Best movies for surround sound
 

First off, hi, hello, how are you, been a while since I've posted here. :thumbsup:

Second, I was curious if anyone here can recommend some good movies, of any genre, that are great to listen to with a surround sound system. Action, comedy, anything. Even documentaries!

My bf put up some accent shelves for me which I've put my rear speakers on, so I'm excited to start watching some real good ones :D

Thanks in advance everyone :)

Fifth Element. It is a reference movie for many home theater enthusiasts.

Fifth Element is a great one. I always liked Chicago in Surround, the difference in the way the sound carries from the regular world to the fantasy sequences is pretty cool when heard that way.

The odd one that I always liked is Metropolis. In a silent film, the music carries the film so much, and the way this was done in surround on Fritz Lang's masterpiece is pretty awesome.

there are some great things about the Surround in the LOTR trilogy.

yeah, I've got those already :D er.. lotr I mean

I had a mate who swore that the first big gun fight scene in the original predator is awesome with rear speakers (so much so that it was often played on return from a night drinking before bed). Can't say I was ever sober enough to notice when I was at his place, but there you go ;)

Black Hawk Down.

You'll be amazed.

Most any battle scene from Band of Brothers. You will be covering your head to avoid gunfire in your room.

Apocalypse now Redux is very good. The helicopters flying past caused my cat to VTOL.

300
any of the Rambos
Last of the Mohicans
Planet Earth, if you like documentaries. It makes it sound like the bugs are in the room with you. :D
the Pirates series, too.

The first movie I ever watched in surround sound was The Matrix. You'd be surprised at the number of scenes in that film that make you flinch at an unexpected gunshot from behind.

The Bourne Ultimatum. I remember when I first watching, knowing that it had the Oscars for sound mixing and editing wrapped up. The scene in Waterloo is particularly good.

2001: A Space Odyssey. The opening 25 minutes are particularly good.

The Fountain. The sound mix throughout is generally quite good, but the last five minutes particularly so.

Saving Private Ryan. The Omaha beach sequence is so particularly good it hurts.


You could also do a lot worse than listen to some well-produced surround sound music. This essentially comes in two varieties: studio albums which may have been produced as 5.1 music from the ground up or remastered from old master tapes (as is the case with just about any surround sound music before Alan Parsons); or live albums where you pretty much get the band in front and the crowd behind, and they're far less interesting. I'd especially recommend:

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 2003

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (especially Time and Money)

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Matrix is a must.

I have to say Saving Private Ryan too, that beach sequence is particularly epic!

Blade Runner too. Can''t forget some classics!

When I went hunting for my current HTIB (Samsung), I brought my Matrix Reloaded DVD to test. I found it was perfect, especially the fight in the weapons room.

Shame the series went downhill after that. ;)

I second that notion - this is my number one for showing off or testing surround.

You didn't like Neo's conversation with Captain "Concordantly". No love for Vice President "Visa Vi"?

Good, because that's my favorite series for surround sound--especially the part in FOTR where they're running through Moria.

They might as well have put a surf board in place of Reeves, it might have been more compelling.

u-571
trust me, it's the best.

Although it is total bollocks historically. :orly:

true.

But the sound is great.:)

hukkle

Hukkle (2002)

x2. The oldest DVD in my reference for HT. If you don't have better than adequate bass capabilities, don't waste your time. I had an Adire Audio Shiva-based downfiring sub that I built years ago. You don't HEAR the depth charges going off, you FEEL them going off... like you're straddling one.