DVD commentaries: Most informative and most entertaining?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by lasvidfil, Feb 14, 2008.

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  1. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    USED CARS- The commentary is a riot, almost as funny as the feature. That's saying something!
     
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  2. I think that site works best as a starting guide. Its Top 100 list is worth checking out. So many commentaries descend into banalities or unprepared boredom.
     
  3. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    Commentaries seem to have fallen waaaay out of fashion with DVD releases in the last 5 years or more.

    But there are two great ones on "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower".
     
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  4. Standoffish

    Standoffish Smarter than a turkey

    Location:
    North Carolina
    I love Steven Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy's commentary for The Third Man. It's the only commentary track I've listened to twice.
     
  5. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Glad to see they gave John Waters two spots in their top 10. Quite honestly, most directors' commentaries leave me feeling bored and I never revisit them (if I can even manage to sit through them in their entirety the first time around). Waters can be extremely funny even when he's just shooting the breeze.
     
  6. johnnyyen

    johnnyyen Senior Member

    Location:
    Scotland
    The best commentary I've heard is academic David Forgacs on Visconti's "The Leopard". Only commentary I have listened to multiple times.

    As for the celebrity stuff, Malcolm Macdowell's commentaries are always entertaining, especially on "If" and "A Clockwork Orange". I want to hear his commentary on "Caligula", but the film is so bad, I don't want to spend the cash on a commentary alone.

    Jack Nicholson's commentary on "The Passenger" is worth a listen. He's obviously a big fan of Antonioni, which is probably why he agreed to do it, although he didn't seem to realise his co-star Ian Hendry had died about 20 years previously.
     
  7. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    It's worth it - it's a better commentary than the chat for "Clockwork"!
     
  8. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Tom Laughlin's commentary on both Born Losers and Billy Jack is among the most interesting I have ever sat through more than twice.
     
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  9. skisdlimit

    skisdlimit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bellevue, WA
    ROCKY - Sylvester Stallone
    I was pleasantly surprised by how informative and entertaining this was; in fact, I might even prefer the film now with the commentary.
     
  10. I think Carpenter does best when working with others like his commentary track for The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China with Kurt Russell.
     
  11. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    He does work with others in the "Body Bags" commentary - he has actors with him. That's why I said this:

    "When he chats with the actors, he appears more interested in other aspects of their careers than in their work on Bags."
     
  12. I actually was making a general comment on the best commentary tracks that Carpenter has done. I'm really kind of surprised the Body Bags commentary tracks aren't better. I haven't heard the BB ones but Starman, Big Trouble, The Thing, They Live are all terrific commentary tracks and would have been far less I the resting solo as they work well bouncing off each other.
     
  13. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Maybe Carpenter's losing interest as he gets older, or his memory is going - I'm pretty sure the "Body Bags" chats are new. Not sure what other recent commentaries he's done...
     
  14. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Is the new BR/DVD combo of Body Bags the uncut version? The old DVD edition was severely edited....
     
  15. He just did a new one with Jamie Lee Curtis for Halloween.
     
  16. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    Usually you're lucky to get one commentary per release now, and I think it's because studios have figured out that people don't listen to them or they're too cheap to record them.

    Occasionally you'll get ones with multiple commentaries, which I always enjoy (Kevin Smith, Will Ferrel, Edgar Write, David Fincher, The Heat has 5 commentaries). Then you get directors who never give them or rarely do (Spielberg, Nolan, Burton).
     
  17. The studios are much more hesitant now to pony up the cash for an appearance by a star actor. That is why most commentaries now are by secondary people behind the production.
     
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  18. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    Crap. I didn't even think about that. I assumed the studios just called up the actors/directors and was like, "Hey, wanna hang out and do a commentary? We'll supply food." Then they show up and have fun. I would. It's not like they need the money to drive across town and sit for an hour and a half and literally sit on a couch and chit-chat.
     
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  19. They probably have some sort of additional payment option in recent films for the, to do commentary tracks. They would have to probably be paid the SAG minimum at least and, in most cases, I'm sure it's much more than that.
     
  20. tonyc

    tonyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Thank you for mentioning that.

    "Sideways" is on my DVR as it is one of my all time favorite movies and I have been where it was filmed. I may have to get the DVD to hear the commentary track.
     
    Thesmellofvinyl likes this.
  21. That could be or some of them could be contractual obligations that don't interest him. He did the one for They Live (I think) in 2011(with Roddy Piper) so he has done recently entertaining and interesting ones but that's a film that is also one of his personal favorites.

    The latest one for Halloween as mentioned is pretty good and he seems engaged there as well.
     
  22. SoundAdvice

    SoundAdvice Senior Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    The 1986 Taxi Driver Scorsese commentary track is on the Blu-ray.
     
  23. SoundAdvice

    SoundAdvice Senior Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Also recent situations like the commentary tracks getting lost in the transition from DVD to Blu, like That 70's Show.
     
  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Thanks! I didn't get a copy of that so I didn't hear it. Did you?
     
  25. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Could be. All I know is that while I'm not as big a fan of Carpenter's commentaries as some others, the "Body Bags" discussions were a snooze!
     
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