Knowing

While Knowing won't go down as a classic sci-fi thriller, it may sell well on Blu-ray due to its first-rate AVC encode and impressive sound design. Sure, the screenplay is laughable at times, but the same can be said for a lot of movies these days. What really matters in our Ultimate Demos is how good a disc looks and sounds, and in these departments, Knowing delivers. (Warning: spoilers below.)

Ever wondered what an airliner crash sounds like?

  • Chapter 6, 0:38:42
  • Audio dynamics, surround imaging
  • Listen to the sounds of the raindrops, distant thunder, and chatter of the police and firefighters as they attend to the injured in a highway collision. At the 0:39:02 mark, prepare for an aural onslaught as the airliner careens through the power lines with the electronic snap and sizzle you would expect to hear before it falls to its fiery death. When it impacts the ground, the infrasonic bass shakes the foundation!

A subway derailment up-close and personal.

  • Chapter 9, 1:01:15
  • Audio dynamics, surround imaging
  • Listen to the high-pitched whine as the subway car loses traction, the wail of the warning siren, and the thunderous bass as the car impales the concrete supports. Sure, the physics of the crash are laughably unrealistic, but check your brain for a minute and enjoy the sonic experience.

The end is near.

  • Chapter 16, 1:52:07
  • Detail, audio dynamics, surround imaging
  • Look at the detail in the cityscape, the crowd on the bridge, and how the sunlight shines through the smoky haze.
  • A bit later in the chapter (1:53:51), all hell breaks loose when solar flares impact the Earth. Although the final minutes of the human race aren't a happy occasion, the audio is to die for. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!)

Click here for a complete review of this title.

X