Teufel subwoofer awards: Top 2013 movies that let your system boom

Teufel Audio excels in deep, powerful bass that is dynamic enough to reproduce movie soundtracks the way they would be experienced in a cinema. That’s why we thought it would be fun to list our favourite movies from 2013 based on bass. We recommend watching the following movies with a proper home cinema system that includes, of course, a powerful subwoofer.

The Wolf of Wallstreet

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, & Margot Robbie

This is a long film. Some would say too long, which is why it pays to have a subwoofer that can really bring out a certain boat scene that occurs mid-story. Oh, and there are helicopters.

Gravity

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, & Ed Harris

Yes, there’s no sound in a vacuum, so you’re really going to have to suspend your disbelief for many of these effects, but then movie sound isn’t about realism – it’s about emotional realism. So the explosions and orchestral effects are certainly not realistic, but they succeed as powerful counterpoints to the action.

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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs II

Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn

Starring Bill Hader, Flint Lockwood, Anna Faris, Sam Sparks, & James Caan (voices)

One general rule with soundtracks is this: The more unrealistic the movie, the more important the soundtrack becomes. With an animated movie, it’s the soundtrack that grounds many of the incredibly silly characters in reality. In Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs II, the Killer Cheeseburger and Monster Taco characters emit sounds that a good subwoofer can lend credulity – no mean feat. There are also plenty of other sound effect such as the water scenes and a giant food fight towards the end that a good sub will nicely flesh out.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Directed by J. J. Abrams

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, & Benedict Cumberbatch

As with Gravity, we have some great sound effects in outer space such as the space jump scene with Khan and Captain Kirk. In fact, it’s a bit funny how cinema has created a whole aural lexicon of what space sounds like. Complete fiction, but we’ve all come to expect these sounds and Into Darkness delivers. Huge space ships crash, battles are waged, and villains deliver diabolical lines all in the deadpan style that is Star Trek. A subwoofer makes it all that much more thrilling.

12 Years a Slave

Directed by Steve McQueen

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, & Benedict Cumberbatch

Often the job of the soundtrack is to add a layer of emotional intensity. The low range can especially convey sorrow and despair. There can be no better example of this than the ominous groaning of the timbers of the ship that transports Solomon to New Orleans. The score expertly works this sound into the ambiance created by deep woodwind instruments. It’s a sound that goes right into your soul.

All is Lost

Directed by J. C. Chandor

Starring Robert Redford

Robert Redford stars opposite fate in this movie almost completely without dialogue. The midrange doesn’t figure  heavily in the sound reproduction, but when mother nature unleashes her wrath, the subwoofer really comes into its own. In truth, this movie relies mostly on visuals to tell its story, but the subtle score by Alex Ebert enhances the overall effect by managing to be profound without seeming pretentious or intrusive. Great, moody bass lines in this, too.

World War Z

Directed by Marc Forster

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, & James Badge Dale

Now here’s a movie that makes you appreciate how cool helicopters can sound with a subwoofer. This summer blockbuster is also jam packed with explosions and sudden, insanely intense zombie attacks. A subwoofer greatly enhances the guttural, snarling noises they make and supports the apocalyptic feel of the film to the extent that it goes by as one huge adrenaline rush. It’s only afterward that you sit back and ponder the silliness of it all, but then that’s what summer blockbusters are all about.

The Conjuring

Directed by James Wan

Starring: Vera Farmiga,Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, & Ron Livingston

Knock, knock, who’s there? Or was that BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Those sudden shifts in intensity that turn horror films from drama to, well, horror, are as much about clever camera edits as sound effects. Watch for the line, “Oh my God, it’s standing right behind you!” and hear it in this movie. If you have a subwoofer, the demonic spirit will be conjured right into your living room and the exorcism scene will bring down the house.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Directed by Peter Jackson

Starring Martin Freman, Iam McKellen, Richard Armitage, & Benedict Cumberbatch

Those who found 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a bit sleepy will enjoy the faster pace of the sequel. There are awe- inspiring fights with ghoulish spiders and an incredible wild water slalom in barrels. All of these are given an added note of intensity with a subwoofer, but Benedict Cumberbatch’s effect-laden intonation as Smaug is the biggest bass thrill of all. His eminently well-bred voice is couched in such lovely snarling, purring menace for a combined effect that is at once seductive and terrifying. At least, that’s what you’ll experience with a subwoofer, and we hope you have one to enjoy this fun fantasy romp with!

Rush

Directed by Ron Howard

Starring Daniel Brühl & Chris Hemworth

The Academy is certainly going to ignore this gem from 2013, but we highly recommend it for everyone with a 5.1 system at home. Without a subwoofer, the race cars in the movie would simply be so many dots chasing each other across the screen. There would be no sense of the power of the engines and the all-around perilous nature of Forumla 1 racing back in the 1970s – a time when at least one driver was killed each year. This was an extremely dangerous sport and Rush tells the story of those who were mad enough to pursue it. In it, the subwoofer becomes as important to telling the story as the script itself. Not that the script is bad. It’s a good story well told. A subwoofer just makes it that much better.