Xavier Sanchez: 
What is the best word for 'the sound of a film'? 
Soundtrack? 

I don't mean "M&E", or sound design; just a general word for 
dialogue + foley + music + sound effects, etc.

I think the word soundtrack is sort of OK, but it could also suggest the music CD. What is the best word?

John Vengrouskie:
All of the previous suggestions are fine, I use them as well as mentioning that the MUSIC of the film is The Score (unless you;re talking to a composer who'll think of The Score as a pile of paper with notes on it!) 
While The Soundtrack is all of what you hear at the theater... that IS after all where  the technical term 'sound track' comes from.

Mark Berger:
A very good question that raises all sorts of issues about the way people perceive films.

Only people who work in the film industry break down the sound of a film into dialogue + music + effects + foley. When I used to tell people that "I do soundtracks for films," their invariable response was, "Oh, are you a composer?" You are right in assuming that 'soundtrack' means 'music' to the general public. My current response is "I do sound for films" or "I'm responsible for the way a film sounds." This usually opens up a discussion of what film sound is.

Looking to the picture for direction is helpful. The closest word used to describe 'the look of a film' is perhaps 'the visuals'. I don't see anything wrong with using 'the sound of a film' or 'the sound' or 'film sound' to describe the sound of a film.

M&E = Music & (sound) Effects

Edited excerpt from CAS webboard (message thread: I'm looking for a word..)

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