my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Fun with THX -- Series Programming (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Fun with THX -- Series Programming Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-06-2016 03:32 PM                     Help me show off my THX theatre. What should I program? If you suggest more than one title, please rank your selections, with your #1 choice listed first. Feel free to repeat or "+1" a suggestion. I am very interested in seeing if there could be a consensus. It would help me whittle down my list, which is too long. Okay -- Go!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 02-06-2016 03:34 PM                     THX Broadway THX Cimarron THX Tex oh wait, you probably meant features, didn't you?  |  IP: Logged Buck Wilson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 894 From: St. Joseph MO, USA Registered: Sep 2010 posted 02-06-2016 04:01 PM                     +1 to Brad's list, with the addition of the new THX Eclipse somewhere in there!  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-06-2016 04:05 PM                     We're off to a great start. LOL Yes -- FEATURES please!  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 02-06-2016 08:55 PM                        The Second Ring Movie.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Garman Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: Toledo, OH USA Registered: Mar 2003 posted 02-06-2016 10:35 PM                     -Saving Private Ryan -Jurassic Park (a 35mm DTS print only!) -Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Wait, I'm picking Spielberg movies...let's shake this up: -Titanic -Terminator 2: Judgement Day Oh great, now I'm picking Cameron movies. Let's throw a curveball: -Moulin Rouge Here's some that may be hard to track down in their original form: -Return of the Jedi (the first "THX" movie if you will) -Apocalypse Now You could honestly pick any film that Gary Rydstrom worked on, which includes a ton of good stuff from Pixar. Whatever you do, don't pick any Woody Allen movies. Oh, and of course, Birdman would be an EXCELLENT choice. AJG  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-06-2016 11:34 PM                        2001: A Space Odyssey Alien (the original one, not the recent version with extra footage) Apocalypse Now Blade Runner Amadeus The Right Stuff Starship Troopers (a personal favorite/guilty pleasure) Of recent titles, I was highly impressed by The Hateful Eight. It doesn't have any explosions, but the mix and overall sound quality are excellent. Star Wars and anything Pixar are, of course, good choices, but are not available to the best of my knowledge. Also, Howard the Duck seems like an oddly appropriate choice for a THX house, if the film is available.  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-07-2016 07:29 AM                     The best sounding movie I heard in a THX room was THE DOORS.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 02-07-2016 09:27 AM                     Die Hard  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 02-07-2016 10:54 AM                     The Right Stuff (preferably in 70mm if you can find it and have 70mm mag capability) Had the most awesome track. And, if you have bipart curtains or moveable side maskings, be sure to start with them closed down to the 1:33 opening scene image and when the explosion hits, open them up....I got standing ovations at the Davis-Monthan AFB theatre when I did that on our run. Amadeus Backdraft Days of Thunder (Ok so the movie's campy but the track was damn good) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Raiders Of The Lost Ark (good luck finding a decent print) Star Trek II, III, IV Star Trek Generations Top Gun I have a few more but can't think of them ATM...  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 02-07-2016 11:38 AM                     Ok Manny, in all seriousness. First off, 70mm mag is awesome, but good F'ing luck in finding a good print in the repertory circuit that isn't scratched up or has magnetic track damage. I know that doesn't matter at the moment to you anyway, as you don't have 70mm capability, so let's stick with 35mm. In talking 35mm, I am going to stick firmly with prints that had some flavor of digital sound. Nothing against a good A or especially an SR track, but any dirt or scuff mark on the optical soundtrack also pulls away from the quality of your THX presentation. Plus back then the mixes simply weren't capable of what later mixes were. (For example, yes the original Die Hard had a great soundtrack on it for 1988, but the 4th Die Hard from 2007 was actually more impressive, as technology improves over time...assuming an equally good mixer and so forth.) So here is a random sort of list for you, in alphabetical order, not order of recommendation. Keep in mind not all of these are simply "loud blow 'em up action" titles. Some just had a really good mix to them: Changeling (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Contact (SRD/DTS or SDDS) Detroit Rock City (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Die Hard 4 (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Faculty (SRD/DTS/SDDS) From Dusk Till Dawn (SDDS) Hairspray (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Heat (SRD) Inception (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Joyride (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Matrix (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Mission Impossible 4 (SRD/DTS) Moulin Rouge (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Mr. and Mrs. Smith (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Saving Private Ryan (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Southpark (SRD/DTS) Star Trek 2009 (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Toy Story 2 (SRD) U-571 (SRD/DTS/SDDS) Make SURE you are playing 35mm prints and not DCPs, as some of these DCPs aren't using the original theatrical mixes, but the audio from the home video near-field "F-type" mix that sounds like giant blobs of poo on a real system. Even an official theatrical re-issue like The Lion King from a few years back...that was even remixed by the original mixers...absolutely sucks ass.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-07-2016 12:11 PM                        I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but as the idea of a THX auditorium is to give excellent audio reproduction in all movie soundtracks, not just those mastered under the THX brand and/or post-1992 digital ones, how about some movies that demonstrate breakthroughs in sound design going back further? Possibilities... I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang for the 1930s - the industry finally breaking free from sound on disc (for original recording) and realizing what multi-channel mixing can really do. That having been said, it is one of the most depressing movies ever to come out of Hollywood. A glossy '30s musical might be a better bet - Gold Diggers of 1933 is one of my favorites. They Were Expendable for the '40s - Douglas Shearer's multi-layered mixing is so intricate that you have to pinch yourself to remember that it's mono, especially in the battle scenes. I showed an Academy Film Archive print at Cinecon last year, which was one of the nicest non-nitrate b/w prints I've ever seen, for both pix and sound. Bad Day at Black Rock for the '50s - one of the most underrated movies of the early mag stereo era - very dramatic contrast of loud music cues and almost total silence in some of the suspense scenes. However, I'm guessing that the only film prints available now would be optical mono. In the Heat of the Night for the '60s. Even the noise of a fly buzzing makes you sit up. All The President's Men for the '70s. Another amazing example of what can be done with a mono mix and almost no music. The Conversation would be another possibility, but a more obvious one. ...and then we're into the '80s Dolby whiz-bang era, for which there is no shortage of suggestions.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Garman Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: Toledo, OH USA Registered: Mar 2003 posted 02-07-2016 01:10 PM                     I should say that Episodes I and II of Star Wars had absolutely wonderful mixes. The Podrace in I is a sound design wet dream. My favorite sequence in II is the asteroid field where the sound goes completely silent and then goes mega loud explosion. Such a neat effect. Again, get em on 35mm like Brad says because they've likely been remixed (and I'm pretty sure they were on Blu-ray at least). Do you all have access to the THX WOW reel on 35mm? We had one at DeBartolo and it was SRD. That's a very fun piece to play. AJG  |  IP: Logged Lionel Fouillen Expert Film Handler Posts: 230 From: Belgium Registered: Nov 2002 posted 02-07-2016 01:58 PM                     Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 70mm with magnetic Dolby SR was the best sounding movie I heard in a theatre. But that is 70mm. Would a 35mm print of The Abyss in Dolby SR still be available somewhere? It wasn't bad at all. Now regarding the artistic aspect in Leo's comment, I would also mention The Forbidden Planet and its sound effects all through the movie (not to mention the intro with panned effects originally done in Perspecta). Has anything like that been done afterwards? This film too was somehow pioneering. I know that it was re-released in theatres a few years ago, but was it 35mm? A unique show took place in an art house in my city but I wasn't able to attend.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-10-2016 01:41 AM                     I love these suggestions. Thanks so much. It's the end of a very long couple of days, so I'll work on a longer reply tomorrow. This is very reassuring input, because some of my thoughts are also showing up in your comments. But also some new thoughts that I like. Thanks again. I hope I remember to follow up tomorrow.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.