Oh, man. I can't possibly list only 5. Also, I can't just say favorites, I have to categorize- like favorite DVD for special effects, favorite for audio quality, favorite for movie, favorite DVD for extras, etc. Here's a small list of some of my favorites, and why....
Ice Age - surround sound, especially right in the beginning with the scrat guy when he sinks the acorn into the ice
Dogma - has more footage in deleted scenes than the actual movie (over 120 minutes of deleted scenes). Plus, it's a great flick.
Matrix Trilogy - many will argue that they don't like the Matrix 2 and 3, but they still rock. The special effects, especially in 1, the car chase in 2, and the Mech fighters in 3 are awesome.
Independence Day ID4 - great movie, and awesome extras. The DVD is loaded with easter eggs.
Terminator 2: Ultimate edition - same as ID4. Loaded with extras and easter eggs
The Abyss: Great flick, and loaded with extras.
Star Wars 1 & 2: Same thing- great movies, loaded with extras, and great special effects.
The Patriot: I have the superbit version of this, and it's just fantastic.
Gladiator: Great movie, great extras
Daredevil: great movie, great effects
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, all 3: do I even need to go into why?
Monsters, Inc: great animations, great extras, great movie
John Carpenter's Vampires: great movie. I have the superbit verison of this. Awesome.
Fifth Element: great movie, great effects, and Milla Jovovich- mmmm I just wish they would've put some extras on the disc.
Ronin: Great movie, awesome car chase. No extras- bummer.
xXx, Fast & the Furious, & 2Fast 2Furious: great flicks, great extras.
Die Hard: I have the 5-star trilogy, but really, the first one is the best.
Indiana Jones Trilogy: a classic. A must have.
Dune: I have three different verisons, and I love them all.
StarGate: Great movie, great effects for it's time. The "Ultimate Edition" has what I would consider the minimum amount of extras a DVD should have.
Most James Bond movies: I love them, but I recommend at LEAST Dr. No, Goldeneye, Die Another Day, and The World is not Enough.
There are a ton more, this is what I could think of, sitting here at work.
On a side note, I saw some post things like Fast Times and Blues Brothers. While I love the movies, I was really disappointed in the lack of extras these discs had. The same goes for other classics of this time, like Stripes, Caddyshack, Weird Science and the Breakfast Club.
Also, I will note that I detest the recently released "back to school" series that include Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Breakfast Club, Pickup Artist, and a few others. These discs have a 15-minute commercial in the beginning of the DVD that you cannot break out of (at least on my Sony DVD). I absolutely HATE when they do this crap, it annoys me to no end, and I would boycott them, if I hadn't bought them in a set.
By the way, a few months ago, I started a thread similar to this called "Really Kick-ass 5.1 DVD's" or something like that. It's in the home theater board, is over a year old, and doesn't seem to ever leave the first page. Find it here:
[Link: remotecentral.com] It's worth checking out, there are a LOT of great recommendations there from lots of people.
