Favorite surround sound movie?

[chicoaudio]

I am putting together my first surround sound system this weekend and I was wondering what are some of the great SS movies? Please list a few of your favorites and I will be heading out to the video store to try out my new system.

[cam]

To this day, still my absolute favorite is Attack Of The Clones. Other good ones are in no particular order: The Phantom Menace, Dare Devil, all three of the Lord Of The Rings, X-Men 1 and 2, and also some movies my son loves, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 1 and 2, A Bugs Life, and Dinasours.

[eisforelectronic]

Just pick up the Star wars trilogy on Tuesday, That should take care of all your surround sound needs.

[N. Abstentia]

I still use Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life to this day as demo discs. U-571 is also good, along with the others already mentioned.

[sy_lu]

Das Boot. A far better one than U-571 in terms of both movie and sound. It many ways I feel it a better test of your system than Lord of Ring alike.

[Lexmark3200]

Boy, this is a popular subject; there are just so many examples to use for surround demo purposes, but my favorites continue to be:

-U571 (DTS)
-Episode II: Attack Of The Clones (Dolby 5.1 EX)
-Saving Private Ryan (DTS)
-Gladiator (DTS ES)
-Black Hawk Down Superbit (DTS)
-Terminator 3 (Dolby Digital)
-Bad Boys II (Dolby Digital)
-The Haunting (DTS ES)
-Jurassic Park (DTS)

[Woochifer]

The DTS track on Master and Commander is probably the best one I've heard recently. It has great encirclement effect and bass depth, but it also conveys a sense of space that I've not heard from a lot of soundtracks. More than any other movie soundtrack I've heard, this one clearly demonstrates the benefit of properly timbre matching the speakers and positioning them correctly.

[Lexmark3200]

I keep hearing about Master and Commander; Im gonna have to rent that. I am a Crowe fan and enjoyed the environmental creations of "Pirates of the Carribean," so I'll have to rent Master and Commander and run its DTS track...

[cam]

I keep hearing about Master and Commander; Im gonna have to rent that. I am a Crowe fan and enjoyed the environmental creations of "Pirates of the Carribean," so I'll have to rent Master and Commander and run its DTS track...
but man is it boring. I mean this one is a sleeper. When you rent it just make sure you turn it up extra loud so maybe you won't nod off. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

[Geoffcin]

Oh here's my list;

Jurasic Park
Saving Private Ryan
Master and Commander
Blackhawk Down
Toy Story 2
X1 & X2
LOTR ROTK (long,long,long)
T3 (bad plot, great effects)

[Lexmark3200]

but man is it boring. I mean this one is a sleeper. When you rent it just make sure you turn it up extra loud so maybe you won't nod off. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Cam,

Is it really that boring? I had a feeling it have have been, so I missed it at theaters.

[sc03979]

LOTR series
Matrix series
Star Wars series
T3
Jurassic Park series
Blade 2
Hellboy
Saving Private Ryan
Latest Bond movie
Days of Thunder
Also heard the Butterfly Effect is good as well

[Lexmark3200]

Oh I forgot....also "Police Academy 2" for ultimate surround demo...

JUST KIDDING....

Yeah, I forgot to mention "Butterfly Effect" and its AWESOME DTS ES track in my list...

[bettercheddar]

Hmmm - this is an excellent topic! Okey dokey - heres my list:
1. Tomorrow Never Dies (007)
2. The 5th Element (an oldie, but a goodie)
3. Star Trek (Nemesis)
4. The Lord of The Rings (all of them)
5. Braveheart
6. Saving Private Ryan
7. Band of Brothers
8. Gladiator
9. Spiderman
10. The Others
This list is not in a ranking order - but rather films where the surround is great (The Haunting is incredible too) Damn this is a great topic!

[brulaha]

I highly second Black Hawk Down. It won the academy award for sound. Many of the other above mentioned choices are excellent as well.

[Lexmark3200]

I highly second Black Hawk Down. It won the academy award for sound. Many of the other above mentioned choices are excellent as well.

You havent heard Black Hawk Down until you hear it in DTS on the Superbit version....what a difference from the standard release Dolby 5.1 version, both of which I have owned. I now own the Superbit, and it seems night and day, especially with machine gun and bullet placement in the rears.

[recoveryone]

If you have HD system, then watch and listen to Monday night Football, about the best surround sounding broadcast ever and the picture is great too. For movies I would list the following:

Black Hawk Down ( the picture is more impresssive than the sound to me)
Rules of Engagement (the opening jungle part)
Bad Boys II (the freeway chase)
U571 (the opening depth charge part)
along with the others mention above

[Lexmark3200]

If you have HD system, then watch and listen to Monday night Football, about the best surround sounding broadcast ever and the picture is great too. For movies I would list the following:

Black Hawk Down ( the picture is more impresssive than the sound to me)
Rules of Engagement (the opening jungle part)
Bad Boys II (the freeway chase)
U571 (the opening depth charge part)
along with the others mention above

I dont know which version of Black Hawk Down you own --- the single disc bare bones, the three disc Deluxe or the Superbit --- but the picture quality on the Superbit seems like the same (perhaps slightly better) transfer as the originally HD-mastered single disc bare bones; the DTS sound, contrary to what you found, blows the picture away however. This 5.1 soundscape is enthralling in ways I cannot describe at reference level.

The Bad Boys II freeway chase is amazing in 5.1 Dolby, agreed. Stunning. And the bullets in that film have me ducking and looking over my shoulder every time; I cant imagine how the Superbit of Bad Boys II this October is going to improve upon this. Also worth mentioning in Bad Boys II (I have the two-pack set with I & II) is the part where the blonde rasta guy is shooting it out with Lawrence and Smith; bullets and panning effects rip across the surround channels with force.

[brulaha]

You havent heard Black Hawk Down until you hear it in DTS on the Superbit version....what a difference from the standard release Dolby 5.1 version, both of which I have owned. I now own the Superbit, and it seems night and day, especially with machine gun and bullet placement in the rears.

Hmmmm...maybe time for an "upgrade"! Thanks for the advice!

[Lexmark3200]

Hmmmm...maybe time for an "upgrade"! Thanks for the advice!

No problem. Seemed to me, the Superbit DTS track improved upon the initial Dolby 5.1 release; everything just seemed louder and placed more precisely; the track is simply exploding with energy on the Superbit. But be warned, Superbit titles carry no supplemental material; even the chapter selections are statically plain and difficult to navigate because they are simple scene stills from the film. If you are more into the history of this true story, get the three-disc Deluxe Edition of Black Hawk Down; although I am interested in what happened in Somalia that October, the DTS track of the stripped-down Superbit disc won me over.

[amarmistry]

How about ...

Behind the enemy lines and
The Independence Day

[Lexmark3200]

How about ...

Behind the enemy lines and
The Independence Day

Not that its bad, but the Dolby 5.1 track on Independence Day just feels like it could have been better or improved upon with perhaps some tweaking or a DTS option, which we dont get here on Fox's Region 1 release; the track is good, dont get me wrong, but for the kind of film it is, it could have been more aggressive in places.

[Lexmark3200]

but man is it boring. I mean this one is a sleeper. When you rent it just make sure you turn it up extra loud so maybe you won't nod off. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

God damn, Cam, you were right.....I was in Vegas for the past six days for my uncle's funeral, and I rented Master and Commander one night I was alone at my parents house; I ran the DTS track through my parents' surround system and while the track seemed hot, the film was just sooooo boring....my god....this was such an un-Crowe like performance; I mean, he was okay in Proof Of Life, good in Beautiful Mind and awesome in Gladiator....and now this....this was just a bad film.

[briansage]

My faves for HT:

Matrix Trilogy (3rd is the best)
Star Wars Ep I & 2
Terminator 2 & 3
Gladiator (sound depths in coliseum scenes are amazing)
The Lord of The Rings (all 3 are amazing, but I and & II openings are the best for quick wow)
We Were Soldiers