# Audiophile Movie List



## m.perrin

What are your favorite films in terms of sound? I need a good list for the next time i go to the dvd store. 
These is my list so far:

The Hurt Locker
House Of Flying Daggers
Saving Private Ryan
Pearl Harbor
Blue Man Group in DTS
Star Trek

I already have a few known for there sound:
Ratatouille 
Transformers 2
King Kong


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## 1hagop

I like 
Shoot em Up
Kung Fu Panda


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## Dale Rasco

I have several on my list.
The Expendables
Kung-Fu Panda
Saving Private Ryan
War of the Worlds
Taken
Toy Story 1,2 & 3
Hot Fuzz
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Avatar
Armageddon
How to Train Your Dragon

I would also recommend visiting our reviews section and see which ones get the highest audio ratings.:T


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## taoggniklat

Master and Commander
The Dark Knight
Return of the King
KD Lang with the BBC
David Foster

All the blurays I reach for when giving a demo.


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## Cory Phoenix

Master and Commander
Iron Man 1 & 2
The Incredible Hulk
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
9
Pirates of the Caribbean TCOTBP
War of the Worlds
The Dark Knight
Kung Fu Panda
Transformers
Rambo
Fight Club

Is that all? I think so....Well, I'm sure I missed a few, but I second Dale's suggestion to hit up the Movie Reviews section of Home Theater Shack if you want to get a good idea of how tracks stack up.


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## guynoir

I'm surprised the original "Matrix" isn't in here. 
Also "The Incredibles," among others.


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## Cory Phoenix

guynoir said:


> I'm surprised the original "Matrix" isn't in here.
> Also "The Incredibles," among others.


Both are great. Anxiously awaiting the release of "The Incredibles" on blu-ray next year!


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## nova

My short list would be for the whole film, not just one or two scenes:
Monster
The Dark Knight
Star Trek: Nemesis 
The Fifth Element
Amadeus
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Black Hawk Down
2001: A Space Odyssey
Saving Private Ryan


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## Dale Rasco

I have to add The Expendables now.


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## grn1969c10

I'll add a vote for LOTR Return of the king. The battle with the elephants really shakes the house and I feel like the sound is enveloping me, pulling me into the action.



> My short list would be for the whole film, not just one or two scenes:


I have rewatched this movie many, many times and love it. Now I find myself getting fidgety when Frodo and Sam enter Mordor and Sam stops to cry at least once every five minutes. Once the tower crumbles I'm done. The ending last another 45 minutes... Sometimes I just back up a few chapters and watch the battles again!

Matt


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## Sir Terrence

I am going to add Slumdog Millionaire to this great list. As a sound designer and audio mixer, not a lot of sound tracks REALLY impress me. Slumdog Millionaire audio track so perfectly compliments the on screen action, it is almost an event itself. Sometimes very subtle, sometimes bombastic, atmospheric, finely layered, and never gimmicky like some soundtracks can get. The sound stage was HUGE in every direction, and their was constant ambiance coming from the surrounds. I felt I was there, and this sound track pushed me further in. It reminded me of a sound tracks done by the "old school masters" of mixing like Walter Murch who did the sound on Apocalypse Now

This movie should be required viewing for all film students interested in sound. This is how sound should be done:clap:


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## chas

Sir Terrence said:


> I am going to add Slumdog Millionaire to this great list. As a sound designer and audio mixer, not a lot of sound tracks REALLY impress me. Slumdog Millionaire audio track so perfectly compliments the on screen action, it is almost an event itself. Sometimes very subtle, sometimes bombastic, atmospheric, finely layered, and never gimmicky like some soundtracks can get. The sound stage was HUGE in every direction, and their was constant ambiance coming from the surrounds. I felt I was there, and this sound track pushed me further in. It reminded me of a sound tracks done by the "old school masters" of mixing like Walter Murch who did the sound on Apocalypse Now
> 
> This movie should be required viewing for all film students interested in sound. This is how sound should be done:clap:


Interesting to get the perspective of someone in the sound business. What else is on your list of impressive soundtracks Sir Terrence?


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## Sir Terrence

chas said:


> Interesting to get the perspective of someone in the sound business. What else is on your list of impressive soundtracks Sir Terrence?


Aside from the ones already mentioned, here are just a few I can name off the top of my noggin. 

Apocalypse Now - Walter Murch who I consider one of the best re-recording mixers ever (some of the other best re-recording mixers have worked under his wing like Randy Thom) created this sound track, and it was consider tour de force when it was first created in the 70's. It sounds heavenly on Bluray, and it is the first time we have heard it as it sounded from the original film mag tracks.

Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai - The original monaural soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from an optical soundtrack print, and it sounds absolutely stupendous for a mono sound track. There is LPCM 2.0 soundtrack that sounds equally good, but I prefer the mono track. 

The Thin Red Line - This soundtrack is up there with the best war movie sound tracks in the business. The dynamics are huge, LFE potent, and the surrounds are extraordinarily active. The soundtrack should be played back at as close to reference level as your system can stand. 

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes - This movie sports an excellent LPCM 2.0 soundtrack that is a natural, and right as rain. I bought it as a UK import, but it was worth every dime. 

Steve McQueen's Hunger - I love this soundtrack for its attention to fine sonic details. The music is beautifully recorded, and sound sumptuous on Bluray. 

I choose these soundtracks not just for the bombast, but for emphasis on the breath of the dynamics and audio subtleties recorded on the track. Some of them are in discrete 5.1, others in mono or stereo.


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## Dale Rasco

I think one that doesn't get enough props is Blade Runner since it was re-done a few years back.


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## Moonfly

I just have the Vangelis album and listen to that instead every now and again. I do enjoy going back to the film every blue moon though.


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## porthopeguy

A few of my picks would include:

Ratatouille 
There Will Be Blood 
Road To Perdition
Pan's Labyrinth


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## atledreier

Sherloch Holmes has got great ambiance as well. Active surrounds create atmosphere and envelop you.
Also, Toy Tory 3 use ambiance very successfully to create atmosphere. Subtle, but very effective.


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## Sonnie

For some really awesome body shaking bass, I recommend Cloverfield. However, it is one of those camcorder movies... jittery picture, which makes some people sick. I have never been a fan of these type movies, but this one was actually pretty good. I have watched it several times. I put it at the top of my list for bass.


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## Moonfly

Cloverfield was one of the first BR's I bought. I like the movie and the bass is a system shower off'er :devil:


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## blackzarg

Master and commander
Cars (pretty much any PIXAR release)

I can't think of any more very prominent ones... There are good ones, such as inception and sark knight and star trek, but M&C and Cars really stood out for me. Low impactful bass and great use of surrounds.


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## Sir Terrence

The more I read the title of this thread, the more I think it is just plain wrong. What is should say is "Videophiles movie list", not "audiophile". Let's be frank, "Audiophiles" like audio only, no video allowed in their reference systems. So calling it an audiophiles movie list would be an antithesis to what audiophiles really believe...in audio only. 

There, now I feel better. Now getting back to business. I would like to add the following movies to our current list of good sound tracks. 

Aeon Flux on HD DVD - While both the Bluray and HD DVD have the same specifications, the HD DVD version of Aeon Flux has a Dolby Digital plus sound track encoded at 1.5 mbps, and opposed to the Bluray version of 640kbps. The extra bits on the HD DVD track shouldn't make all the much of a difference, but it does. The sound design on this film is excellent, with subtle and bombast present, but the use of the 360 degree sound field(with help from PLIIx) is stunning and exemplary. There was constant ambience in the surround channels that shifted with each scene, and that injects a level of realism that more conservative sound tracks cannot achieve. 

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - is basically the same as Aeon Flux, it has spec's the same as the Bluray, but the encoding bit rate of the DD+ sound track is at 1.5 mbps. Since this sound track was manufactured strictly as a studio creation(no production elements were used except the dialog), the sound designers could go back to the drawing board, and create everything from scratch. This gives all kinds of opportunities to use the entire channel palette in the most creative way. 

I am sure as I continue to watch movies, I will have more to post.


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## movielover12345

Here Are My Personal Examples Of Audiophile Movies:

The Haunting (1999)
Titan A.E. (2000)
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
ParaNorman (2012)
The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl (2005)
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side Of Dimensions (2016)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)
Independence Day (1996)
Astro Boy (2009)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Batman: Bad Blood (2016)

Any Questions?


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