As you may have seen, the What Hi-Fi? Award winners have been officially announced! That has meant the past few months have involved us endlessly testing out oodles of TV and AV kit in our dedicated facilities.
To put all this kit to the test, we rely on a variety of different discs to challenge every aspect of each product's performance. But what films and TV shows have we been using this month? Well, that's where Now Showing comes in.
In this series, we ask members of the What Hi-Fi? team what discs have been on repeat in the test room and which ones they cannot wait to get their hands on.
Let's get into it…
The Driver (1978)
Before the 2011 Ryan Gosling vehicle (geddit?) Drive, came The Driver. Walter Hill’s 1978 cult classic starred another Ryan (Ryan O’Neal) playing another laconic character who has no name but is really rather good at driving. Despite the many similarities, The Driver is even more enigmatic, in that none of the characters in the film has a name, or much of a backstory, or any ethics whatsoever. If you’re after a Hollywood ending, you’re watching the wrong film.
The plot concerns a detective (Bruce Dern) enlisting O’Neal’s getaway driver to take part in a sting to retrieve some stolen money. But don’t worry too much about that, just concentrate on the car chases in all their destructive glory.
Three years ago, the movie was remastered in 4K, showing off the gleaming bodywork of those vintage coupes in even more detail. And sonically, it’s a love letter to the V8, so you’d better warn the neighbours if you plan on watching it late at night.
Its cinematic legacy is assured, with fans including Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Nicolas Winding Refn (who directed Drive). But its legacy even extends to video games – the 1999 PS1 game Driver was heavily influenced by it, and even ripped off the scene where you have to prove your driving skills by wrecking a car in a car park. Which is a surefire way to get three points on your licence.
Words by Joe Svetlik
Buy The Driver in 4K Blu-ray at Amazon
Wicked (2024)
This one’s for all the theatre kids out there. As we wait anxiously for Wicked: For Good to hit the big screen, many of us can only fill the gap by watching Wicked time and time again. Luckily, it’s also a great test disc when it comes to sound performance.
The musical hit follows Elphaba (portrayed excellently by Cynthia Erivo), a young woman born with green skin who has been mocked and shunned all her life. When she enrols in Shiz University in the Land of Oz, she doesn’t expect things to be any different. But when she forms an unlikely friendship with Ariana Grande’s Galinda, she thinks she may have found her place.
There are almost too many musical bangers to choose from that can challenge the audio quality of a home cinema system, so I’ll focus on one that leaves my jaw hanging every time I watch the movie. That is, of course, the epic finale when Elphaba and Galinda join forces to belt out Defying Gravity (a moment that had cinema viewers give a standing ovation at the screening I attended).
It takes place at the top of a tower’s parapet, with the wind whooshing around the viewer to provide a system’s Dolby Atmos performance a run for its money. When Elphaba plummets with only her magical broom for company, the voices of all who have doubted her swirl around the sound stage to create a tornado of speech that is incredibly effective with the right system.
Words by Robyn Quick
Buy Wicked on 4K Blu-ray at HMV
Stream Wicked on Amazon Prime Video
Late Night With The Devil (2023)
It may not be new, but found-footage horror Late Night With The Devil remains a topical movie for a few reasons.
First because of the current controversy over talk shows in general. Second because of its controversial, alleged, use of AI generated images.
But, the reason I chose to revisit it this month has nothing to do with either of those things. In fact, it is actually pretty simple: it’s a very good horror movie that expertly uses sound, in particular, to keep you on constant edge. Directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, the movie shows the last episode of a fictional 1970s night TV show Night Owls.
As the slow-burning creepfest unfolds, it host Jack Delroy attempts to win back ratings on Halloween by interviewing a possessed girl.
From there a strange, almost hallucinogenic, set of events unfold, revealing creepier and darker details about the host and his guests, eventually crescendoing with an epic finale that will leave you utterly terrified – in a good way.
If you’re after a brilliant horror that will make proper use of your surround sound system, I thoroughly recommend giving it a watch.
Words by Alastair Stevenson
Buy Late Night With The Devil on 4K Blu-ray at HMV
Stream Late Night With The Devil on Amazon Prime Video
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
In 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road burst onto the scene and immediately became a regular disc for both picture and sound in our TV and AV test room.
In fact it has already featured in our list of the best Dolby Atmos scenes to test your surround sound system.
And with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hitting the big screen almost 10 years later, we are glad to say that the legacy has been upheld and both movies are constantly on and off the shelves in our test room.
When a young Furiosa is stolen from her home in the Green Place of Many Mothers, she gets caught in the crossfire of two warlords. This leads her on a treacherous journey to find a way to her home at all costs.
Like its director George Miller’s last entry, Furiosa is bursting with the bright orange and reds of the Australian desert that is great for testing colour. Its soundtrack is also an incredible test of any sound system, with the revving of vehicles making for some floor-shaking bass.
Buy Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on 4K Blu-ray at HMV
Stream Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on Apple TV
MORE:
The 36 best Dolby Atmos movie scenes to test your home cinema surround sound system
What is Dolby Atmos? And how can you get it?
We've just got four brand-new discs in to the What Hi-Fi? test room: this is why they made the list
