Our resident Home Cinema fan John has some personal favourite movie scenes which he uses to set up and calibrate AV systems. We thought we would share a few with you in case you want to put your own Home Cinema through it’s paces.

Are you ready? Here’s John’s top ten! (His choices…)

Straight in at No.10 is Battleship, scene 15 running into 16. I would just like to make it clear at this point that artistic quality is not a factor here. This is just a dynamic visual and audio extravaganza which tests dialogue coherence (but sadly doesn’t improve content!) during action sequences.

No.9 is another movie which majors on automotive action rather than subtle characterisation… Fast and Furious 8 (is that all..?), scene 17, will give your system a thorough work out, although the language is a bit fruity.

No.8. Iron Man 2, scene 16. Not an Art House film, although there’s a bit more acting and dialogue here, but being John’s choice, it is mainly gunfire and explosions… again. Good surround effects though, from the laser sequence.

No.7. X Men Apocalypse, scene 14. I think you get the picture, as it were, by now. Not exactly cinema verite, but this scene includes some clever slow motion CGI and very effective Dolby Atmos accompanied by the Eurythmics backtrack.

No.6. Terminator 2, Judgement Day., scene 4. A bit of a classic now, albeit not in the same sense as Citizen Kane, for example, but these are John’s selections…This is a well filmed vehicle chase sequence with an excellent soundtrack. The Harley sounds convincingly throaty on a good, well set-up system.

No.5. Top Gun, scene 1. Stepping even further into the past, John has gone with the opening scene with it’s full throttle soundtrack providing a test for anyone brave enough to turn the volume up to 11. WARNING! John has damaged speakers doing this so please do exercise some caution. Top Gun top tip is to play the DTS soundtrack to avoid audio disappointment.

No.4. Back to the Future III, scene 15, the duel. Guns again… However, central to John’s selection this time, is the atmospheric sound and musical soundtrack during the gunfight. It’s a fair cop.

No.3. Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott’s, scene 11. At last we can do away with guns and pick up an axe instead. Well, listen to Jeff play his Fender Stratocaster anyway. This welcome musical break from action movies shows how a concert video can be enhanced by a well recorded DTS surround soundtrack, perfectly capturing the intimate atmosphere of Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club

No.2. The Greatest Showman, scene 8. Keeping his focus on music now instead of pyrotechnics, John likes the gripping soundtrack in this scene which draws one’s attention to the spectacular choreography on screen, if you like musicals…

And at No.1. Bohemian Rhapsody, scene 23. A masterful recreation of Queen’s 1985 performance at Live Aid. John would have loved to have been there, if only he wasn’t five, but this movie gives him more than a taste of the real experience with Dolby Atmos providing the requisite acoustics in order to suspend disbelief.

We will be hosting a Movie Night at The White Horse Hotel Romsey on 30th May. The movie being screened is yet to be selected but please rest assured that John won’t make the final decision without supervision. Perhaps you would like to email us with some suggestions?!

Don’t forget to check out our store blog for Movie Night updates closer to the date.

That’s all Folks!

Alan, John and Wayne