CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:42 pm Post subject: Need good BR/Demo movies!

So now that the HT is actually running, I need anyone reading this to quickly name 3 good movies on BR that I can use in my theater. I don't care whether you recommend it based on a good movie or whether it's just for the audio or visual wow factor. My BR movie collection is woefully out of date, and I'll be buying used on eBay.

The g/f gave me her list last night, a bunch of good movies, but she likes a lot of older movies, which won't give me a WOW factor either in the audio or video soundtrack.

I do have Avatar and the Dark Knight, but that's about it.

So quickly, off the top of your head, give me your 3 top movies with WOW factor!

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Aeon Flux
Fifth element
LOrd of the rings
Grand Prix HD-DVD
Any of the Narnia Movies

there are sooo many

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:19 pm Post subject:

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=407008#407008

SC

**kal** · Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 5:37 pm Post subject:

Curt, click on this icon at the top of the forum:

These are all movies with cutting edge audio/video.

Kal

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 6:02 pm Post subject:

DOH! Helps if I look at my own forum!

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:47 am Post subject:

Wow I actually laughed out loud at this Laughing

jeffslife · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 4190 Location: ohio usa

Public Enemies is very detailed both visually and acoustically, its also an interesting movie. One of my favorites.

**kal** · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:35 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:47 pm Post subject:

Wow, that's really surprising, Kal… And disappointing. I'm a big Michael Mann fan, and of Miami Vice (both new and old). Mann shot the new Miami Vice movie on digital and it was beautifully done. He's kind of regarded as one of the more adept directors at shooting digitally - especially at night. Collateral was another he shot on digital. Lots of real night scenes that would have simply been impossible on film. The gain is cranked up it does make for some noisy images, but that's part of the look of the films, and it would have been simply impossible to have shot that way on film. In fact, I found the title of the article you linked to laughable… Mann is for all intents and purposes, a master of digital film-making, so I can't fathom why anybody would suggest he should "stay way from it".

I haven't seen Public Enemies, though… I'll have to check it out so I can weigh in with some authority. Wink

SC

**kal** · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:03 pm Post subject:

Please do! I do like his other work so I was surprised with some of the scenes in Public Enemies.

Kal

jeffslife · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 4190 Location: ohio usa

Taken from BLU RAY .COM

Public Enemies Blu-ray, Video Quality 4.0 of 5

As he did with Collateral and Miami Vice, Mann shot the majority of Public Enemies with high definition cameras. The resulting image boasts greater detail and more revealing delineation, sure, but it also suffers from a harsh, digitized sheen (rife with shimmering hair and underbrush) that, at times, seems at complete odds with the subjects and era at hand. Still, regardless of one's appreciation or distaste for Mann's decision, it's difficult to deny the quality of Univeral's 1080p/VC-1 transfer. Colors, though regularly bathed in warm oranges and crisp whites, are rich and rewarding, skintones are convincing, and blacks are nearly bottomless. Likewise, textures are incredibly refined (particularly in close-ups) and foreground objects pop, lending the presentation a series of striking, occasionally jaw-dropping showcase shots. It helps that artifacting, banding, and crush are never an issue (well, aside from a lingering red light haunted by macroblocking), and source noise, while a bit more intrusive in some scenes (the worst of which occurs during a late-night shootout and subsequent car chase), isn't a significant problem.

My only legitimate complaint? As seems to be the case with many a Universal transfer, edge enhancement has been applied liberally, cursing high-contrast sequences and wide shots with obvious, sometimes distracting ringing. It certainly doesn't spoil the proceedings, but it does hinder the overall impact of Dante Spinotti's razor-sharp photography, even if ever so slightly. All things considered, the Blu-ray edition of Public Enemies remains quite faithful to Mann's vision and should please fans accordingly.

stridsvognen · Guest

Thy pick up Operation Valkyrie.

http://www.amazon.com/Valkyrie-Blu-ray-Tom-Cruise/dp/B004TJ1H0A/ref=tmm_blu_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-5&qid=1412709878

I still miss to see that one do good on a digital display, so if you do a good calibration, not using any digital gamma manipulation Thumbs Up

. Its a movie who will look bad on most Projectors, and kill on a good CRT setup. It have both very dark, and very bright scenes with great dynamic range.

jeffslife · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 4190 Location: ohio usa

ALSO from BLURAY.COM The audio review.
Public Enemies Blu-ray, Audio Quality 4.5 of 5

Let me cut to the chase. Public Enemies storms Blu-ray with a thundering yet nuanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track; one that renders gunfire as deafening and frightening as it should be. Unlike Transformers 2, G.I. Joe, and other Bay-inspired modern mixes, Mann's film draws listeners in with subtly and silence before assaulting them with roaring shotgun blasts and spewing Tommy Guns. The LFE channel is tremendously successful, imbuing everything from shootouts to the swell of Elliot Goldenthal's score with genuine presence. I wouldn't watch this one if anyone in your house is hoping to get some sleep. Even so, dialogue is clean and intelligible, rear speaker activity is involving, and the soundfield continually wraps its burly arms around all those in the vicinity. Pans are just as proficient; effects practically dance from speaker to speaker. Granted, directionality is a tad spotty and several scenes are strangely front-heavy (Dillinger's first press conference is surprisingly two-dimensional), but interior acoustics are, more often than not, believable (especially when it comes to the film's prisons, banks, and hotels). Even though some viewers will need to keep their fingers hovering over the volume buttons on their remotes, it's difficult to deny that Public Enemies sounds fantastic. Enjoy, dear readers, enjoy.

napos · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Athens, Greece

For black level, this is the mother of all black level movies: Pandorum. It is so dark that you can only enjoy it on a good CRT. I can't even watch it on my Panasonic 50PZ80 plasma. Not enough contrast! The entire movie must be bellow 20 IRE!!! The only daylight scene is about 90 seconds at the end of the movie!!!
Underworld Evolution is also pretty close as far as black level.
U-571 is also great. I have it on HD-DVD and I assume the Blu-ray will be just as good.
Finally, The Wolverine (2013) is one of my new favorites for dynamic range. Tons of night scenes and daylight scenes that will test your ANSI contrast to the max!

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:38 pm Post subject:

As per my stack thread, I watched Master and Commander last night. A must-have to demo surround effects IMHO.

Turns out Barb has never seen Fifth Element, so that's going to be on tonight.