asking about favorite DVDs in surround sound. i recommend doing a search and you'll find a lot. i am mentioning this because i'm not sure how many people will respond because of previous threads.

my $.02- spiderman2, u-571, saving private ryan.

[kexodusc]

"The Incredibles" is a good DVD too...

[drseid]

Master and Commander is a great showcase for a high-end surround sound system... Its a very nice film too...

---Dave

[GMichael]

Here are a few I like, in no order.

Jurasic Park III
The Fith Element
T3

Also, check out this link for a few DVD's recorded in DTS.

http://www.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?search_store=4&querytype=video%5Fdvd&format=16&qu=DTS&loc=322&dclksa=1

[N. Abstentia]

Toy Story 2 is still my favorite demo DVD and I used the beginning when I was subwoofer shopping. Only a select few could play the beginning without breaking up!

[GMichael]

I forgot Twister. Way cool to watch in HT. You'll be hanging on to the arm of your chair to keep from flying away.

[EdwardGein]

[QUOTE=drseid]Master and Commander is a great showcase for a hih-end surround sound system... Its a very nice film too..."

Ditto If this doesn't sound awesome on your system you need to do a complete upgrade!

[popolz]

Twister
We were soldiers
I, Robot
The Incredibles

[Woochifer]

I'm kinda the opposite. My DVD collection is now approaching 300 titles, and I buy far more than I rent. With new releases typically selling for $15-$17 the week of release, it's actually cheaper to wait for the DVD to come out than to go see it at the local movie theater. Depending on the price, I will buy movies that I have not seen yet. I try to avoid movie-only releases and only buy the special editions. If the movie sucks, then I will just trade it in. If the movie is good and the DVD has a lot of extras attached, then I will take the time to mull through everything. And sometimes I will buy a movie, and then watch it weeks or even months later, depending on my mood.

As far as favorite DVDs go, there are plenty of DVDs that I like to pull out and watch whenever the mood strikes. The ones that I like the best are the ones that provide a great movie, stellar presentation quality, and extras that demand even more rewatching. Anyway, here's my list:

Lord of the Rings: Extended Trilogy - This set pretty much has it all, and is probably the most rewatched DVD in my collection because of the extensive supplements. Definitive versions of a great trilogy, top notch DTS ES soundtracks (much improved over the more inconsistent DD versions found on the theatrical version DVDs), very good video quality, four commentary tracks on each movie, incredibly detailed and well produced documentaries, extensive supplemental features, etc. This is easily the best balance between a high quality movie, top notch presentation, and extensive and exhaustive supplemental materials.

Master and Commander: Collector's Edition - As mentioned elsewhere on this thread, this is a tour de force surround sound demo. Probably about as well mixed a 5.1 movie soundtrack as I have heard. It convincingly conveys both a sense of place and a sense of space. This soundtrack really demonstrates the benefits of proper speaker placement, and timbre matched surround speakers. This edition is pricier than the movie-only edition, but it has a supplemental disc with features that are worth exploring. The featurette on sound mixing is especially fascinating because it shows the lengths that the recording engineers went through to get the cannon shot sounds right.

Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition - This is an out-of-print edition that has the DTS ES soundtrack on board (the current Extreme Edition eliminates the DTS soundtrack in favor of a commentary track by James Cameron and a Windows Media version that's supposed to allow for HD resolution). The movie is great, the presentation quality still holds up very well, and the supplemental materials are very well produced. This edition can practically serve as a film school textbook because of its extensive production notes.

Superman: The Movie - A great movie whose legend has only grown over the years. This is one of my favorite DVDs because it restored the picture and sound to a movie that had fallen into disrepair over the years with one botched video release after another. In addition to an well documented assortment of supplements (a new documentary, screen test footage, early visual effect tests, storyboards, and production notes), it also has an isolated score of John Williams' superb music (IMO, this is his best movie score). The commentary track by Richard Donner also provides excellent insights (including a glimpse into the behind the scenes controversy over Superman II in which Donner was removed as director and had several of the scenes that he'd already shot replaced), and it's one of the more heartfelt commentaries that I've heard.

Citizen Kane - One of my favorite movies and a stellar DVD package. Even though the image quality has generated controversy, this movie for my viewing looks incredible for a 1941 film (some film historians have said that the digital remastering of the Kane DVD went away from the grainier look of the original cinematography, and introduced an overly glossy and slick look). The highlight of this DVD set is the inclusion of PBS' The Battle Over Citizen Kane documentary, which goes at length into the personal struggle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over the release of Citizen Kane. Roger Ebert also contributes one of the best commentary tracks I've heard.

[Tarheel_]

Here's my 5;

13th warrior - wonderful flick, plenty of action, great time period, well written and the score is incredible.

Band of Brothers - gives the 'you are there' feeling. One of the last episodes has an Army 'deuce-and-a-half' truck rumbling and i swear it sounds like your sitting next to it. Probably the most memorable scene/feeling ever in my HT!

Bourne Identity - kickin action and i love the European feel

T3 - following the first 15 minutes..its non-stop action and they destroy what seems like the entire LA area.

Ronin - best car chase scenes anywhere - great acting and your 5.1 gets a workout.

runner-up;
Behind Enemy Lines - not much for Owen Wilson, but Gene Hackman compensates - one of the best ground-to-air missle scenes - nice 5.1 workout.

[shokhead]

adam- you'll find a handful of threads in this forum asking about favorite DVDs in surround sound. i recommend doing a search and you'll find a lot. i am mentioning this because i'm not sure how many people will respond because of previous threads.

my $.02- spiderman2, u-571, saving private ryan.

Those are good,i'm with you.
I'll add Ronin and Replacment Killers.

[20to20K]

...but favorite movies to watch on DVD

Terminator 2

Hard Boiled (John Woo)

Matrix

Spiderman 2

Pearl Harbor (I actually HATE this movie...but the invasion scene is amazing)

[nightflier]

It would seem appropriate in this forum to mention those movies with excellent surround sound formats, or at least very good 2-channel sound. On my list, in no particualr order:

- Master and Commander - Always liked Crowe, even before Glad, but the sound on the high seas is phenominal. I think this one is unanimously agreed upon, here.

- Fifth Element - I bought this when it first came out (original 5.1), but the sound is still incredible, especially Diva Plavalanguna's concert. Story's a bit campy, though so I can't bring myself to spring for the Superbit or DTS version...

- Lord of the Rings (all 3 ext. eds.) - The Moria chapter has been my test-bed for subs ever since it came out. The battle at Helm's Deep, when the wall is blown up, also shakes the whole room.

- U-571 - Another great workout for subs (pun intented). Also own Das Boot and the Widowmaker, also very well done.

- Blue Man Group - This was written expressly for surround sound. Not all the tracks are toe-tappin' good, but the surround sound mix is fantastic.

- A couple that people have not mentioned: Equilibrium (great sound effects in the sword-fights), Sleepy Hollow (positively haunting), Saw (I swear I turned around), Star Gate (also good sub workout), Dreamcatcher (lots of blood curdling sound effects), The Messenger: Story of Joan of Arc (When Joan is flipping out in the woods), House of Flying Daggers (Jet Li & flying daggers - need I say more?).

- For 2-channel, I own a lot of older war movies (Tora Tora Tora, Navaronne, Bridge over Kwai, etc.). It's not surround (unless you PL it), but they are still impressive. I also own a bunch of spaguetti westerns (Eastwood films, Butch Cassidy, Once Upon a Time..., etc.). The sound is mostly mono, but there is that feeling of being in a crowded theater back in '73... Anyhow, I like them that way.

- I also recommend movies about music or that have music as a central theme (Amadeus, Pianist, Shine, Immortal Beloved, etc.)

[steamboy 2]

here's a few of my picks for great sound

SKY CAPTAIN DD EX
BLADE II DD EX, DTS ES
KILL BILL DD
TITAN A.E. THX DD DTS
RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE DD
ATLANTIS THE LOST EMPIRE THX DD
ROUGHNECKS STARSHIP TROOPERS CHRONICLES PLUTO CAMPAIGN DD
VAN HELSING DD

NOTE: TROOPERS DOES NOT USE VERY MUCH IN REAR CHANNELS AS A T.V SERIES 3YRS.AGO IT HAS BEEN REMASTERED IN DD.

VAN HELSING HAS I THINK THE DEEPEST BASS YOU'LL FIND IN ANY TITLE. ITS NOT A EX OR DTS ES TITLE BUT YOU WILL THINK IT IS.

[Woochifer]

- Fifth Element - I bought this when it first came out (original 5.1), but the sound is still incredible, especially Diva Plavalanguna's concert. Story's a bit campy, though so I can't bring myself to spring for the Superbit or DTS version...

You might want to consider the recently released Ultimate Edition DVD because it includes the Superbit/DTS version plus a new extra features disc with a good array of supplemental bits. And the list price on the DVD is lower than the previous Superbit release, which only has the movie. Sony also released Leon: The Professional as an Ultimate Edition as well that packages the Superbit DVD with a new bonus disc for a lower list price. I would expect other Superbit titles from Sony to follow suit.


- A couple that people have not mentioned:
...
House of Flying Daggers (Jet Li & flying daggers - need I say more?).

Are you thinking of Hero? Jet Li was in that movie and not House of Flying Daggers, which starred Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau.

[Woochifer]

VAN HELSING HAS I THINK THE DEEPEST BASS YOU'LL FIND IN ANY TITLE. ITS NOT A EX OR DTS ES TITLE BUT YOU WILL THINK IT IS.

Just to clarify, EX and DTS ES have nothing to do with the bass, only with the back surround channels. Some soundtracks not identified as EX or ES will still have significant back surround information encoded into the L/R surround channels, but the degree to which the back surround speakers are active and provide the backfill that good ES/EX tracks provide will vary a lot. And in other cases, turning the EX/ES decoder on for a non EX/ES encoded soundtrack will sound worse than leaving the system on the standard 5.1 output.

[nightflier]

Are you thinking of Hero? Jet Li was in that movie and not House of Flying Daggers, which starred Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau.

Boy, and I'm usually good about actors & stuff. Yes, I meant Hero, although Flying Daggers is very good too, at least the special effects are (don't quite remember the soundtrack too well, I'll have to watch it again this weekend).

BTW, another good one for those of us who like the Chinese-epic genre is Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong). It has more of a storyline, then most, I think.

[shokhead]

Not quite the same but what they have is great. The Yakuza with Robert Mitchcm.

[steamboy 2]

X2
The Day After Tomorrow
Xxx (superbit)
The Mummy Returns
The Core
Charlie's Angels:full Throttle

[Adam01]

Here's my 5;

13th warrior - wonderful flick, plenty of action, great time period, well written and the score is incredible.

Band of Brothers - gives the 'you are there' feeling. One of the last episodes has an Army 'deuce-and-a-half' truck rumbling and i swear it sounds like your sitting next to it. Probably the most memorable scene/feeling ever in my HT!

Bourne Identity - kickin action and i love the European feel

T3 - following the first 15 minutes..its non-stop action and they destroy what seems like the entire LA area.

Ronin - best car chase scenes anywhere - great acting and your 5.1 gets a workout.

runner-up;
Behind Enemy Lines - not much for Owen Wilson, but Gene Hackman compensates - one of the best ground-to-air missle scenes - nice 5.1 workout.

Nice. You just reminded me how much I enjoy Ronin and The 13th Warrior. I just bought Master and Commander, pretty much on a whim, $5.00 at my local Hollywood video. My Denon AVR is to arrive on 6/20 so............

[shokhead]

Any James Bond.

[PAT.P]

Adam What about DVD Video Pat.P

[Eric Z]

I have to add the Incredibles to the list- I watched it last night and was amazed- the chase scene in the forest is the best- also the last fight scene is quite good, too! I think they did the surround sound quite well!!

[popolz]

I've just watched IMAX: Nascar.... holy $h#t :eek:

this documentary will test your sub!

they also channel alot of voices and sounds to the surrounds.

the only downside... 4:3 :(

[J*E*Cole]

The 2 "Kill Bills" are pretty good and
"The Hunt For Red October" and "U571" are good as well."