Why does Elephant need DTS? Consider the famous "shower scene" parallel montage. Or the piano piece "Für Elise" played by the shooter Alex. Even more importantly: the gunshots. In a typical AC3 release, the report of a rifle sounds flat. In a DTS encoding, the crack has an acoustic weight—a sharp, terrifying transient that snaps through the soundstage. The WAF group prioritized DTS because they understood that the sound of violence in this film is its primary narrative weapon.
The file name indicates specific technical standards typical of the WAF group's releases: Elephant.2003.x264.DTS-WAF
Unlike typical dramas, Van Sant refuses to provide easy answers or psychological motives for the shooters, opting instead to present the event as a random, uninflected tragedy. Understanding the Technical Tag: "x264.DTS-WAF" Why does Elephant need DTS