The best movies for home theater surround sound

**Scuba Diver** · **11-11-07, 03:38 AM**

I am looking for the best movies for surround sound and visual effects. After reaching 100 I will take a vote for the top 10 to 20.

What are some of your favorite movies for surround sound and visual effects?

For those of you reading this for the first time these are the suggested titles. I will add when new titles are suggested.

1. The Incredibles
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. Gladiator
4. Transformers
5. Band of Brothers
6. The Grudge movies (scary)
7. Flyboys "Dogfights scene"
8. Heat
9. Titan AE
10. War of the Worlds
11. Star Wars 4,5,6
12. Moulan Rouge
13. Apollo 13
14. Transformers
15. Twister
16. Titan AE
17. We Were Soldiers
18. U-571
19. Superman: The Movie
20. Master and Commander
21. Saving Private Ryan
22. remastered version of Top Gun
23. Four Brothers
24. Forest Gump, jungle war scene
25. Master and Commander Star Wars Episode I "Pod Race"
26. Open Range
27. Matrix
28. Spiderman 3
29. Silent Hill (scary)
30. Ratatouille "old lady with shotgun"
31. Gladiator
32. Matrix trilogy
33. Monsters Inc.
34. Lord of the Rings trilogy
35. Pearl Harbor
36. Titanic
37. The Rock
38. Independence Day
39. Outbreak
40. Deep Blue Sea
41. V for Vendetta
42. 300
43. Gladiator
44. Casino Royale
45. Terminator 2
46. Fellowship of the Rings
47. House of Flying Daggers
48. Fifth Element
49. Apocalypto
50. Event Horizon
51. Live Free Die Hard
52. X-Men 3
53. Day after Tomorrow
54. Ice Age

**Mike P.** · **11-11-07, 05:11 AM**

For me it would be the pod race in Star Wars Episode I.

**jerome** · **11-11-07, 05:41 AM**

That's not easy to find the best movies for surround sound because there are so many !!!

Here are some of those I use to test my surround system:
- The Incredibles
- Master and Commander,
- Star Wars Pod Race
- Saving Private Ryan
- Open Range
- Gladiator
- Matrix

**Big Worm** · **11-11-07, 11:07 AM**

I love pretty much anything war related. Band of Brothers is awesome!

**mikeb** · **11-11-07, 11:32 AM**

For new movies Transformers and Spiderman 3 are both awesome. For older action movies Matrix and Star Wars 4-6 are hard to beat, and my favorite type of surround, horror movies, Silent Hill and the Grudge movies have a more subtle,creepy type of surround.

**Scuba Diver** · **11-11-07, 02:47 PM**

I forgot about a couple of those. Keep them coming. I like all kinds of action and scary movies so if you have a title of a movie with great bass or sound effects that make your skin crawl then by all means post it.

**jvc** · **11-11-07, 03:15 PM**

I also use "Flyboys", the dogfight scenes.....

**Rodny Alvarez** · **11-11-07, 03:22 PM**

Check out Ratatouille

The old lady with the shotgun

**Prof.** · **11-11-07, 05:15 PM**

There is a very good old movie that I've used for many years for testing changes made to the audio side.. It has excellent surround sound and covers just about every square metre of the room..
It's one of the few movies that projects sound right up to your face..Infact you can almost believe that you're going to drown!!
Good thunder and lightning and roaring sounds with some pretty dramatic explosions thrown in as well..
The movie is Deep Blue Sea...but don't watch it if "Jaws" turned your stomach!!

**thxgoon** · **11-11-07, 08:24 PM**

Too many to list!

Gladiator
Heat
Matrix trilogy
Titan AE
Anything Pixar
War of the Worlds
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Star Wars 4,5,6
Pearl Harbor
Moulan Rouge
Titanic
Apollo 13
The Rock
Transformers
Independence Day
Twister
Outbreak

would be among my favorites...

**SteveCallas** · **11-11-07, 11:46 PM**

In terms of bringing it all together - constant surround activity, plenty of low and powerful bass, and excellent picture quality - Titan AE and The Incredibles are still head and shoulders above the rest in my book.

**bobgpsr** · **11-11-07, 11:52 PM**

add:
We Were Soldiers
V for Vendetta

**Richard W. Haines** · **11-12-07, 10:44 AM**

"Superman: The Movie". A very lively surround track and the opening credits are among the
best of all time. I saw it in 70mm at the Loews Astor Plaza and the audience applauded the
credits zooming from the front speakers to the back. The story goes that they had a different
credits sequence until they hired a company to do the trailer with the zooming titles which
were so effective, they had them redo the title sequence in the same technique.

**pgoko** · **11-12-07, 01:25 PM**

Ratatouille!!! with bass rivalling LOTR and WOTW

**salvasol** · **11-12-07, 06:38 PM**

I can't believe it ...

Nobody mentioned U-571 ... deep charge explosions

**Wayde** · **11-13-07, 08:18 AM**

I've always like Gladiator and Master and Commander for cherry picking certain scenes.

My newest fav is the new James Bond movie Casino Royale on Blu-ray using its uncompressed PCM 5.1 track, the opening scene is really alive with detail. The subtleties when he's sitting in the office ready to make kill #2, then raging gunfire that turns into the theme music. It's really a treat to behold.

**MatrixDweller** · **11-13-07, 09:17 AM**

Quote:

salvasol wrote:

I can't believe it .

Nobody mentioned U-571 ... deep charge explosions.

The Depth Charges scene is probably the most explosions per second you'll get in any movie.

The second scene (Omaha Beach) in Saving Private Ryan is still one of the best to date, although not for the weak of stomach.

The Matrix also has some good show off scenes and the techno trance music plays though nice. The scene where Neo fights Morpheus in the Dojo, where Morpheus explains the Matrix and the Lobby shootout up to the Helicopter crash is great.

Terminator 2 has some nice explosions with deep bass when Arnie is firing the mini gun then launching grenades at the squad cars from the Cyberdyne building.

The remastered Top Gun "Special Collector's Edition" or the HDDVD has some impressive soundtrack and sound effects. The tomcat flybys are pretty neat and the movies intro is a nice demo to impress your friends.

LOTR the Fellowship of the Rings The Bridge of Kazha Doom scene is one of my stand bys. There is plenty of low bass, great surround and visuals. There are many others like that in all three of the Trilogy, but that one stands out to me.

I could go on and on. There are hundreds of good titles out there.

**ArtVandalay7** · **11-13-07, 02:23 PM**

I haven't even seen the whole movie, but the gunfight scene in the house in "Four Brothers" in a demo disc of mine shakes my house--talk about an intense demo. It will make your friends excuse themselves to change their pants.

**ArtVandalay7** · **11-13-07, 02:24 PM**

and let me be the first to add "House of Flying Daggers" bean/dancing scene--one of the best demos for surround I have found.

**Big Worm** · **11-13-07, 02:33 PM**

Quote:

ArtVandalay7 wrote:

and let me be the first to add "House of Flying Daggers" bean/dancing scene--one of the best demos for surround I have found.

I agree. I actually have not seen that movie, but was at a B&M store demoing some stuff and that was the scene they used. Awesome stuff!

**Scuba Diver** · **11-13-07, 06:23 PM**

At 100 I will take a vote for the top 20.

**avaserfi** · **11-13-07, 06:26 PM**

I can't believe The Fifth Element hasn't been mentioned. Back in DVD days the Superbit was great and now the remastered BD is a great option.

**thxgoon** · **11-18-07, 02:45 PM**

Quote:

pgoko wrote:

Ratatouille!!! with bass rivalling LOTR and WOTW

Ya, Wow! The clipping lights on my EP2500 came on during the shotgun scene. That's never happened before, lol! Definitely a must add to this list.

**E-A-G-L-E-S** · **11-18-07, 05:45 PM**

Quote:

Prof. wrote:

There is a very good old movie that I've used for many years for testing changes made to the audio side.. It has excellent surround sound and covers just about every square metre of the room..
It's one of the few movies that projects sound right up to your face..Infact you can almost believe that you're going to drown!!
Good thunder and lightning and roaring sounds with some pretty dramatic explosions thrown in as well..
The movie is Deep Blue Sea...but don't watch it if "Jaws" turned your stomach!!

The difference being that Jaws was a great movie and was scary.

**yourgrandma** · **11-18-07, 05:58 PM**

White noise was pretty scary sound wise, but sucked otherwise.

There are a lot and I can't remember all of them, but 300 rocks some pretty good sound. I only have an IMAX theater to compare to, but it makes my system work pretty hard, especially with the epic soundtrack. Sweet movie. If I hit the powerball, Im gonna build an IMAX theater and watch 300 everyday after work.

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