There is NO BETTER --- and I emphasize this --- version of GLADIATOR than the now out of print SIGNATURE SELECTION with the DTS ES track (two-disc), which is still one of the most aggressive home theater mixes on the planet; it was the very first title I purchased after getting into this hobby (and since that time it has become, amongst cliques I travel in, the "home theater christening disc," meaning it MUST be the first title purchased, in "our" eyes, when setting up a surround system, and the first title played through the system), and it absolutely outshines all the versions that have subsequently been released: forget that overpriced three-disc "Extended Cut" that recently came out: much like "Black Hawk Down," the Dolby Digital sound mix cannot hold a candle to the DTS track on these titles, and the extras are not worth buying over the sound quality of the DTS tracks. GLADIATOR becomes a totally different experience in DTS ES over the Dolby variant; and so does Black Hawk Down in Superbit with the DTS mix. The SIGNATURE SELECTION of Gladiator should be hunted down online, now that its out of print, because it is simply better -- in all ways -- than the other incarnations of this title in Dolby sound, indeed. The roar of the crowd (as mentioned), the intense whistle of the arrows and weapons as they're being thrown, the reality of the environment created by this DTS ES mix -- everything is larger than life on the Signature Selection version. I still use it as demo material.
As for PEARL HARBOR, I own the two disc Commemorative Edition, which includes that DTS track, but I was never wowed by it to be honest....the film SUCKS, up until that attack sequence, with that ridiculous love triangle ****ing thing, and could have been edited out easily, but when the audio heats up during that attack scene, the DTS audio really doesnt floor me....even cranked way up. To me, there's a bit of a lack of surround activity even when the planes fly in and rip the bullets into the back channels; something seems to be "missing" here, like there could have been some more detailed work done.
