Best First Blu-Ray Title

[yourgrandma]

I'm probably getting a PS3 tomorrow, and I must know what movie to get first.

Put taste in film aside, what is the best disc out there to show off my home theater? Which one looks and sounds the best? I'll sort through the suggestions using my own taste, so just toss em out, I will probably only get one for this week.

[John Simpson]

Heh, now there's an open question!

From what I've seen, the opening credits and the crane-jumping scene from "Casino Royale" are incredible. The sound during the plane crash in "Superman Returns" is also amazing. And any of the latest Pixar movies will demonstrate how sharp HD can be.

My subs are still waiting for "Transformers" on BR...

[yourgrandma]

I was leaning towards Casino Royale. And I figure the Superman movies must be pretty cool. I like all your suggestions. Keep em coming guys. It might come down to price. Or which one is closest to the place where I'm standing.

[MrPorterhouse]

What are you in to?

Pirates of the Carribbean (1,2,3)
Fantastic Four (1, 2)
Live Free or Die Hard
300
Cars (Amazing animated movie)

Many others and lots of great choices. My first was Kingdom of Heaven and it was phenomenal as well. My second was Black Hawk Down, which has incredible resolution and detail.

[tonyvdb]

I second Cars, it will blow your mind at the difference between the SD version and the BluRay. The audio is also very well mastered. Rush Hour 3 is also a great movie for sound as it is the fist I have tried that has the new DTS HD 7.1 soundtrack and its impressive.

[yourgrandma]

I wish I could take advantage of the new sound tracks, but my old Denon AVR-3803 doesn't decode it. While were on the topic of audio formats, if I can't decode the HD formats, do most discs also have DTD ES discreet, or do I have to settle for Dolby? If I can't have 7.1, I want at least 6.1. Is that so much to ask!?

I just watched the Cars DVD last night and it's a nice looking disc.

I saw 300 on IMAX and it knocked my socks off. The DVD is grainy, though. How does the Blu-Ray look?

The Pirates movies are another possibility. Pretty good flicks.

[wbassett]

Cars is definitely a show off title, some other stunning live action ones are:

Casino Royal (as already mentioned)
Kingdom of Heaven is incredible
A Knights Tale
Pirates (although I personally think the first one looks the best)
Spiderman

There are many but those are a few I like. The Lake House... that's one that looks almost like the SDVD upconverted so not everything is a winner... Oh... The Fifth Element remastered is supposed to look incredible although I haven't seen it yet, and don't forget about Blade Runner... The five disc set is only $27 and my brother said it looks fantastic.

[haste]

Any of the new CGI animated titles out on Blu are impressive.
Ratatouille and Cars being a couple of the best imo.

As far as live action...

Apacolypto
300
House of 1000 Corpses
Mr. Brooks
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall(Awesome SQ as well)
Live Free or Die Hard

Also check out:

Corpse Bride(most amazing PQ I have seen yet)

[tonyvdb]

I compleatly forgot the Planet Earth series on BluRay Thats got to be the best video quality I have ever seen filmed entirely in High Definition.

[yourgrandma]

I'll be picking that up. They have it at WalMart for $63.99.

I got Pirates part 1 and The Fifth Element in 1080p. Watching it now. Looks pretty good. I was very impressed with Pirates. Very cinematic.

[JCD]

I've heard Ratatouille is supposed to be just sick (in a good way) on Blu Ray.
Also, the remastered Fifth Element (not the first BR release) is supposed to be visually awesome.

Don't have BR (yet), but it's what I've heard..

JCD

[yourgrandma]

Up to this point I have: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Fifth Element, Casino Royale, and Planet Earth.

The Fifth Element is pretty good, it looks very cinematic. Some scenes look rough, but over all it looks great.
Pirates also looks great, the pirates look dirtier than ever.
Casino Royale is also very good, especially the opening credits/theme song.
As expected, Planet Earth is stunning. Although some of it looks like it was filmed in SD. Mountains is incredible.

I have been very saddened by the fact that I always have to settle for DolbyDigital sound. The Fifth Element Superbit DVD sounds so much better. Unless I could sell my receiver for $1000, I'm not getting another new one, so it would seem that I'll just have to get used to it.

[bonehead848]

A couple of my favs would be kingdom of heaven and live free die hard. Both are action packed and would make for great ht show off movies.
Planet earth is also breathtaking in HD.