Mr Frank
Auditioning
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2007
- Messages
- 9
- Real Name
- Frank
DVD MOVIES WITH GOOD SOUNDTRACKS
PEARL HARBOUR (DD 5.1)
The "Pearl Harbour" DD 5.1 DVD, apparently had non functional, original type, "EX flags" mistakenly encoded during it's DVD transfer process, despite the absence of any DD-EX soundtrack.
Original type "EX flags" can conflict with some early "EX" decoder equipped processors, and cause audio drop outs. Most processors must be set to " DD-EX = ON " in order to force EX processing, because non functional "EX flags" can not successfully trigger a DD-EX decoder set to "Auto Detect".
(Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Jennifer Garner)
(Formula WW II Romance Action)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Overseas DTS version tested)
Atlantis - The Lost Empire (DD-EX, not labelled), DTS
Has functional, original type "EX flags" that can successfully trigger a DD-EX decoder set to "Auto Detect".
Original type "EX flags" can however, conflict with some early "EX" decoder equipped processors, and cause audio drop outs. (Entertaining animation)
Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone
(DD-EX, not labelled)
Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Best sound track in the series, to date)
Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban (DD 5.1)
Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire (DD 5.1)
(Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris,
Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman)
(Impressive family action adventure fantasy series)
The Lord Of The Rings 1,2,3.
All three movies have DD-EX, and/or DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 Soundtracks.
The better DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 sound track is only found in the 4/5 disc Special Extended Edition packs.
The Lord of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
The Lord of The Rings - The Return Of The King
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
(Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Sean Astin,
Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen,
Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen,
John Rhys-Davies, Ian Holm, Miranda Otto, David Wenham,
Karl Urban, Bernard Hill)
Truly epic action - Sci Fi - adventure - fantasy series.
Star Wars I Phantom Menace (DD-EX) ;
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant sound track)
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars II Attack of the clones (DD-EX) ;
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant sound track)
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars III Revenge Of The Sith (DD-EX) ;
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars IV A New Hope (DD-EX) ;
(Occasional good sound effects) (No functional EX flags)
Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back (DD-EX) ;
(Best soundtrack of original trilogy) (Decent bass effects)
(Fully functional EX flags)
Star Wars VI Return Of The Jedi (DD-EX) ;
(Fully functional EX flags)
(Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing,
Alec Guinness, Billy Dee Williams, Liam Neeson,
Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman,
Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid,
Temuera Morrison)
Truly epic action - Sci Fi - adventure series.
Jurassic Park
(Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight,
Richard Attenborough)
(Impressive Sci - Fi action adventure)
Jurassic Park - The Lost World
(Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn)
(Disappointing sequel)
Jurassic Park III (DD-EX, not labelled), DTS
(*A great subwoofer test disc)
(Sam Neill, Tea Leoni, William H. Macy) (Good sequel)
The Haunting (DD-EX, not labelled)
(*A great subwoofer test disc)
{Overseas DTS-ES version reputedly damaged speakers and subwoofers in several USA commercial movie theatres when this film was first released}
(Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson)
Otherwise not a very good horror movie.
King Kong (2005)
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant soundtrack)
(Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann)
A fantasy action movie of impressive scale
007..........Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright
(Impressive 007)
007..........Die Another Day
(DTS-ES Matrix and DD-EX)
(Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Madonna, Toby Stephens,
Rosamund Pike) (Decent 007)
007..........The World Is Not Enough
(Pierce Brosnan, Denise Richards, Sophie Marceau)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Formula 007)
007..........Golden Eye
(Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Decent 007)
007..........Tomorrow Never Dies
(Pierce Brosnan, Teri Hatcher, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh)
(Occasional good surround effects)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Formula 007)
The Terminator - Definitive Edition (1984, 2007 DE)
(Great ambience effects)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn)
Terminator 2, Judgment Day - Ultimate Edition (1991, 2003 UE)
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Great ambience effects)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick,
Edward Furlong, Joe Morton)
Terminator 3, Rise Of The Machines -DTS -
(Brilliant sound track)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Claire Danes, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken)
(Almost decent Sci Fi - Action film)
Blade 2 (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant Sound track) (Decent vampire action)
(Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson)
Blade, Trinity (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Music overpowers great ambience effects)
(Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biele, Ryan Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, HHH) (Formula vampire action)
Monsters Inc
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Entertaining animation)
Finding Nemo
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Entertaining animation) (Decent bass effects)
Pirates Of The Caribbean
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Good Period - Comedy - Action Film)
(Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley)
Pirates Of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (DTS 5.1, DD 5.1)
(Great ambience effects) (Good Period - Comedy - Action Film)
(Johnny Depp, Jack Davenport, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley)
Top Gun, Special Edition (1986, 2005 SE, 2007 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Brilliant soundtrack) (Good military action)
(Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards)
The Incredibles
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Entertaining animation)
(Decent bass effects)
The Punisher (DD-EX) (2004)
(John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
(Almost decent action)
Final Destination 2
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie) (A.J. Cook, Ali Larter)
Final Destination 3
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX, inconsistently labelled on box)
(Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Sam Easton)
(Great ambience effects) (Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Immortal
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Linda Hardy,Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling)
(Decent, imaginative, but sometimes slow and cryptic live/animated character blend, fantasy Sci - Fi)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great Ambience effects in this decent kids fantasy film)
(Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor)
Titanic, Special Edition
Titanic - Deluxe Collector’s Edition (1997, 2005 SE;CE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete and DD-EX)
(Inconsistent labels on Deluxe Collector’s Edition box)
(Kate Winslet, Leonardo Di Caprio, Billy Zane)
(A Romance - Adventure - Disaster film of impressive scale)
(Great ambience effects)
The Village
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody)
(Slow, but otherwise decent suspense drama)
(Great ambience effects)
Cars
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Entertaining animation)
X-Men 1 DD, X-Men 1.5 -DTS-
X-Men 2 -DTS- (Brilliant Sound track)
X-Men 3 The Last Stand (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen,
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Ray Park,
Tyler Mane, James Marsden, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming,
Kelsey Grammer)
(X-Men 1 and 2 are impressive Sci Fi action films;
X-Men 3 is decent)
Snakes On A Plane
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips)
(Great ambience effects) (Almost decent action film)
Toy Story - 10th Anniversary Edition (1995, 2005 AE)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Entertaining animation)
Toy Story 2, Special Edition (1999, 2005 SE)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Entertaining animation)
The Running Man, Special Edition (1987, 2006 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Dawson, Jesse Ventura,
Maria Conchita Alonso)
(Almost decent action Sci-Fi) (Great ambience effects)
Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence (DTS, not labelled on box)
(Great ambience effects)
(Overly philosophical, almost decent Japanese Sci-Fi Anime)
Resident Evil -DTS-
(Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius)
(Formula zombie action film)
Resident Evil - Apocalypse
(Powerful, brilliant sound track) (Decent bass effects)
(Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann)
(Decent zombie action film)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
(Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel,
Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski)
A truly chilling horror movie, based on actual events.
Avoid non 5.1 versions of the original 1974 movie.
(Great ambience effects) (Current DTS version not tested)
Godzilla (1998)
(Jean Reno, Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria)
(Decent bass effects)
(Sci - Fi action film with pointless fun)
The Sum Of All Fears
Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell
(Decent espionage action film) (Soundtrack gradually improves)
The Day After Tomorrow -DTS-
(Brilliant Sound track) (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal)
(A Sci - Fi disaster action movie of impressive scale)
The Crimson Rivers
(Good French thriller) (Great ambience effects)
(Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares)
The Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels Of The Apocalypse
(Jean Reno, Christopher Lee, Benoit Magimel)
(Almost decent French thriller)
Man on Fire -DTS-
(Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken,
Marc Anthony, Rachel Ticotin)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Good action/drama)
I robot -DTS-
(Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan) (Good action Sci - Fi)
The Mummy -DTS-
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
The Mummy Returns -DTS-
(Both original DD releases not tested)
(Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah)
(Both are impressive action adventure fantasy films)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
(Original DTS release tested) (Great ambience effects)
(2004 "Explosive Extended Edition" is only DD)
(Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox)
(Impressive espionage-action film and sequel)
Kill Bill Vol 1 -DTS-
(Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Michael Madsen)
(A martial arts masterpiece) (Occasional good sound effects)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -DTS-
(Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Shane West, Richard Roxburgh)
(Fantasy action film with pointless fun)
Gladiator -DTS-
(Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed,
Djimon Hounsou)
(Impressive Roman gladiator film) (Great ambience effects)
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(Great ambience effects)
(Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies)
(Impressive action adventure)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(Great ambience effects)
(Harrison Ford and Sean Connery)
(Impressive action adventure)
Dragon Heart
Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, David Thewlis
(Decent family Fantasy adventure)
Independence Day (1996)
(Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid)
(Original DD release rear panning effects not powerful)
(2007 DD only "Definitive Edition" is incorrectly labelled with DTS soundtrack)
(DTS version not tested) (Good action Sci - Fi)
Underworld
(Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Scott Speedman)
(An impressive vampire VS werewolf action film)
(Brilliant Sound track)
Underworld Evolution
(Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Scott Speedman,Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi)
(Good vampire action sequel) (Brilliant soundtrack)
We Were Soldiers
(Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear) (Brilliant Sound track)
(A good Vietnam War movie)
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
(Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor)
(Almost decent action - adventure) (Great ambience effects)
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2, Cradle of Life
(Decent action - adventure)
(Angelina Jolie, Djimon Hounsou, Noah Taylor)
The Fast And The Furious -DTS-
(Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez)
(Decent street car action)
2 Fast 2 Furious
(Paul Walker, Eva Mendes, Tyrese, Cole Hauser)
(Formula street car action)
The Lion King, Special Edition -DTS- (1994, 2004 SE)
(Entertaining animation) (Great ambience effects)
(Original Theatrical Release DD soundtrack is only average)
The Hunted
(Great ambience effects) (Otherwise not a very good movie)
(Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen)
Torque
(Martin Henderson, Ice Cube)
(Otherwise not a very good motorbike action movie)
Hellboy
(Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt)
(Impressive action fantasy Sci - Fi film, based on a comic strip)
Tears Of The Sun
(Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci) (Sound track gradually improves)
(Decent military action drama)
Master and Commander -DTS-
(Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany in an impressive period naval film)
(Brilliant Sound track)
The Fifth Element
(Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker)
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Impressive Sci - Fi action comedy)
Dare Devil -DTS-
(Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan)
(Entertaining comic book based action)
Minority Report -DTS-
(Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max Von Sydow, Samantha Morton)
(Impressive Sci Fi)
Saving Private Ryan
(Tom Hanks, Matt Damon,Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel,
Giovanni Ribisi, Ted Danson)
(Impressive, gritty, graphic WW II action)
(Brilliant Sound track) (Current DTS version not tested)
(Decent bass effects)
Ronin (1997)
(Impressive action thriller) (Decent bass effects)
Original DD release has a more dynamic soundtrack than the
DTS 2005 "Gold Edition". (Judgement was confirmed by SPL tests)
(Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean, Natascha McElhone)
Black Hawk Down
(Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore)
(Impressive, gritty, graphic military action, based on real events)
Paycheck
(Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman)
(Under rated, decent Sci - Fi action)
Spiderman
(Rear surround effects not powerful)
Spiderman 2 (Brilliant Soundtrack)
(Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris)
(Entertaining comic book based action films)
Van Helsing
(Kate Beckinsale, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham)
(Good vampire - werewolf action film)
Swordfish
(John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle)
(Decent action film)
Apocalypse Now - Redux
(Classic Vietnam war movie with Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen,
Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, Sam Bottoms,
Harrison Ford) (Great ambience effects)
S.W.A.T.
(Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J)
(Almost decent Police action)
Ice Age
(Current DTS version not tested) (Great ambience effects)
(Entertaining animation)
Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown
(Great ambience effects) (Decent bass effects)
(Entertaining animation)
Gothika
(Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr, Penelope Cruz)
(Great ambience effects) (Formula horror - thriller with loose ends)
The Last Samurai
(Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, William Atherton)
(Good period action film)
Pitch Black
(Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell) (Decent Sci - Fi action)
The Chronicles Of Riddick
(Brilliant Sound track) (Formula Sci - Fi action)
(Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos)
Hero
(Jet Li, Zhang Zi Yi in a Chinese martial arts classic)
(Great ambience effects)
The Ring
(Hollywood version) Original Japanese version not tested.
(An impressive horror movie with great ambience effects)
(Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson)
Bad Boys 2
(Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano)
(Almost decent action comedy except for unrealistic ending)
Charlie's Angels 2 - Full Throttle
(Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, Robert Patrick,
Matt LeBlanc, John Cleese)
(Formula action) (Occasional good sound effects)
True Lies
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold)
(Good espionage - action film) (Great ambience effects)
Speed -DTS-
(Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels)
(Original DD release not tested) (Impressive police action film)
Die Hard -DTS-
(Even DTS version only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Original DD release not tested)
(Impressive action film with Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia,
Reginald Vel Johnson, Alan Rickman)
Die Hard, With A Vengeance (Die Hard Part 3)
(Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons) (Good action film)
(Great ambience effects)
The Matrix
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
The Matrix Reloaded
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Film continuity improved by skipping almost entire "Zion" sequence)
The Matrix Revolutions
(Occasional good sound effects)
(Needs more martial arts fight scenes)
(Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Monica Bellucci, Joe Pantoliano, Gloria Foster, Lambert Wilson,
Jada Pinkett Smith, Harry J. Lennix)
End Of Days
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Rod Steiger, Robin Tunney,
Kevin Pollak) (Formula fantasy action film)
Spy Kids 3-D Game Over
(Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara,
Ricardo Montalban, Sylvester Stallone, Salma Hayek, Elijah Wood)
(Decent Kids action Sci - Fi film)
Event Horizon
(Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill)
(Under rated, decent Sci - Fi horror)
(Original DD release only sounds good on a # high powered system)
Current DTS version not tested.
The Patriot
(Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger in an impressive period piece)
Enemy At The Gates -DTS-
(Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Ron Pearlman)
(Impressive historically based WW II action - drama)
The Grudge
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
(Sarah Michelle Gellar and Bill Pullman)
(The Japanese DTS version has not been tested)
Fight Club
(Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham)
(An impressive action thriller) (Great ambience effects)
Cast Away
(Great ambience effects) (Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt)
(Decent adventure)
Face/Off (John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Gina Gershon)
(Otherwise not a very good action movie)
Behind Enemy Lines
(Current DTS version not tested) (Formula war action)
(Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson)
Alien VS Predator -DTS-
(Brilliant sound track)
(Otherwise not a very good Sci - Fi action film)
(Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner)
The Italian Job (2003)
(Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland,
Jason Statham)
(Decent action) (Occasional good sound effects)
U-571
(Brilliant soundtrack) (Decent bass effects)
(Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keital, Bill Paxton)
(Good WW II submarine film)
Das Boot - The Director's Cut
(Superbit version has DTS soundtrack) (Great ambience effects)
(Standard DVD with DD soundtrack not tested)
(Impressive, gritty, realistic WW II submarine movie)
(Jurgen Prochnow)
Lost In Space
(Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham)
(Decent Sci - Fi action)
Batman Forever
(Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey)
(Entertaining comic book based action)
(Current DTS version not tested)
Batman And Robin
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Chris O'Donnell)
(Mildly entertaining comic book based action)
(Current DTS version not tested)
Batman Begins
(Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine,
Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman)
(The best Batman movie yet)
The Forgotten
(Great ambience effects) (Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards)
(Almost decent Sci - Fi, but has a very poor ending)
The Hulk -DTS-
(Eric Bana, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott)
(Otherwise not a very good comic book based action film)
Con Air
(Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Ving Rhames,
Steve Buscemi, David Chappelle/comedian)
(Nicolas Cage dialogue is over the top, but otherwise an almost decent action film)
Airforce 1 (Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman) (Formula action)
Twister -DTS-
(Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt) (Decent action)
Thirteen Ghosts
(Tony Shalhoub, Shannon Elizabeth)
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Red Planet
(Val Kilmer, Carrie- Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Simon Baker)
(Occasional good sound effects in this decent Sci - Fi film)
House Of Flying Daggers -DTS-
(Chinese martial arts classic with Zhang Zi Yi)
(Occasional good surround effects)
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
(Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Gweneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi)
(Brilliant soundtrack)
Sky Captain......... is like a weird modern day version of Fritz Lang's 1927 classic German Sci Fi film "Metropolis", but with comic book dialogue and characters.
An interesting Retro Sci - Fi Action movie.
The Missing
(Great ambience effects in a good Western)
(Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones)
The Bone Collector
(Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Michael Rooker,
Ed O'Neill from " Married With Children")
(A good thriller) (Great ambience effects)
Reign Of Fire -DTS-
(Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale)
(Formula Action Sci - Fi)
Big Fish
(Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange)
(Great ambience effects) (Quirky decent drama fiction)
Team America - World Police
(Decent acidic puppet satire)
Elektra -DTS-
(Jennifer Garner) (Brilliant sound track)
(Otherwise not a very good fantasy action movie)
Ladder 49
(John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Patrick)
(Great ambience effects) (Formula drama)
Last Man Standing
(Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken) (Formula gangster action)
(Great ambience effects)
Superman The Movie, Special Edition (1978, 2001 SE)
(Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman,
Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine)
(Dated special effects in this good Sci Fi action film)
The Aviator
(Occasional good surround effects)
(Leonardo Di Caprio, Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin)
(Impressive biography/drama)
Heat
(Most of the movie only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer,Tom Sizemore)
(Decent police action)
Armageddon
(Overseas DTS version tested) (Original DD release not tested)
(Bruce Willis , Ben Affleck , Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan)
(Decent Sci - Fi action)
Stargate -DTS-
(Kurt Russell and James Spader) (Good Sci Fi Action)
Titan A.E.
(Decent bass effects) (Entertaining animation)
Planet Of The Apes -DTS- (2001)
(Mark Wahlberg, Chris Kristofferson)
(Occasional good surround effects) (Formula action Sci - Fi)
Thirteen Days -DTS -
(Occasional good surround effects, which are purely plot driven)
(Good suspense drama based on the Cuban missile crisis)
(Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp)
Broken Arrow
(Overseas DTS version soundtrack is much better than original DD release)
(Australian DD release only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis) (Almost decent action)
Constantine
(Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou)
(Great ambience effects) (Decent fantasy horror action)
Assault on Precinct Thirteen (2005)
(Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Byrne)
(Good Police action)
7 Seconds
(Occasional good sound effects) (Otherwise not a very good movie)
(Wesley Snipes, Tamzin Outhwaite)
Dream Catcher
(Decent Stephen King horror Sci -Fi) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Morgan Freeman,Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis,Tom Sizemore)
Mercury Rising
(Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin) (Good action thriller)
(Occasional good sound effects)
Signs -DTS-
(Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix) (Great ambience effects)
(Decent suspense Sci - Fi)
The Way of the Gun
(Benicio Del Toro, James Caan, Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis)
(Decent action film) (Occasional good sound effects)
Cliffhanger
(Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Janine Turner, Michael Rooker)
(Decent action film)
Gone In 60 Seconds
(Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo)
(Almost decent action)
The One
(Jet Li acts badly, Jason Statham, Delroy Lindo)
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(This Sci - Fi action film has a decent premise)
Robots
(Entertaining animation) (Rear surround effects not powerful)
Spy Game -DTS-
(Robert Redford and Brad Pitt) (Good espionage film)
(Great ambience effects)
Hostage
(Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Almost decent Police action)
White Noise
(Michael Keaton) (Great ambience effects)
(A decent horror thriller)
The Thin Red Line
(Occasional good sound effects)
(John Travolta, John Cusack, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte)
(A Decent WW II movie with clashing diametrically opposed themes)
Brotherhood of War -DTS-
(Jang Dong-gun, Won Bin)
(Almost decent Korean War movie, except for a very bad ending)
The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy -DTS-
(Decent family Sci - Fi adventure comedy)
(Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, John Malkovich)
Riding The Bullet
(Not a very good Stephen King horror thriller)
(Barbara Hershey, Jonathan Jackson, Erika Christensen, David Arquette)
Amityville Horror (2005)
(Great ambience effects) (Almost decent horror)
Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett)
XXX The Next Level
(Formula action)
(Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Peter Straus)
A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)
(Great ambience effects) (Su-jeong Lim, Geun-yeong Mun)
(Decent, but convoluted, Korean Horror -Thriller)
Steamboy -DTS-
(Entertaining retro Sci-Fi Japanese Anime)
Kingdom of Heaven -DTS-
(Great ambience effects)
(Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson)
(Under rated, good period action film)
The Polar Express (Entertaining animation)
War Of The Worlds -DTS- (2005)
(Tom Cruise, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin)
(Powerful, brilliant sound track) (Decent bass effects)
(Impressive action Sci - Fi but original ending is "now" an anti-climax)
The Island
(Sound track gradually improves) (Good Sci - Fi Action)
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean,
Steve Buscemi.
Kung Fu Hustle
Stephen Chow (Decent Comedy - Martial Arts Action)
(Great ambience effects) (Chinese)
Land Of The Dead
Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy
(Gory and graphic but decent zombie horror movie)
(Decent bass effects)
Fantastic 4 -DTS-
(Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis)
(Mildly entertaining comic book based Sci - Fi action)
Appleseed -DTS-
(Decent Japanese Anime) (Rear surround effects not powerful)
Stealth
Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, Richard Roxburgh
(Otherwise not a very good military action film)
Flight Of The Phoenix -DTS- (2004)
Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto
(Formula action)
Alone In The Dark
Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Mr and Mrs Smith -DTS-
(Occasional good sound effects)
(Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn)
(Decent espionage action)
Serenity
(Good Sci - Fi action)
Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin
My Name Is Modesty
(Otherwise not a very good drama-action film)
Alexandra Staden, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Raymond Cruz, Fred Pearson
Doom -DTS- (2005)
The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike
(Formula Sci - Fi action)
Transporter 2
(Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta, Matthew Modine)
(Formula action film)
Saw II
(Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell)
(Almost decent horror sequel) (Great ambience effects)
Saw III
(Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer)
(Decent horror sequel) (Great ambience effects)
Domino
(Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Brian Austin Green, Macy Gray, Lucy Liu)
Occasional good sound effects. Almost decent action.
The Cave
Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Cibrian, Rick Ravanello
Almost decent sci - fi action horror.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley,
Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton.
(A family fantasy action movie of impressive scale)
Aeon Flux
(Decent Sci - Fi action) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo)
The Fog (2005)
Selma Blair, Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Kenneth Welsh
(Great ambience effects) (Decent Horror)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Decent family fantasy adventure (Occasional good sound effects)
Heath Ledger, Matt Damon, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mackenzie Crook,
Monica Bellucci.
V For Vendetta
(Great ambience effects) (Decent Sci - Fi drama)
(Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry)
Howls Moving Castle
(Entertaining retro Sci-Fi Japanese Anime)
(Great ambience effects)
Mission Impossible 3
Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne
(Good espionage-action film)
Silent Hill
(Decent, graphic horror film) (Great ambience effects)
(Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland,
Kim Coates)
The Guardian
(Almost decent action-drama) (Occasional good surround effects)
(Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Neal McDonough)
*
DVD movies recommended as bass/subwoofer test discs.
#
A high powered system refers to minimum THX Ultra and/or
THX Ultra 2 certified amplification or equivalent, and speakers with good sensitivity.
"EX" OR "ES" DVD MOVIES WITH UNTESTED OR
AVERAGE SOUNDTRACKS
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Special Edition (1982, 2002 SE)
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX)
(Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore)
Classic family Sci - Fi adventure film
(Soundtrack not tested)
Simone
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Al Pacino, Rachel Roberts, Winona Ryder)
(Sci - Fi comedy) (Film not viewed)
S E 7 E N - Deluxe Special Edition (1995, 2001 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey)
(Impressive horror - thriller film)
(Average Soundtrack)
Punch Drunk Love (DD-EX)
(Quirky decent comedy/drama with Adam Sandler, Emily Watson)
(Average Soundtrack)
Austin Powers - Goldmember
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Mike Myers, Beyonce' Knowles, Michael Caine)
(Decent comedy) (Average Soundtrack)
Rush Hour 2
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Zhang Zi Yi)
(Good action - Comedy)
(Average Soundtrack)
The Exorcist -The Version You've Never Seen (1973, 2000)
(DD-EX)
(Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow)
(A truly chilling horror movie)
(Average Soundtrack)
A.I. { Artificial Intelligence }
(DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Jude Law, Haley Joel Osment, William Hurt, Frances O'Connor)
(A decent, very imaginative but somewhat slow sci - fi film)
(Average Soundtrack)
Ninja Scroll - 10th Anniversary Special Edition (1993, 2003 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Classic Japanese anime)
(Average Soundtrack)
Corpse Bride (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Dark, quirky, almost decent animation)
(Average Soundtrack)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977 Original)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Speer)
(Not a very good horror movie)
(Average Soundtrack)
My Brilliant Career - Directors Suite (1979, 2006 DS)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Judy Davis, Sam Neil, Wendy Hughes)
(Drama) (Film not viewed)
Can't Stop The Music (1980, 2003)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Village People, Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine)
(Musical) (Film not viewed)
The Final Countdown - Limited Edition (1980, 2004 LTD E)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Charles Durning)
(NTSC, Multiregion) (Action - Sci Fi) (Film not viewed)
Freddy VS. Jason - Limited Collector's Edition (2003, 2004 LTD CE)
(DD-EX)
(Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland)
(Horror) (Film not viewed)
The Safety Of Objects (DD-EX)
(Dermot Mulroney, Glenn Close, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson,
Robert Klein) (Drama) (Film not viewed)
Secondhand Lions (DD-EX)
(Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Haley Joel Osment)
(Family) (Film not viewed)
Chicken Run (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Family animation) (Film not viewed)
The Mexican (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Gene Hackman, James Gandolfini)
(Comedy - Romance) (Film not viewed)
Ghost In The Shell, Special Edition (1995, 2005 SE)
(DD-EX, DTS - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Classic Japanese Sci-Fi Anime) (No functional EX flags)
(Average Soundtrack)
Happy Feet (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Entertaining animation) (Average Soundtrack)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning (2006)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird, Matt Bomer,
Lee Tergesen)
(Horror) (Film not viewed)
At this stage, I know of 58 Australian release DVD movies with
"EX" or "ES" soundtracks.
This number will increase, as most DVD movies in the USA are released with these formats.
User experience with "EX flag" function and compatibility, may vary according to decoder type and settings.
DVD Master List compiled by Mr Frank ..........20/05/07
Extract from official "Dolby" Web site:
Feature films originally released in Dolby Digital Surround EX (the cinema version) carry the encoded extra surround channel in their subsequent DVD releases, as well as onto 5.1-channel digital satellite and TV broadcasts. If your home theater system has a receiver or preamp/processor with Dolby Digital EX decoding and speakers to support 6.1 or 7.1 playback, you can hear Surround EX soundtracks as they were meant to be heard, with the increased realism created by the extra surround channel. As in the cinema, with regular 5.1-channel Dolby Digital playback no sonic information is lost (although you'll miss out on the heightened realism).
Current Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks contain a digital flag that can automatically activate the EX decoding in a receiver or preamp/processor. For titles released prior to late 2001, however, you need to turn on the EX decoding manually.
P.S.
Personal experience with "EX flag" function does not correlate with this statement.
PEARL HARBOUR (DD 5.1)
The "Pearl Harbour" DD 5.1 DVD, apparently had non functional, original type, "EX flags" mistakenly encoded during it's DVD transfer process, despite the absence of any DD-EX soundtrack.
Original type "EX flags" can conflict with some early "EX" decoder equipped processors, and cause audio drop outs. Most processors must be set to " DD-EX = ON " in order to force EX processing, because non functional "EX flags" can not successfully trigger a DD-EX decoder set to "Auto Detect".
(Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Jennifer Garner)
(Formula WW II Romance Action)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Overseas DTS version tested)
Atlantis - The Lost Empire (DD-EX, not labelled), DTS
Has functional, original type "EX flags" that can successfully trigger a DD-EX decoder set to "Auto Detect".
Original type "EX flags" can however, conflict with some early "EX" decoder equipped processors, and cause audio drop outs. (Entertaining animation)
Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone
(DD-EX, not labelled)
Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Best sound track in the series, to date)
Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban (DD 5.1)
Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire (DD 5.1)
(Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris,
Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman)
(Impressive family action adventure fantasy series)
The Lord Of The Rings 1,2,3.
All three movies have DD-EX, and/or DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 Soundtracks.
The better DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 sound track is only found in the 4/5 disc Special Extended Edition packs.
The Lord of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Ring
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
The Lord of The Rings - The Return Of The King
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant sound track)
(Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Sean Astin,
Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen,
Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen,
John Rhys-Davies, Ian Holm, Miranda Otto, David Wenham,
Karl Urban, Bernard Hill)
Truly epic action - Sci Fi - adventure - fantasy series.
Star Wars I Phantom Menace (DD-EX) ;
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant sound track)
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars II Attack of the clones (DD-EX) ;
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant sound track)
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars III Revenge Of The Sith (DD-EX) ;
(No functional EX flags)
Star Wars IV A New Hope (DD-EX) ;
(Occasional good sound effects) (No functional EX flags)
Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back (DD-EX) ;
(Best soundtrack of original trilogy) (Decent bass effects)
(Fully functional EX flags)
Star Wars VI Return Of The Jedi (DD-EX) ;
(Fully functional EX flags)
(Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing,
Alec Guinness, Billy Dee Williams, Liam Neeson,
Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman,
Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid,
Temuera Morrison)
Truly epic action - Sci Fi - adventure series.
Jurassic Park
(Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight,
Richard Attenborough)
(Impressive Sci - Fi action adventure)
Jurassic Park - The Lost World
(Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn)
(Disappointing sequel)
Jurassic Park III (DD-EX, not labelled), DTS
(*A great subwoofer test disc)
(Sam Neill, Tea Leoni, William H. Macy) (Good sequel)
The Haunting (DD-EX, not labelled)
(*A great subwoofer test disc)
{Overseas DTS-ES version reputedly damaged speakers and subwoofers in several USA commercial movie theatres when this film was first released}
(Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson)
Otherwise not a very good horror movie.
King Kong (2005)
(*A great subwoofer test disc) (Brilliant soundtrack)
(Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann)
A fantasy action movie of impressive scale
007..........Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright
(Impressive 007)
007..........Die Another Day
(DTS-ES Matrix and DD-EX)
(Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Madonna, Toby Stephens,
Rosamund Pike) (Decent 007)
007..........The World Is Not Enough
(Pierce Brosnan, Denise Richards, Sophie Marceau)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Formula 007)
007..........Golden Eye
(Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Decent 007)
007..........Tomorrow Never Dies
(Pierce Brosnan, Teri Hatcher, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh)
(Occasional good surround effects)
(2006 Ultimate Edition DTS version not tested) (Formula 007)
The Terminator - Definitive Edition (1984, 2007 DE)
(Great ambience effects)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn)
Terminator 2, Judgment Day - Ultimate Edition (1991, 2003 UE)
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Great ambience effects)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick,
Edward Furlong, Joe Morton)
Terminator 3, Rise Of The Machines -DTS -
(Brilliant sound track)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Claire Danes, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken)
(Almost decent Sci Fi - Action film)
Blade 2 (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brilliant Sound track) (Decent vampire action)
(Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson)
Blade, Trinity (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Music overpowers great ambience effects)
(Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biele, Ryan Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, HHH) (Formula vampire action)
Monsters Inc
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Entertaining animation)
Finding Nemo
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Entertaining animation) (Decent bass effects)
Pirates Of The Caribbean
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Good Period - Comedy - Action Film)
(Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley)
Pirates Of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (DTS 5.1, DD 5.1)
(Great ambience effects) (Good Period - Comedy - Action Film)
(Johnny Depp, Jack Davenport, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley)
Top Gun, Special Edition (1986, 2005 SE, 2007 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Brilliant soundtrack) (Good military action)
(Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards)
The Incredibles
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Entertaining animation)
(Decent bass effects)
The Punisher (DD-EX) (2004)
(John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
(Almost decent action)
Final Destination 2
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie) (A.J. Cook, Ali Larter)
Final Destination 3
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX, inconsistently labelled on box)
(Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Sam Easton)
(Great ambience effects) (Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Immortal
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Linda Hardy,Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling)
(Decent, imaginative, but sometimes slow and cryptic live/animated character blend, fantasy Sci - Fi)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great Ambience effects in this decent kids fantasy film)
(Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor)
Titanic, Special Edition
Titanic - Deluxe Collector’s Edition (1997, 2005 SE;CE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete and DD-EX)
(Inconsistent labels on Deluxe Collector’s Edition box)
(Kate Winslet, Leonardo Di Caprio, Billy Zane)
(A Romance - Adventure - Disaster film of impressive scale)
(Great ambience effects)
The Village
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX, not labelled)
(Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody)
(Slow, but otherwise decent suspense drama)
(Great ambience effects)
Cars
(DD-EX, not labelled) (Entertaining animation)
X-Men 1 DD, X-Men 1.5 -DTS-
X-Men 2 -DTS- (Brilliant Sound track)
X-Men 3 The Last Stand (DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen,
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Ray Park,
Tyler Mane, James Marsden, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming,
Kelsey Grammer)
(X-Men 1 and 2 are impressive Sci Fi action films;
X-Men 3 is decent)
Snakes On A Plane
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips)
(Great ambience effects) (Almost decent action film)
Toy Story - 10th Anniversary Edition (1995, 2005 AE)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Great ambience effects) (Entertaining animation)
Toy Story 2, Special Edition (1999, 2005 SE)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Entertaining animation)
The Running Man, Special Edition (1987, 2006 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Dawson, Jesse Ventura,
Maria Conchita Alonso)
(Almost decent action Sci-Fi) (Great ambience effects)
Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence (DTS, not labelled on box)
(Great ambience effects)
(Overly philosophical, almost decent Japanese Sci-Fi Anime)
Resident Evil -DTS-
(Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius)
(Formula zombie action film)
Resident Evil - Apocalypse
(Powerful, brilliant sound track) (Decent bass effects)
(Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann)
(Decent zombie action film)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
(Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel,
Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski)
A truly chilling horror movie, based on actual events.
Avoid non 5.1 versions of the original 1974 movie.
(Great ambience effects) (Current DTS version not tested)
Godzilla (1998)
(Jean Reno, Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria)
(Decent bass effects)
(Sci - Fi action film with pointless fun)
The Sum Of All Fears
Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell
(Decent espionage action film) (Soundtrack gradually improves)
The Day After Tomorrow -DTS-
(Brilliant Sound track) (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal)
(A Sci - Fi disaster action movie of impressive scale)
The Crimson Rivers
(Good French thriller) (Great ambience effects)
(Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares)
The Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels Of The Apocalypse
(Jean Reno, Christopher Lee, Benoit Magimel)
(Almost decent French thriller)
Man on Fire -DTS-
(Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken,
Marc Anthony, Rachel Ticotin)
(Occasional good sound effects) (Good action/drama)
I robot -DTS-
(Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan) (Good action Sci - Fi)
The Mummy -DTS-
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
The Mummy Returns -DTS-
(Both original DD releases not tested)
(Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah)
(Both are impressive action adventure fantasy films)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
(Original DTS release tested) (Great ambience effects)
(2004 "Explosive Extended Edition" is only DD)
(Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox)
(Impressive espionage-action film and sequel)
Kill Bill Vol 1 -DTS-
(Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Michael Madsen)
(A martial arts masterpiece) (Occasional good sound effects)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -DTS-
(Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Shane West, Richard Roxburgh)
(Fantasy action film with pointless fun)
Gladiator -DTS-
(Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed,
Djimon Hounsou)
(Impressive Roman gladiator film) (Great ambience effects)
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(Great ambience effects)
(Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies)
(Impressive action adventure)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(Great ambience effects)
(Harrison Ford and Sean Connery)
(Impressive action adventure)
Dragon Heart
Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, David Thewlis
(Decent family Fantasy adventure)
Independence Day (1996)
(Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid)
(Original DD release rear panning effects not powerful)
(2007 DD only "Definitive Edition" is incorrectly labelled with DTS soundtrack)
(DTS version not tested) (Good action Sci - Fi)
Underworld
(Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Scott Speedman)
(An impressive vampire VS werewolf action film)
(Brilliant Sound track)
Underworld Evolution
(Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Scott Speedman,Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi)
(Good vampire action sequel) (Brilliant soundtrack)
We Were Soldiers
(Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear) (Brilliant Sound track)
(A good Vietnam War movie)
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
(Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor)
(Almost decent action - adventure) (Great ambience effects)
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 2, Cradle of Life
(Decent action - adventure)
(Angelina Jolie, Djimon Hounsou, Noah Taylor)
The Fast And The Furious -DTS-
(Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez)
(Decent street car action)
2 Fast 2 Furious
(Paul Walker, Eva Mendes, Tyrese, Cole Hauser)
(Formula street car action)
The Lion King, Special Edition -DTS- (1994, 2004 SE)
(Entertaining animation) (Great ambience effects)
(Original Theatrical Release DD soundtrack is only average)
The Hunted
(Great ambience effects) (Otherwise not a very good movie)
(Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen)
Torque
(Martin Henderson, Ice Cube)
(Otherwise not a very good motorbike action movie)
Hellboy
(Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt)
(Impressive action fantasy Sci - Fi film, based on a comic strip)
Tears Of The Sun
(Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci) (Sound track gradually improves)
(Decent military action drama)
Master and Commander -DTS-
(Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany in an impressive period naval film)
(Brilliant Sound track)
The Fifth Element
(Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker)
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Impressive Sci - Fi action comedy)
Dare Devil -DTS-
(Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan)
(Entertaining comic book based action)
Minority Report -DTS-
(Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max Von Sydow, Samantha Morton)
(Impressive Sci Fi)
Saving Private Ryan
(Tom Hanks, Matt Damon,Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel,
Giovanni Ribisi, Ted Danson)
(Impressive, gritty, graphic WW II action)
(Brilliant Sound track) (Current DTS version not tested)
(Decent bass effects)
Ronin (1997)
(Impressive action thriller) (Decent bass effects)
Original DD release has a more dynamic soundtrack than the
DTS 2005 "Gold Edition". (Judgement was confirmed by SPL tests)
(Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean, Natascha McElhone)
Black Hawk Down
(Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore)
(Impressive, gritty, graphic military action, based on real events)
Paycheck
(Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman)
(Under rated, decent Sci - Fi action)
Spiderman
(Rear surround effects not powerful)
Spiderman 2 (Brilliant Soundtrack)
(Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris)
(Entertaining comic book based action films)
Van Helsing
(Kate Beckinsale, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham)
(Good vampire - werewolf action film)
Swordfish
(John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle)
(Decent action film)
Apocalypse Now - Redux
(Classic Vietnam war movie with Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen,
Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, Sam Bottoms,
Harrison Ford) (Great ambience effects)
S.W.A.T.
(Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J)
(Almost decent Police action)
Ice Age
(Current DTS version not tested) (Great ambience effects)
(Entertaining animation)
Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown
(Great ambience effects) (Decent bass effects)
(Entertaining animation)
Gothika
(Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr, Penelope Cruz)
(Great ambience effects) (Formula horror - thriller with loose ends)
The Last Samurai
(Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, William Atherton)
(Good period action film)
Pitch Black
(Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell) (Decent Sci - Fi action)
The Chronicles Of Riddick
(Brilliant Sound track) (Formula Sci - Fi action)
(Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos)
Hero
(Jet Li, Zhang Zi Yi in a Chinese martial arts classic)
(Great ambience effects)
The Ring
(Hollywood version) Original Japanese version not tested.
(An impressive horror movie with great ambience effects)
(Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson)
Bad Boys 2
(Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano)
(Almost decent action comedy except for unrealistic ending)
Charlie's Angels 2 - Full Throttle
(Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, Robert Patrick,
Matt LeBlanc, John Cleese)
(Formula action) (Occasional good sound effects)
True Lies
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold)
(Good espionage - action film) (Great ambience effects)
Speed -DTS-
(Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels)
(Original DD release not tested) (Impressive police action film)
Die Hard -DTS-
(Even DTS version only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Original DD release not tested)
(Impressive action film with Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia,
Reginald Vel Johnson, Alan Rickman)
Die Hard, With A Vengeance (Die Hard Part 3)
(Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons) (Good action film)
(Great ambience effects)
The Matrix
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(One of the best Sci Fi - Action films)
The Matrix Reloaded
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Film continuity improved by skipping almost entire "Zion" sequence)
The Matrix Revolutions
(Occasional good sound effects)
(Needs more martial arts fight scenes)
(Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Monica Bellucci, Joe Pantoliano, Gloria Foster, Lambert Wilson,
Jada Pinkett Smith, Harry J. Lennix)
End Of Days
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Rod Steiger, Robin Tunney,
Kevin Pollak) (Formula fantasy action film)
Spy Kids 3-D Game Over
(Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara,
Ricardo Montalban, Sylvester Stallone, Salma Hayek, Elijah Wood)
(Decent Kids action Sci - Fi film)
Event Horizon
(Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill)
(Under rated, decent Sci - Fi horror)
(Original DD release only sounds good on a # high powered system)
Current DTS version not tested.
The Patriot
(Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger in an impressive period piece)
Enemy At The Gates -DTS-
(Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Ron Pearlman)
(Impressive historically based WW II action - drama)
The Grudge
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
(Sarah Michelle Gellar and Bill Pullman)
(The Japanese DTS version has not been tested)
Fight Club
(Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham)
(An impressive action thriller) (Great ambience effects)
Cast Away
(Great ambience effects) (Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt)
(Decent adventure)
Face/Off (John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Gina Gershon)
(Otherwise not a very good action movie)
Behind Enemy Lines
(Current DTS version not tested) (Formula war action)
(Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson)
Alien VS Predator -DTS-
(Brilliant sound track)
(Otherwise not a very good Sci - Fi action film)
(Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner)
The Italian Job (2003)
(Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland,
Jason Statham)
(Decent action) (Occasional good sound effects)
U-571
(Brilliant soundtrack) (Decent bass effects)
(Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keital, Bill Paxton)
(Good WW II submarine film)
Das Boot - The Director's Cut
(Superbit version has DTS soundtrack) (Great ambience effects)
(Standard DVD with DD soundtrack not tested)
(Impressive, gritty, realistic WW II submarine movie)
(Jurgen Prochnow)
Lost In Space
(Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham)
(Decent Sci - Fi action)
Batman Forever
(Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey)
(Entertaining comic book based action)
(Current DTS version not tested)
Batman And Robin
(Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Chris O'Donnell)
(Mildly entertaining comic book based action)
(Current DTS version not tested)
Batman Begins
(Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine,
Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman)
(The best Batman movie yet)
The Forgotten
(Great ambience effects) (Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards)
(Almost decent Sci - Fi, but has a very poor ending)
The Hulk -DTS-
(Eric Bana, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott)
(Otherwise not a very good comic book based action film)
Con Air
(Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Ving Rhames,
Steve Buscemi, David Chappelle/comedian)
(Nicolas Cage dialogue is over the top, but otherwise an almost decent action film)
Airforce 1 (Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman) (Formula action)
Twister -DTS-
(Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt) (Decent action)
Thirteen Ghosts
(Tony Shalhoub, Shannon Elizabeth)
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Red Planet
(Val Kilmer, Carrie- Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Simon Baker)
(Occasional good sound effects in this decent Sci - Fi film)
House Of Flying Daggers -DTS-
(Chinese martial arts classic with Zhang Zi Yi)
(Occasional good surround effects)
Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
(Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Gweneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi)
(Brilliant soundtrack)
Sky Captain......... is like a weird modern day version of Fritz Lang's 1927 classic German Sci Fi film "Metropolis", but with comic book dialogue and characters.
An interesting Retro Sci - Fi Action movie.
The Missing
(Great ambience effects in a good Western)
(Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones)
The Bone Collector
(Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Michael Rooker,
Ed O'Neill from " Married With Children")
(A good thriller) (Great ambience effects)
Reign Of Fire -DTS-
(Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale)
(Formula Action Sci - Fi)
Big Fish
(Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange)
(Great ambience effects) (Quirky decent drama fiction)
Team America - World Police
(Decent acidic puppet satire)
Elektra -DTS-
(Jennifer Garner) (Brilliant sound track)
(Otherwise not a very good fantasy action movie)
Ladder 49
(John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Patrick)
(Great ambience effects) (Formula drama)
Last Man Standing
(Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken) (Formula gangster action)
(Great ambience effects)
Superman The Movie, Special Edition (1978, 2001 SE)
(Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman,
Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine)
(Dated special effects in this good Sci Fi action film)
The Aviator
(Occasional good surround effects)
(Leonardo Di Caprio, Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin)
(Impressive biography/drama)
Heat
(Most of the movie only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer,Tom Sizemore)
(Decent police action)
Armageddon
(Overseas DTS version tested) (Original DD release not tested)
(Bruce Willis , Ben Affleck , Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan)
(Decent Sci - Fi action)
Stargate -DTS-
(Kurt Russell and James Spader) (Good Sci Fi Action)
Titan A.E.
(Decent bass effects) (Entertaining animation)
Planet Of The Apes -DTS- (2001)
(Mark Wahlberg, Chris Kristofferson)
(Occasional good surround effects) (Formula action Sci - Fi)
Thirteen Days -DTS -
(Occasional good surround effects, which are purely plot driven)
(Good suspense drama based on the Cuban missile crisis)
(Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp)
Broken Arrow
(Overseas DTS version soundtrack is much better than original DD release)
(Australian DD release only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis) (Almost decent action)
Constantine
(Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou)
(Great ambience effects) (Decent fantasy horror action)
Assault on Precinct Thirteen (2005)
(Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Byrne)
(Good Police action)
7 Seconds
(Occasional good sound effects) (Otherwise not a very good movie)
(Wesley Snipes, Tamzin Outhwaite)
Dream Catcher
(Decent Stephen King horror Sci -Fi) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Morgan Freeman,Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis,Tom Sizemore)
Mercury Rising
(Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin) (Good action thriller)
(Occasional good sound effects)
Signs -DTS-
(Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix) (Great ambience effects)
(Decent suspense Sci - Fi)
The Way of the Gun
(Benicio Del Toro, James Caan, Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis)
(Decent action film) (Occasional good sound effects)
Cliffhanger
(Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Janine Turner, Michael Rooker)
(Decent action film)
Gone In 60 Seconds
(Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo)
(Almost decent action)
The One
(Jet Li acts badly, Jason Statham, Delroy Lindo)
(Only sounds good on a # high powered system)
(This Sci - Fi action film has a decent premise)
Robots
(Entertaining animation) (Rear surround effects not powerful)
Spy Game -DTS-
(Robert Redford and Brad Pitt) (Good espionage film)
(Great ambience effects)
Hostage
(Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Almost decent Police action)
White Noise
(Michael Keaton) (Great ambience effects)
(A decent horror thriller)
The Thin Red Line
(Occasional good sound effects)
(John Travolta, John Cusack, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte)
(A Decent WW II movie with clashing diametrically opposed themes)
Brotherhood of War -DTS-
(Jang Dong-gun, Won Bin)
(Almost decent Korean War movie, except for a very bad ending)
The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy -DTS-
(Decent family Sci - Fi adventure comedy)
(Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, John Malkovich)
Riding The Bullet
(Not a very good Stephen King horror thriller)
(Barbara Hershey, Jonathan Jackson, Erika Christensen, David Arquette)
Amityville Horror (2005)
(Great ambience effects) (Almost decent horror)
Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett)
XXX The Next Level
(Formula action)
(Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Peter Straus)
A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003)
(Great ambience effects) (Su-jeong Lim, Geun-yeong Mun)
(Decent, but convoluted, Korean Horror -Thriller)
Steamboy -DTS-
(Entertaining retro Sci-Fi Japanese Anime)
Kingdom of Heaven -DTS-
(Great ambience effects)
(Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson)
(Under rated, good period action film)
The Polar Express (Entertaining animation)
War Of The Worlds -DTS- (2005)
(Tom Cruise, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin)
(Powerful, brilliant sound track) (Decent bass effects)
(Impressive action Sci - Fi but original ending is "now" an anti-climax)
The Island
(Sound track gradually improves) (Good Sci - Fi Action)
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean,
Steve Buscemi.
Kung Fu Hustle
Stephen Chow (Decent Comedy - Martial Arts Action)
(Great ambience effects) (Chinese)
Land Of The Dead
Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy
(Gory and graphic but decent zombie horror movie)
(Decent bass effects)
Fantastic 4 -DTS-
(Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis)
(Mildly entertaining comic book based Sci - Fi action)
Appleseed -DTS-
(Decent Japanese Anime) (Rear surround effects not powerful)
Stealth
Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, Richard Roxburgh
(Otherwise not a very good military action film)
Flight Of The Phoenix -DTS- (2004)
Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto
(Formula action)
Alone In The Dark
Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff
(Otherwise not a very good horror movie)
Mr and Mrs Smith -DTS-
(Occasional good sound effects)
(Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn)
(Decent espionage action)
Serenity
(Good Sci - Fi action)
Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin
My Name Is Modesty
(Otherwise not a very good drama-action film)
Alexandra Staden, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Raymond Cruz, Fred Pearson
Doom -DTS- (2005)
The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike
(Formula Sci - Fi action)
Transporter 2
(Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta, Matthew Modine)
(Formula action film)
Saw II
(Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell)
(Almost decent horror sequel) (Great ambience effects)
Saw III
(Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer)
(Decent horror sequel) (Great ambience effects)
Domino
(Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Brian Austin Green, Macy Gray, Lucy Liu)
Occasional good sound effects. Almost decent action.
The Cave
Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Cibrian, Rick Ravanello
Almost decent sci - fi action horror.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley,
Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton.
(A family fantasy action movie of impressive scale)
Aeon Flux
(Decent Sci - Fi action) (Occasional good sound effects)
(Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo)
The Fog (2005)
Selma Blair, Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Kenneth Welsh
(Great ambience effects) (Decent Horror)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Decent family fantasy adventure (Occasional good sound effects)
Heath Ledger, Matt Damon, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mackenzie Crook,
Monica Bellucci.
V For Vendetta
(Great ambience effects) (Decent Sci - Fi drama)
(Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry)
Howls Moving Castle
(Entertaining retro Sci-Fi Japanese Anime)
(Great ambience effects)
Mission Impossible 3
Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne
(Good espionage-action film)
Silent Hill
(Decent, graphic horror film) (Great ambience effects)
(Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland,
Kim Coates)
The Guardian
(Almost decent action-drama) (Occasional good surround effects)
(Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Neal McDonough)
*
DVD movies recommended as bass/subwoofer test discs.
#
A high powered system refers to minimum THX Ultra and/or
THX Ultra 2 certified amplification or equivalent, and speakers with good sensitivity.
"EX" OR "ES" DVD MOVIES WITH UNTESTED OR
AVERAGE SOUNDTRACKS
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Special Edition (1982, 2002 SE)
(DTS-ES Matrix, DD-EX)
(Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore)
Classic family Sci - Fi adventure film
(Soundtrack not tested)
Simone
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete)
(Al Pacino, Rachel Roberts, Winona Ryder)
(Sci - Fi comedy) (Film not viewed)
S E 7 E N - Deluxe Special Edition (1995, 2001 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey)
(Impressive horror - thriller film)
(Average Soundtrack)
Punch Drunk Love (DD-EX)
(Quirky decent comedy/drama with Adam Sandler, Emily Watson)
(Average Soundtrack)
Austin Powers - Goldmember
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Mike Myers, Beyonce' Knowles, Michael Caine)
(Decent comedy) (Average Soundtrack)
Rush Hour 2
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Zhang Zi Yi)
(Good action - Comedy)
(Average Soundtrack)
The Exorcist -The Version You've Never Seen (1973, 2000)
(DD-EX)
(Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow)
(A truly chilling horror movie)
(Average Soundtrack)
A.I. { Artificial Intelligence }
(DD-EX - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Jude Law, Haley Joel Osment, William Hurt, Frances O'Connor)
(A decent, very imaginative but somewhat slow sci - fi film)
(Average Soundtrack)
Ninja Scroll - 10th Anniversary Special Edition (1993, 2003 SE)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Classic Japanese anime)
(Average Soundtrack)
Corpse Bride (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Dark, quirky, almost decent animation)
(Average Soundtrack)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977 Original)
(DD-EX, not labelled)
(Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Speer)
(Not a very good horror movie)
(Average Soundtrack)
My Brilliant Career - Directors Suite (1979, 2006 DS)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Judy Davis, Sam Neil, Wendy Hughes)
(Drama) (Film not viewed)
Can't Stop The Music (1980, 2003)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Village People, Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine)
(Musical) (Film not viewed)
The Final Countdown - Limited Edition (1980, 2004 LTD E)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Charles Durning)
(NTSC, Multiregion) (Action - Sci Fi) (Film not viewed)
Freddy VS. Jason - Limited Collector's Edition (2003, 2004 LTD CE)
(DD-EX)
(Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland)
(Horror) (Film not viewed)
The Safety Of Objects (DD-EX)
(Dermot Mulroney, Glenn Close, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson,
Robert Klein) (Drama) (Film not viewed)
Secondhand Lions (DD-EX)
(Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Haley Joel Osment)
(Family) (Film not viewed)
Chicken Run (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Family animation) (Film not viewed)
The Mexican (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Gene Hackman, James Gandolfini)
(Comedy - Romance) (Film not viewed)
Ghost In The Shell, Special Edition (1995, 2005 SE)
(DD-EX, DTS - labelled on menu but not on box)
(Classic Japanese Sci-Fi Anime) (No functional EX flags)
(Average Soundtrack)
Happy Feet (DD-EX, not labelled)
(Entertaining animation) (Average Soundtrack)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning (2006)
(DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete, DD-EX)
(Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird, Matt Bomer,
Lee Tergesen)
(Horror) (Film not viewed)
At this stage, I know of 58 Australian release DVD movies with
"EX" or "ES" soundtracks.
This number will increase, as most DVD movies in the USA are released with these formats.
User experience with "EX flag" function and compatibility, may vary according to decoder type and settings.
DVD Master List compiled by Mr Frank ..........20/05/07
Extract from official "Dolby" Web site:
Feature films originally released in Dolby Digital Surround EX (the cinema version) carry the encoded extra surround channel in their subsequent DVD releases, as well as onto 5.1-channel digital satellite and TV broadcasts. If your home theater system has a receiver or preamp/processor with Dolby Digital EX decoding and speakers to support 6.1 or 7.1 playback, you can hear Surround EX soundtracks as they were meant to be heard, with the increased realism created by the extra surround channel. As in the cinema, with regular 5.1-channel Dolby Digital playback no sonic information is lost (although you'll miss out on the heightened realism).
Current Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks contain a digital flag that can automatically activate the EX decoding in a receiver or preamp/processor. For titles released prior to late 2001, however, you need to turn on the EX decoding manually.
P.S.
Personal experience with "EX flag" function does not correlate with this statement.
