[WalterBright]

I think Full Metal Jacket is the only war movie that correctly delays the sound of an explosion.

The sounds in combat footage of WW2 are all dubbed in, as the cameras did not record sound.

[OhMeadhbh]

Odd Angry Shot... One scene in Gallipoli... Apocalypse Now and Big Red One do "funny" things with the sound... I'm not sure those two films trying to be accurate as much as they're toeing some fi formalist line.

If you dig around, you can find more examples, but I think you're right in that the vast majority of films take liberties with physics in the service of visual storytelling.

[WalterBright]

Having a delay gives a feeling of depth to the movie.