General Discussion

I've searched the net for an answer to this with no success. Why are the gunfire reports more realistic in Heat than in any other movie? I know the street get-away is highly regarded by audiophiles and I'm curious why no other movie tries to use real weapon reports and instead make weapon sounds an orchestra of layered sounds?

@jonc151: Because it's easier and cheaper to just layer sounds.

Other movies do that. Pure action movies tend to use layered sounds because real weapon reports are more impactful and you don't always want to remind the audience that people are getting killed. Its not unlike when someone like Cronenberg keeps the camera in shot during a point of impact when most cameras cut away. Most movies want to be violent without portraying violence in a disturbing (realistic) way.

@DjCmeP: See this is where I have a problem. #1 Time is money and more time in the editing bay as opposed to simply capturing the sound as it should be is more economic. #2 if it's a sound library issue then someone should simply record it correctly in the first place and make a sound library out of it.

@ryanwho: Action movies have more squib hits and blood than any other movie. Movies like Rambo, Punisher War Zone, Equilibrium have thousands of hits and visceral visual impact. You're seeing people get torn in half by bullet impacts. People faces getting crushed. I doubt it's an issue of squeamishness.

@jonc151 said:

@ryanwho: Action movies have more squib hits and blood than any other movie. Movies like Rambo, Punisher War Zone, Equilibrium have thousands of hits and visceral visual impact. You're seeing people get torn in half by bullet impacts. People faces getting crushed. I doubt it's an issue of squeamishness.

But those are more over the top in terms of violence, making it easier to go along with what's happening because it's 'not real'. Actual gunshots would probably pull people out of it by being too startling, I assume. Also maybe they don't want veterans getting flashbacks in the middle of a movie or something.