Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Master & Commander

With all the posts around here about this movie I finally got around to watching it again.

The opening volley scared the bjesus out of my son.

I had forgotten how good this movie is and with such an incredible soundtrack its even better. I was quite impressed with the amount of rumble and shake I got out of my ep350.

This is the exact reason why anointed tarps should be an integral part of everyone's HT.

That was one of the first movies I watched with my Axioms and that first scene totally freaked me out thinking that there were people running around up on the roof when it was on the deck of the ship in the movie.

Great audio.

There was a lot of stuff like that in the soundtrack that really impressed me. After watching this movie I am surprised that there isn't more on other movies. For instance, in Casino Royalle, there was only scene where the surround really really wowed me.

I have to say, I was really a skeptic when it came to surround sound for movies when I started my audio journey. Well, maybe not a skeptic, but I didn't think it would have much impact on my viewing experience. Boy was I wrong!

If you haven’t seen it yet try out the anime movie Appleseed (2004 version). Chalk full of great surround effects that blend with the on and off screen action. The opening scene is great. Breaking glass showering down around you. Explosions throwing concrete up against the walls. Characters running up from behind and past you onto the screen with the audio following them. Shell casings bouncing all around on the floor. And IMO a pretty cool soundtrack too. I use it to evaluate every change I try with my system.

Actually there is a lot of very good surround sound on anime movies and some TV shows.

I agree that the surround sound adds much more to the movie than I expected. Based on how movies sounded in the theater I didn’t expect that much but when I first hooked up my QS8s I was totally blown away. It really enhances video games too.

I've been wondering what I should use to evaluate any changes I make to improve my setup. I'll have to check that one out.

Has anyone checked out any Superbit DVDs? I've read that the Superbit version of Das Boot is phenomenal.

Another example is any of the Harry Potter movies. Tons of great surround involvement throughout.

I have the Superbit versions of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Leon: The Professional, and Snatch. I'd say Snatch was the cleanest of the three, and I did use it when I wanted to show off my system before the high-definition formats. As for the audio, my system was a lot different back then, so I'll have to revisit it.

I own a few Superbit DVDs, although Das Boot is not among them. Greater care seems to have been taken with picture and sound on these discs. Probably the most notable difference is the general inclusion of DTS soundtrack on the Superbit discs. I haven't compared the picture quality on my current set-up with standard definition discs.

With the advent of HD, Superbit DVDs kinda died off. For a while you could pick up these titles for ten bucks or so. Not a bad deal. If I remember correctly the titles I have are: "Lawrence of Arabia," "Spiderman," "From Here to Eternity," "Punch Drunk Love," "The Patriot," "Underworld," and "Adaptation."

Oh, almost forgot. Instead of the Superbit version of "Das Boot" I opted for the original uncut version. One of my all time favorite movies, and by far the best submarine movie I've seen. If you're a fan of WWII you must check this out. I read the book, too. Just as good.

Oh, yeah, I also have Punch-Drunk Love and Adaptation.

Yeah, I appreciated them encoding at higher bit-rates. I didn't mind having bonus materials on a second disc if it meant the feature looked and sounded better.

Oh, I must admit to owning The Quick and the Dead Superbit, too. It was also good for showing off my system at the time.

I don't find myself watching bonus features all that much. I'd much rather them use the extra space to make the sound and picture better, or simply include a DTS version of the sound.

I'm still on a standard definition television and will be for a while because it will be my next big investment and I'm not going any smaller than my current 60 inch television, so anything I can find in SD with improved picture quality is a bonus.

Cam, if you can still find 'em, the Superbits are nicely priced. I can't say I was blown away by the picture quality. Maybe it was my previous set-up--Denon 2900 and Sony XBR960 on which everything looked pretty darn good.

I especially liked the pitter patter of all the little legs of the racing weevils in Master and Commander.

The BR version of this movie is amazing. It's my favorite disk to show off the speakers.

I just saw The Dark Knight at the theater....holly cow that movie has one heck of a sound track! I can't wait till it comes out on BR.

Thanks for the reminder on Das Boot. I've been meaning to revisit that one. My son hasn't seen it yet and it is one heck of a war movie.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy also sounds great. I also like to use side B of the extended edition of “Fellowship of the Ring” for listening tests since there are several good audio scenes easily reached by chapter paging. The first scene, “Gilraen’s Memorial“, is very quite with lots of subtle ambient sounds. Also the scene “The Bridge of Khazad-Dum” has lots of surround action with the Orcs crawling around and some nice bass and LFE when running from and fighting the Balrog.

Ha! Funny. I have the extended trilogy sitting on my shelf. After 5 or 6 times through (pre HT) I'm a little 'ringed' out.

I used the Bridge of Khazad-Dum scene to check things out when I did my initial calibration.

And let's not forget Jurassic Park for a good speaker workout - the 3rd being the best with THX

I just purchased Master and Commander on blu-ray this weekend and I have to agree, the sound is by far the best sounding blu-ray I own. The creaking of the boat and the footsteps above were kind of freaky!

Hee hee hee. I'm one of the big M&C cheerleaders around here, so it's fun to hear others find so much enjoyment out of the movie.

That opening battle, from the point where Jack sees the cannon-flashes from the Acheron behind the fog - "Down!! DOWN!!!!" - to the moment they pull the HMS Surprise into the fog bank contain the most amazing movie sounds I've ever heard. From the raw power of the cannon fire (it's broken my house), to the creaking of the men running above, to the splintering of the mast & rigging. Stunning. When I eventually pony-up for a Blu Ray player, it will be my first BR DVD.

It's been my 'reference' scene for a couple of years now and I've not found anything that elicits more, 'I didn't know a movie could sound like that!' comments from guests.

It did win the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Cinematography back in 2003. It's pretty easy to see why.

And for anyone that enjoyed the movie for the plot and characters, the books are pretty good too. I'm up to the 4th or 5th one in the series. There are 21 of them, M&C is the 10th.

I hear ya Peter ... not only do I need to pony-up for a Blu-Ray player but I'm in need of a new receiver to get the full sound benefit from these disc. I absolutely love this movie and can watch it over and over again without ever tiring of it, one of my reference disc for our (ah-hmm) outdated system.

I'm half-tempted to get this movie even though I have trouble tolerating Russell Crowe. I want this audio experience everyone else has had already.

You can skip his dialog scenes and skip straight to the action.

They were forced to increase the aspect ratio of the film to accommodate his ego.

In fact, they shot it in 9x16 ratio to accommodate the chip on his shoulder. You need to turn your TV on its side.

All that said, I reckon he did a superb job of Aubrey: having read so many of the books, I felt he *was* that character. Great film, and wonderful sound.

Regards,
David

Doesn't this belong in the "what are you dreaming of tonight" thread?

Depends on which one you are talking about, I guess!

That’s going to leave a mark.



Hear, hear!

Or at least skip the whole side story of the doctor.

I think the “Hornblower” TV series is pretty good if you want something in this genre.

Ok, consider me convinced, order just placed with Amazon - should be here by the weekend. I've seen the SD version, looking forward to hearing the changes on Blu-Ray.

I just noticed that Amazon has “The Band of Brothers” available for BR pre order. That series had some pretty intense audio on DVD. I bet the BR version will be right up there with the best of them. Plus, it’s probably the most realistic combat related show I’ve ever watched.

Of course, if you want to give your subwoofer a work out, you can always watch War of the Worlds. As an added benefit, after watching a little of Tom Cruise, it's much easier to stomach Russell Crowe

I'm at something of as loss as to why anyone would voluntarily watch either one of them.

I'd watch Crowe before Cruise, that's for sure.

Rainman.

He may be a wackjob, but he can act if given the right script.

I really don't much care what kind of ego etc. any given actor has. I'm not trying to be best buds with everyone I watch on screen.

Hey! Quit being reasonable.

Its that time of the month?

I've always thought Russell Crowe did a very good job, 'A Beautiful Mind', 'Cinderella Man' and 'M&C' were exceptional movies I thought ... regardless of the sound effects.

I've never been one to keep up with what's happening in some actors personal life anyways.

Really? You didn't hear that Russel and Tom are about to adopt a Tibetan orphan together?

I don't want to be best buds with everyone at work, either, but I do want to be able to stomach them. Actors can still annoy you, even if they're just playing a role.

I'd take Cruise over Crowe, but I watched A Few Good Men before I was old enough to be bitter. Russell Crowe arrived too late, and I don't associate any good movie memories with him.

Rick, I forgot about a beautirul mind. Another fantastic movie.

CV, I have worked with and under some people I couldn't stomach on a personal level. In the end, I liked my job, so I ignored the rest. Life is too short to get wound about stuff that dosn't matter.

I guess I'm still looking for the stuff that does matter. In the meantime, let me dislike Russell Crowe. Ha ha.

Feel free to dislike, Charles. People who seem to like everything scare me.

Myself, I'm not a big fan of real life Crowe but found he did make the perfect Captain in M&C. His demeanor perfectly suited the image of the character that was already in my head. Of course, others may have had different pre-images.

I'm glad you mentioned Rainman because because otherwise, I put Tom Cruise in a category of actors who act well but always bring exactly the same personality to the character. Your brain always views the character as Cruise rather than the character itself.

To me, a good actor tricks you into forgetting who the actor even is, big name or not. There are better examples but to keep it controversial, I will submit Johnny Depp. Love him or hate him, he is very good at bringing a totally new personality to life that sticks in your mind way more than his real person.

Sure, we now picture him as Jack Black, but the contrasts start to appear as you look back his IMDB list and see Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas verses Edward Scizzor Hands vs Ichabod Crane Vs. the old but not forgotten Donnie Brasco.

Actually, I'm half inspired to dig up my old VHS copy of Donnie Brasco but I'm afraid that if I do, I'll spend the next three weeeks adding "Forget about it!" to all of my posts and conversations.

Yes, I'm rambling once again. Blame the idiot who booked a 1 hour conference call with a vendor who sells a new picture quality alarming system that we will never buy because we already just spent mega dollars on a system that does the same thing.

... that reminds me- i need to go re-watch the fear and loathing HD-DVD that was gifted to me in the "not so great disk give-away" thread.

I don't like Johnny Depp, either (Mr. Blankface), but then again I've never thought of him as being Jack Black.

I couldn't agree more. If one really wanted to dig into just about any performer or artists personal life, I most likely wouldn’t like any of them and be forced to go threw my life not watching any movies or buying any music.

Gladiator happens to be one of my all time favorite movies. I happened to like MI -1 and MI – 3. Can’t say the same for MI-2, but that had nothing to do with the actor.

I agree, Mike, MI-2 was supremely sucky. I liked the other two.

I still need to see the supposedly good John Woo movies. I have to say, his career in America hasn't done a lot for me.

By the way, I do have Master and Commander on Blu-ray to watch now, and I actually dreamed last night about watching a Russell Crowe movie and enjoying his performance. I also dreamed that I came onto the message board to post about my dream, and then I woke up to find out I still had to post about it.

Ditto.

I couldn't make it through "Windtalkers." And I love WWII movies, and pride myself on the ability to sit through almost everything.

Well, I found my limit.

I received M&C today and just watched the opening scene cranked up loud... My dad is here in town visiting and we both were very impressed. He turned to me after the scene as the cannon fire subsided and said "Holy $%it." (My thoughts exactly.)

The combination of pounding from the cannons and incredible surround from wood splintering, etc. are very impressive.

Can't wait to watch the whole thing.

Jason

Ok, now you just made me feel like I finally have to go and get this DVD.

I just got done watching. It's a well-done movie, and I will admit I didn't mind Russell Crowe in this role.

How does the BR version compare to the DVD in terms of sound - I can't imagine the DVD could be topped....

It's as if a veil has been lifted.

aren't veils pretty accoustically transparent?

I thought that as well, but there is a significant improvement.

Agreed - it is better... and even if it's just my mind thinking it's better because it's BR, that's good enough for me. It really is an incredible disc.

M&C is a great sound effect movie, my second favorite scene might be U571 when they dive deep and the sounds of the sub creaking ping all over the room

I've got Master & Commander coming today in Blu-ray from Netflix, I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing it again.