Best DVD Commentaries

[Chris Gore]

I have to admit that I am addicted to DVD commentary. I work in my office and listen to DVD commentary like one might listen to radio. To me, Steven Soderbergh is probably one of the best filmmaker’s today doing commentaries on DVDs. No one is better than Soderbergh. He always hosts his commentary with the screenwriters of his films and introduces the beginning of the movie by saying -- “Hey, welcome to another episode of two white guys talking about movies." What makes Soderbergh's commentary great is that it hits on almost every layer of what you’d look for in a good commentary. First of all -- insight into his process. Second, we get to know about him as a person and that he has a great sense of humor, he’s very lowkey and humble. Third, Steven offers a lot of anecdotes about the making of the movie, the actors, etc.
Other great commentaries are from Bruce Campbell – he’s hysterical, he offers insight, personal anecdotes, etc. He’s great at commentary. Daron Aronofsky – “Requiem for a Dream” – another good one. You learn about the guerilla-style in which that film was made. Got any favorites of your own?

[flipsidemovies]

I'm not a huge Soderbergh fan (I do like his movies, just not as much as many folks), but I'll have to check out his DVD commentaries based on your recommendation. I must say, though, I love Paul Thomas Anderson's commentaries on Hard Eight and Boogie Nights. It's mainly his enthusiasm, his energy -- he's just great fun to listen to, much like Quentin Tarantino. But I must admit that I haven't even listened to the commentaries on half of the DVDs I own, but I'll get around to them eventually.

[BradleyGibson]

I think some of the worst commentaries are on the various Kevin Smith movies... I know Jay and Silent Bob aren't exactly high-brow, and I'm almost ashamed to admit I like them, as a guilty pleasure (almost) but Smith really adds nothing to a movie by bringing in his boys and having them giggle at each other while Jason Mewes mumbles incoherently... One thing Kevin does do that's interesting is point out the flaws in his films.. for example.. the reflection of the camera crew in a storefront glass during the pivotal rain scene between Affleck and Joey Lauren-Adams...

[Kuato]

I think the best commentary i've ever 'heard' was on the Conan the Barbarian DVD... it's Arnold and John Milius saying a lot of nothing for the duration of the film... it's become my favorite comedy..


"Conan gets laid a lot in this movie..." - Arnold

[Pete Vonder Haar]

Any of the John Carpenter/Kurt Russell collaborations, but especially "The Thing" and "Big Trouble in Little China." You get two old friends cracking beers, smoking cigarettes, and talking shit about everyone else in the movie.

Pete

[Eric Campos]

The "Cannibal The Musical" commentary is pretty entertaining. Booze changes a somewhat informative rant from the filmmakers and cast to an all out drunken farting match. Funny shit.

e

[BuckyMcSatan]

I think my favorite director commentaries come from Paul Thomas Anderson. In particular his first two features "Hard Eight" and "Boogie Nights".

I kind of like the way he acts as "fan" to his stars and yet, you sense an underlying camaraderie and mutal respect while they are discussing what they went through on the film.

Favorite repeated phrase when he's buffing the dome of the actor (more often than not, Julianne Moore - with good fucking reason):

"I don't mean to wax your car but..."

He reveals some very nice detail on why he set up or lit a shot a certain way - my favorite being the backlight coming up almost un-noticably on Gwyneth Paltrow as Clemetine, while she sits on the bed feeling like garbage in 'Hard Eight'.

Anecdotes are plentiful and it's rather funny to hear him try to keep Mark Whalberg interested in the film/commentary 'Boogie Nights', while drunk and late for a flight.

He also says "fuck" a lot. Which I like.

Director commentary wishlist:

- Scorsese on Goodfellas/Raging Bull
- Lynch on anything he's done

[flipsidemovies]

Originally posted by Buck Satan
He reveals some very nice detail on why he set up or lit a shot a certain way - my favorite being the backlight coming up almost un-noticably on Gwyneth Paltrow as Clemetine, while she sits on the bed feeling like garbage in 'Hard Eight'.

Which he enthusiastically admits he ripped off of Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. I really dig how he doesn't hesitate to reveal all his inspirations and influences ("I ripped off this shot from..." and so on).

[Eric Campos]

Mr. T needs to do commentary on "Rocky III."

[Kuato]

... Mr. T needs to do the commentary for every movie..
and there'd need to be a little box at the bottom so you can see he babble the whole time

[BuckyMcSatan]

Here's an odd one - commentaries by Ron Jeremy and Carrot Top on "The Rules of Attraction".

Anyone heard this yet?

Buck

[Rory L. Aronsky]

Eric:

Now that you've revealed the content on the "Cannibal! The Musical" DVD commentary, that makes the 562,342,189th DVD whose commentary I want to listen to. I like the idea of a drunken farting match.

[Kuato]

yeah - i heard that about the "rules of attraction" commentary too. we've got the dvd.. but we havn't watched it yet...
but that just sounds like a gold star to me

[Jeremy Wheeler]

I'd have to agree with Kuato on this one -- Arnold's slurred ramblings and Milius' weezing as he goes on about Valkyries on the Conan disc still kills me!
Another ridiculously fun one is Jean Claude Van Damme on his most recent twin-epic The Replicant. It's spliced together with another track from Michael Rooker, but whenever JCVD is on, watch out, 'cuzz he talks some wicked-ass stuff, boy. Check out this blurb from it, as he tries to explain his character being a clone:

"Sometimes rage goes so fast... & when you scream and... and maybe it's a mistake... for us, but sometimes it's good to step-print... passion... you'll see it - they're bugging me, they're pushing, RAAAAAGGGHHH (insert fake scream here) - you'll see that even it's like... it's deranged, it's not well.. framed... You can feel something like a suffering inside my mind and I'm confused 'cuzz I'm trying to find out - who's me - what's me - where I came from... because I did not come from a women, I came from you guys - you made me and guess what? What joo made, it's more good than nature. Because... people talk about a DNA - it's a problem. I dunno. God gave us a mind and.. and a brain to think. Now, I know the Pope is against it. Now we can find through DNA <pause> diseased. How... They're building and immuning - immun - immuting themselves against us, so by building up a puzzle - you can fight, you can FIND inside that puzzle what make that puzzle HOLD or DEHOLD that puzzle. And the puzzle is ME. And the virus is the glue between all the pieces. So I believe with the help of science - we can help lots of people. But we have to be very open - open mind, and we're gonna have to follow the rules of... let's say... a book - maybe called the bible... maybe not. But uh... it's... it's a very hard & difficult subject. But right now, we're in 2001 and people are changing... I'm telling you, people are changing... Why? We want to find the answer. Eating, schtooping - sorry, making love, uh, having sex, and to go to the toilet and the shower -- it's... it's a great life, but that's not my life and it should not be your life. We should... we have to do something else than that. In the worst case, let's help. Even one person... a month. If we, if everybody can help one person a month, I think we're doing well. And, uh, uh, I'm not here to give you guys a... lecture. Heh, I make more mistake than you. All I'm saying it's what I feel today. Thank you."

You can't beat the ol' Van Damme in my book! & as far as being most at ease during commentaries, it's all John Carpenter in my book! This guy has got it down-pat by now & is always a pleasure to listen to.

[LAMF]

The Commentary by Spinal Tap for This is Spinal Tap is pretty damn fine. It's done in character so it's almost like getting a brand new cut of the movie.

As far as director's commentaries go, besides PT Anderson, I find that Paul Verhoeven and David Cronenberg are both good commentators on their own work.

[ignatz]

Must agree with the Soderbergh commentaries, he's really entertaining to listen to. My personal favorites are the John Carpenter/Kurt Russell commentaries on Big Trouble, etc. The two have great camraderie and it takes at least 5 or 10 minutes for Kurt to settle down and stop giggling like a schoolgirl.

And one more my friend turned me on to: the commentary for the Rollerball debacle. LL Cool J's comments are 100 times better than the awful film. "Aw yeeeahhh, Rollerball y'all! It's a serious thing!" Indeed.

[melgib]

Jeremy, LOL at JCVD's audio commentary on The Replicant. THANK YOU very much for making my day. As you can see, I've taken the liberty of stealing some of it so that Mr. Van Damme's erudition will always be a part of me.

[Swarez]

My favorite commentaries are by Bruce Campbell, by far the funniest motherfucker to grace the commentary track.
Second is the Cannibal: The musical track.
With that in mind I'm looking forward to the Orgasmo 2-disc set wich has a drunken commentary and a seperate track with Weird Al Yankowich.

[Jeremy Wheeler]

Another one of my favs when it comes to commentaries has gotta be Joe Bob Briggs. I know, I'm stickin' to schlocky picks in this thread, but his track on Elite's I Spit On Your Grave disc is quite amazing -- giving wicked insight to the flick and quite a worthy argument against the Ebert-led controversy surrounding the brutal film. & of course, as anyone that's picked up the Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter disc knows, his laid back and rambling thoughts instantly bring back the old MonsterVision days and is perfect to pop in for many laughs. Let's hope Elite keeps pumping 'em out in this fashion. They'll go great with my old VHS copy of Nude on the Moon with good ol' JBB hosting it.

...Oh yeah, & the Carrot Top commentary was a genius idea, but ended up being pretty boring.

[whatismoving]

I've got to throw my hat in with the rest on Paul Thomas Anderson, who is the poet laureate of worthwhile film commentary. I thought I'd mention a few others that I enjoyed, though:

[list=1]1) Christopher McQuarrie for The Way of the Gun - Casual and self-effacing (keeps joking about how nobody saw the movie) but extremely informative about where it all came from and how it all got done.[/list=1]
[list=2]2) Richard Donner on Superman - full of reflections on the time period and technological limitations, and the politics of getting the movie made and how he got screwed out of the sequel, which he shot all the good scenes for. Plus gems like the fact that Marlon Brando was reading off of cue cards the entire time.[/list=2]
[list=3]3) Roger Ebert on Citizen Kane - Whether or not you like his writing or movie reviews, he's actually done a lot of live seminars on this particular film, and his commentary is like a portable film-school lecture on its history and significance. Extremely educational, fascinating, highly recommended.[/list=3]
[list=4]4) Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens on Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition - goes pretty far into the mechanics of this monumental effort, and reveals how respectful & knowledgeable they were of the trilogy. (Despite the way they butchered the second half of Two Towers.)[/list=4]
I'll think of more the minute I post this, but at least it's a start.

[BuckyMcSatan]

Just picked up the new "Day of the Dead" DVD.

Anyone heard the commentary by Roger Avary yet?

(I really like Avary of course) but why is it there? Kind of bizarre commentary for someone who had nothing to do with the film.

Or diiiid he....

Maybe there are scraps of dialogue Romero stole from him... :D

[El Duderino Diablo]

I really enjoy Guillermo del Toro's commentary on Blade II (obviously). He's enthusiastic, rude, crude and funny as hell, doesn't give a shit about being politico correcto, has no problem explaining what a hellacious time he had getting a decent line out of an actress and generally exudes an absolute love for his work and movies in general. He's a ball to listen to. :tup:

[jonnyredman]

Tom Savini's commentary on the UK DVD of Dawn of The Dead is quite entertaining!

You can hear him pouring out the booze and lighting up the smokes while he's talking away...

[Cid]

I liked Kevin Smith & Crew's comments on Mallrats.

I thought they were funnier than the movie, personally.

Now that I think about it, all of his commentaries have been good, though some are better than others.

[Key Largo]

I personally loved P.T.A.'s "Boogie Nights" commentary, he can talk at length about creative angles and methods and his influences. I also enjoy Kevin Smith's commentaries, and Robert Rodriquez's commentary for "El Mariachi" is a must-hear for anyone wanting to make a movie for less than 10 grand.

Cameron Crowe's commentary with his mother on the "Almost Famous Bootleg Cut DVD" is one of the most entertaining tracks I've heard yet, very extensive and very funny.

Oh, and if anyone likes the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" you can hear Hunter S. Thompson himself on the Criterion DVD commentary...

HUNTER (ON THE COMMENTARY TRACK TALKING ABOUT MAKING THE MOVIE FROM HIS BOOK): If was my job to whip these fuckers into line and get paid!!

[whatismoving]

I hear they talked Jesus into doing a commentary for the "Last Temptation of Christ" DVD.

[El Duderino Diablo]

VSC's edition of Hard Core Logo contains a commentary track with screenwriter Noel Baker, director Bruce McDonald and actor Hugh Dillon (frontman for the Headstones) that provides hours (okay, more like 96 minutes) of mirth, moviemaking insights, moviemaker bullshitting and the how, when, why and proper technique of rock star spitting.
I should also mention that Noel Baker's book Hard Core Roadshow: A Screenwriter's Diary is an excellent companion piece to this movie.
I don't know if the VSC edition is available in the U.S. but Quentin Tarentino procured the U.S. rights to Hard Core Logo and released it on his Rolling Thunder label. What sort of commentary track is on that disc, if there is one, I have no idea.

[Gabitsch]

I dig any of Lloyd Kaufman's commentaries. Even "The Toxic Avenger 2" and "3" have interesting stuff behind them. As Troma's movies get better, the commentary tracks become more fun to listen to.

A once-in-a-lifetime track is the Hunter S. Thompson commentary on "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas." Check it out.

I'm anxious to hear Joe Bob Briggs's commentaries for "I Spit On Your Grave" and "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter." DVD takes a bite out of that damn wallet.

Of course, there's also my own goofy commentary on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," which you can check out at dvdtracks.com. I thought it was pretty good.

[Doug_Brunell]

Not a great commentary, but the director gives himself way too much credit and assumes others have totally ripped him off in their films.

[Adam Hackbarth]

Paul Reubens and Tim Burton on the Pee Wee's Big Adventure DVD is funny... the whole commentary is like this:

Paul: "Wow. Look at that. It's been a long time. I remember that prop."

Tim: "Yes. It's amazing. I took it home with me. I own it now."


Anyone catch the Goonies commentary? It's got the entire Goonie kids reunited and doing commentary.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

The fact that "The Goonies" commentary manages to reunite Corey Feldman and Ke Huy Quan alone guarantees I will never listen to it. Thanks for the warning.

[ignatz]

Originally posted by Adam Hackbarth
Anyone catch the Goonies commentary? It's got the entire Goonie kids reunited and doing commentary.

Yeah, the commentators are so into laughing at their childhood selves that you never learn a single valuable piece of information except that Donner's kind of a jerk. A couple times somebody like Sean Astin will try to recall a pertinent anecdote and the other idiots shout him down. I wrote a diatribe about this commentary and sent it to Gore who was nice enough to write back, recommending a re-write with a more detached, impersonal POV. Unfortunately, my white hot hate for this commentary didn't allow it. Someday. :D

[Pete Vonder Haar]

Ignatz, you should post your diatribe. I'd be interested in checking it out.

From what you're saying, the commentary sounds as grating as the movie itself was.

[C J Hyatt]

About the Hunter S. Thompson commentary on Fear & Loathing, it is hysterical to listen to, and is definitely worth checking out. That whole set is great, if you're a fan of the book or the movie, and it really helps flesh out the movie even more.

Larry Cohen has some very informative commentary tracks on the new discs of God Told Me To and Q that I've enjoyed quite a bit, and it's kind of amazing to hear him talk about getting some of the scenes he captured in those movies without permits or municipal cooperation.

Even though the guy who does the commentary on Criterion's Throne of Blood disc is kind of dry, he does tell some great stories about Kurosawa and his working methods that make the track kind of a chore that's actually worth doing.

[El Duderino Diablo]

Bey Logan on any Shaw Brothers studio release on disc. I know he has commentaries on The Magic Blade and The Heroic Ones. This guy is an amazing source of info on Hong Kong movie history and the people involved. Makes any Shaw Bros. disc he's on worth the price of purchase.

[NewburyIan]

I actually have a few favorites that I like for different reasons...

Taxi Driver (Criterion) - Easily my favorite commentary ever...great insight, tonnes o' entertaining anecdotes, and behind the scenes of some of the coolest shots ever committed to film. If you don't own a laserdisk player, this is the reason to get one!! Raging Bull has another great one that is a perfect companion piece to flesh out your film education.

Fata Morgana - This is actually the second disk that comes with Lessons of Darkness...The commentary on this almost-documentary is an ongoing conversation about the visuals between Werner Herzog and Crispin Glover...You know you want to hear it...

Battlefield:Earth - SO deluded...these guys thought that they made a brilliant film that no one understood...The commentary actually makes it a much funnier film overall...listen to clueless filmmakers try to rationalize and justify every mistake they poured into this heap of steaming drek.

Evil Dead 2 - Bruce and Sam make every commentary worthwhile, but this being my favorite collaboration between the two makes it my fav commentary as well...I think that every fan should read The Evil Dead Companion and then watch all three films in a row with commentaries...

Monty Python & Holy Grail (Criterion) - Two Terrys make for an amazingly interesting/entertaining commentary track...complete with dress changes.

An honorable mention goes to all of the Criterion James Bond films with writer/director commentaries...more reasons to own an LD player!!


The WORST commentary should go to George Lucas on the Star Wars: Definitive Edition commentaries...he barely has anything to say about any of the films, and what he does say isn't even interesting for technical details...the thing that really makes it horrible though is the fact that the commentary track has no soundtrack in the background...so when Lucas sits, you snooze...

[GiGi]

I gotta agree with Chris on the Bruce Campbell commentaries. "Army of Darkness" was so funny...loved the bit where he was trying to pick out the extras who were milking camera time (kept showing up behind him in shots). I just am a huge bruce fan anyway.

[Dr Creep]

I think I rented The Cell right around the time I bought my DVD player, and enjoyed the film quite a bit. But what really surprised me was how much I loved the commentary by Tarsem. I couldn't believe the director of the Losing My Religion video wasn't a pretentious asshole. I really enjoyed listening to the guy crack himself up and describe certain scenes as "stupid." I think it was the first time I realized that not every director thinks he is making Citizen Kane. He set out to make an enjoyable thriller without any real depth, and that's probably why he succeeded.

A commentary that raised my appreciation of a movie was the text commentary on Wrath of Khan. It was done by some Star Trek nerd and really shed light on the production. Can you imagine a director obsessed with cutting costs today (James Cameron I'm looking in your direction)? The number of sets they recycled from the last movie was really impressive. I still haven't gotten around to listening to the director's commentary. I don't really care what the 'auteur' of a Star Trek movie has to say. I just want geeky details!

Finally, a dvd that LOWERED my appreciation of a movie is the Producers. Although it doesn't have a commentary, if I remember correctly, it has some interviews with Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. Brooks was very obnoxious - he obviously still considers himself a genius. Worse, I get the impression from the interviews that Zero Mostel, a truly great performer, was an asshole. After watching that dvd I don't know if I can watch The Producers again, even though it is one of my favorite comedies.

[Mr B Natural]

I really love the commentaries for Robocop and Starship Troopers. Robocop (Criterion, and unrated! The only way to see it) has Paul Verhoeven, Ed Neumier (the writer), and Jon Davison (producer) -- its really insightful, and hits on great behind the scenes info for all elements of production. Everything Verhoeven says about how to make an effective horror/sci-fi film is awesome, especially about overcoming the inherent silliness of a film where a cop is turned into a robot and fights crime. His comments on the necessity for brutal violence in Murphy's death are top notch.

Starship Troopers is another great one with PV and Neumier -- really insightful with minimal down time (there's nothing more boring than listening to a filmmaker silently watch his movie). If you want to learn how to make a horror/sci fi film, these two commentaries are great places to start.

[dignan]

I havent heard it for myself, but I hear the Easy Rider commentary with Dennis Hopper is hillarious. He's always like "I don't remember shooting this at all...god I was so high"

[The Baron]

My absolute favorite commentary to date, is on the dvd of Versus. It's entirely in Japanese, with English subtitles.

The commentary is hosted by a morning radio host, who keeps plugging his show in English, ("Have Some Fun!") and the director is constantly telling the guy to shut up.

The main actors are there, too, and the director continuously talks about how bad their performances were. They reply with things like, "Yeah, I really sucked in that scene." One actor's performance was supposedly so bad, they killed his character off long before they were supposed to.

Then, from a technical point of view, they talk about how one scene was ripped off from Highlander, and another shot was stolen from The Lion King.

If you haven't listened to this commentary, you really owe it to yourself.

[judex]

I really enjoyed Tim Lucus's commentaries on Black Sunday and Blood and Black Lace. You could tell he really knows his Bava.

I have mixed feelings about Christopher Freyling on Once Upon A time In The West. On one hand his comments about the set design helped me view the movie in a different, fresh way and his knowledge of Leone's visual references to the great westerns was some of the most insightful I have heard. However, his tendency to give blow by blow descriptions of scenes is very irritating. I have eyes, I don't need someone to tell me what I am watching.

[bronsonseven]

PV and Arnold's on Total Recall is great. It just shows how big of a dumbass Arnold really is.

"I'm Arnold Swartz, and this me running towards the screen."
-Arnold S (during the opening credits production logo when the unicorn runs toward the screen.)

Another great one is on the Limey, Lem Dobbs and Soderburgh pretty much fight the whole time about their creative differences. Great.

And Carpenter commentaries with Kurt Russell are spectacular.

[w24x192]

James Cameron on the extreme edition dvd of T2 was interesting to hear - he's obviously pissed about T3, you get to hear about how dangerous the stunts were and how he was a fool to do them, and you get to hear how he is disapointed over what made the final cut of the film and what did not. Also, the dvd has some insanely technical extra, such as one that runs simultaneously with the film and talks about th types of cameras and lenses used, how certain shots were done, special effects anatomy, and even how to shoot a tv that is showing what your filming and not have that annoying roll show up.

The worst commentary I've ever heard was on a special edition of Vertigo. The two main players on the commentary are the dorks who restored the film, so all they can add is how the yellow layer was deteriorated so we had to go back to the b&w masters and restore the color from there. The other main player, someone who actually helped on the film, adds the only interesting information, but he speaks so infrequently, you almost forget he is there. The restoration dudes have to pry information out of him. Other than that, there is more dead air on that commentary than I've ever heard...fill it with something...geez.

I have to say that I like all of the commentaries on The Simpsons and Futurama dvds...I've seen the shows so many times, its nice to know a little more about what went on.

[eyeresist]

Starship Troopers is probably my all-time favourite - Verhouven is pretty much manic throughout. Terry Gilliam is always fun (also manic), and I found the technical commentary on Pitch Black to be educational (a good thing).

Bad commentaries? I hated the giggling and bad jokes on the Resident Evil disc, especially as it kept interrupting the director whenever he tried to point out something interesting. Vertigo was definitively lame, the worst part being the elderly guy, who was some kind of assistant on the original shoot, who couldn't remember anything. Interview with the Vampire was also disappointing - Jordan basically described what he was seeing on screen.

Commentaries seem to work best with 2-4 people; a lone commentator usually finds it hard to get motivated, while a whole crowd of people in the room is usually just a mess. It would also be nice if people would actually prepare before doing a commentary, especially if it's been a few years since they made the film.

And yeah, the Futurama commentaries are v cool.

[FilmNerd_Jamie]

Best DVD Commentary ever? Well personally, I'd say it's a tie between Mallrats and Evil Dead II. Both tracks managed to be 1) funny as Hell 2) honest without the fear of pissing people off 3) informative towards the making of said film and 4) just damn entertaining! Other great tracks I love include:

Blade II (del Toro's track!)
From Dusk Till Dawn
Knightriders
Once Upon A Time in Mexico
Clerks: The Animated Series
Dogma (The Cast & Crew Video/Audio track!)
The Thing
Big Trouble In Little China
Aliens: Special Edition
Back To the Future (The Q&A track with Zemeckus and Gale)

My God, there are just so many! Quiet a few others I know I'm forgetting to mention! But you get the idea...

[Baragon]

Brother Bear.

Yes, the Disney cartoon movie. I never saw the movie, never wanted to see the movie, but I'm a big SCTV fan, and if you are too, you won't want to miss this. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas play 2 moose (mooses? mice?) who are, for all intents and purposes, Bob & Doug McKenzie, and they do a full audio commentary in character. It's hilarious, and you don't need to know the movie to appreciate it (I never saw it). They start out talking about the craft service on cartoon sets, have typical Bob-and-Doug rhetorical exchanges ("if you eat popcorn during the movie, do you have to make popcorn during "the making of?") and even show up and block the screen, MST3K style. Grab a six of Molson, fry up some back bacon and enjoy.

[Mr B Natural]

I know no one's posted here in almost a year, but it had to be said:

Soldier of Orange has one of the best commentary tracks out there.

Verhoeven seems to have made this English-language commentary specifically for American audiences. Before I saw the film, I wasn't too familiar with Holland's role in WWII, so there were a lot of cultural elements that I missed. After hearing the commentary and learning what I missed, I have a new appreciation for the film.

Plus, Verhoeven is so honest about his failures and sucesses, which is always refreshing to hear from a director.

[dogbowl]

Nekromantik - Jorg Buttgereit
Jorg Buttgereit goes into great detail about his horror classic. He even gets a bit appologetic about the bunny scene. Really interesting stuff about making such a strange disturbing film on no budget.

The Sweet Hereafter - Atom Egoyan
One of my most favorite films ever. Beautiful lyrical film. I'd listen to anything about it.

Master of the Flying Guillotine
Encyclopedia of kung fu knowledge. An entire course of Hong Kong film history condensed to 90 minutes. Those of us who work in the video game industry know this film is ground zero for video game characters.

[Mr B Natural]

Master of the Flying Guillotine
Encyclopedia of kung fu knowledge. An entire course of Hong Kong film history condensed to 90 minutes. Those of us who work in the video game industry know this film is ground zero for video game characters.

Hell yeah. This commentary was awesome, probably the best martial arts one I've heard. The commentators were entertaining, too.

What do you do in the video game industry?

[dogbowl]

I'm a test lead / ASSociate PRODucer. I lord over monkey-minions who beat up the game 12 hours a day (depending on milestones). It can be very grueling because of the time committment, but it beats real work!

Master of the Flying Guillotine introduced all sorts of fighting game characters :

Raiden
Chun Li
Dhalsim (this one is very memorable)

All sorts of other Street Fighter guys. Too many to remember off the top of my head.

[Mr B Natural]

Most definitely sounds like it beats real work.

The Dhalsim fights (in the film) are really awesome...cheap but effective & fun.

Didn't the Thai Boxer end up in one of the SF sequels?

[dogbowl]

Dhalsim : Master of Yoga

My wife does yoga, but she can't quite choke me from across the room just yet. But she's working on it.

The commentary had some interesting insight as to why the Thai Boxer was a bad guy, and why other guys were good guys, ect. Great stuff.

[Jeremy Knox]

Wow! I can't believe no one's mentionned the UP IN SMOKE commentary track with Lou Adler and Cheech Marin. Both men get along great together and remember all these little details about scenes that are almost as funny as the movie; like how the MUF DVR license plate on Cheech's car in the film, was Marin's real license plate. But the bits that impressed me the most weren't the jokes, it was how they seemed to collectively remember every goddamn person in that movie and pull an anectdote about them out of thin air. Didn't matter who it was, they knew 'em. (They even pointed out that Ellen Barkin is in a scene near the end.) Another thing is that you get a real sense of artistry behind the making of the movie, the two men talk about influences from Altman and Coppolla, to Laurel & Hardy. Which hints quite strongly at why C&C works when other movies in the same genre kind of went tits up.

That's my favorite anyway. Close second would have to be the South Park commentaries with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Funny shit there too.

[erbenz]

I listened a little to the Brad Bird/John Walker "Incredibles" commentary from the DVD I rented out. Though I didn't hear it all, there was an interesting rant from Bird about Animation as a Genre. He said he's always annoyed about people calling a genre, when it's just a style of film.

Bird also said that Harrison Ford & George Clooney were considered for Mr. Incredible.

[Bayouradio]

Carpenter/Russell are my favorites overall. Not so much for the information they impart, but because they somehow make you feel like you're invited to sit with a couple of friends and enjoy their conversation.

Evil Dead II is the funniest commentary I've ever heard.

I really liked the commentary on DIE HARD except for the inclusion of the set designer. He gives some good information, but he spends a lot of time digressing about who-cares stuff. (The commentary on DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE just makes me want to beat the crap out of the screenwriter and then use his bloody corpse to whale the snot out of the Fox marketing prick who's included for some reason.)

Robert Rodriguez, for all of his tendencies toward megolomania, generally provides very informative commentaries and though I get sick of the "film is dead" rants, his enthusiasm can be infectious.

The Criterion HALLOWEEN commentary is a favorite. Great combination of people. (Debra Hill RIP)

I remember really getting a lot out of the commentary for THE BELIEVER.

[bonedad]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the commentary Bruce performed as "The King" for the Bubba Ho-Tep DVD.

His invocation of Elvis as a cranky and rambling old fuddyduddy (who is, for the most part, offended by the content of the movie and the way he's portrayed in it) is certainly one of the most creative commentaries I've ever heard. I'd rank it way up there among my favourites, probably top of the list.

[The Baron]

You're right, Bonedad. That was a highly creative and pretty frickin' funny commentary. Vintage Campbell.

[saccharine]

i didnt read every single post on this thread so if im reiterating, well what can ya do?

any Terry Gilliam film pretty much, especially Brazil
the David Morgan commentary on the Love Conquers All version was very interesting

i really enoyed the commentary by Christopher Mcquarrie on the Way of the Gun


Ed Norton going off about Ken Turan amused the hell out of me on Fight Club

all of the commentaries on DIG! were good

must sleep now

[F-Stop]

Well, for sheer "fun" I'd have to go with SNATCH - the movie is okay at best, really, but the commentary is hilarious - Guy Richie being unrelentingly, viciously mean and sarcastic. After listening to that commentary, one realizes how this is probably the only guy in the world who could actually handle Madonna.

For insight into filmmaking and storytelling, and I'll say it, Life, I'd go with Atom Egoyan and novelist Russell Banks on THE SWEET HEREAFTER. It's so rewarding, philosophical, reflective, and almost literary. I'm a professor of film studies and production, and this is the only commentary I've ever shared with a class.

And for weirdness sake, I like the SEVEN commentary where Pitt and Fincher are joking around together, which is intercut with a deadly serious Morgan Freeman commentary recorded at a different time. It's two hours of being jarred.

And I appreciate bad commentaries, where the parties involved clearly don't want to be there (Wahlberg on Boogie Nights), where they stop talking for 30 minutes on end (Burton and Reubens on PWBA), or where they have nothing to say and so they start narrating the movie (Carpenter on AOP13).

Okay I've given this too much thought, should be doing other things...

[Darko_Chick]

My favorite would have to be Richard Kelly and Kevin Smith on "Donnie Darko: the Director's Cut" it really helped me understand the movie and it was funny as hell. Smith also seemed to keep Kelly's rambling about the film in check and kind of guided him in explaining things. There's also quite a bit of insight into Kelly's inspirations and such.

[Daniel Bernardi]

One of the best commentaries for any film buff is on the DVD of MANIAC. William Lustig, Tom Savini, Lorenzo Marinelli and Luke Walter take us through the whole film mainly revealing some funny on set stories while they pay homage to the great Joe Spinell. If you love 100% unbridled, proud native New Yorkers as much as I do, then you will get a kick out of this commentary and listen out for Lorenzo Marinelli who is a riot.

[Mr B Natural]

One of the best commentaries for any film buff is on the DVD of MANIAC.

I really like this commentary too, especially their story about trying to get the scene with the shotgun blast to the face done in a tiny amount of time before the cops show up. Gotta love shooting without a permit.

This commentary gives you a great sense of the no-budget indie spirit of this film.

[Daniel Bernardi]

Combat Shock also has a great commentary and it is funny to listen to a commentary by director Buddy Giovinazzo and Jorg Buttgereit that has better sound quality than the actual film. Oh, how technology snuck up on everyone without warning. The film itself is great but hearing the commentary could make all the misunderstanding audiences who hated the film start to get what Giovinazzo was trying to do. Please, please forgive the film's technical short falls and just admire the hopeless post-Vietnam war world that Giovinazzo created on a lunch budget. It is great to hear Buddy's current perspective on a film he made before he had much experience and talking about what he would have done different. It is the ultimate example of how filmmakers grow.

An amusing bit on the commentary for those who have tuned in, is when Buddy himself admits that there were no stars to emerge from this cast.

[Stanley Welles]

I have had the single disc edition of the Snatch dvd for about 2 years now, and I finally got around to watching the commentary. I immensly enjoyed Guy Ritchie's dry humor during the film. Very little of it had to do with budgets and other things to that idea, but I still enjoyed it. The producer said around ten words during the whole commentary, and there is a very funny bit where the executives or "the men is suits" apparently told him that he was the most boring man they ever had do a commentary.

[Happy Entrails]

On the subject of DVDs whose commentary is better than the actual flick, IF there is any reason to watch "Daydream Believers" (the Monkees biopic) it's because you can choose between commentaries by Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones, all of whom basically go "That really happened!" or "I NEVER did that!" over and over throughout.

Coincidentally, the first DVD I ever rented for the commentary alone was "Tapeheads". I never thought much of that lame teen comedy, but figured hearing Mike Nesmith ramble about making it would be a hoot. As I recall, it was indeed.

- Desert Island Dick

[Dawn84]

The best commentary that I have heard, so far has to be
the one from the Dawn of the Dead (europian cut) where the
actors talk about making the film and it sounds like they are having
fun reminessing about those olden days.
The worst was for Terminator 2 Judgement Day, just too many
people doing the commentray.

[Malkaris]

As a rule, I hate the extras and commentaries on DVDs. I'd rather just have the movie... rather than a bunch of junk, and people talking. If the scenes was deleted, for instance, there was probably a reason.

I didn't care for the stuff they had on "Pirates of the Caribbean." At all.

But the Alien vs Predator commentary was good, and I could have stood even more deleted scenes.

[Rory L. Aronsky]

Doesn't seem like much of a rule if you liked what the Alien vs. Predator disc had on it. ;)

[Malkaris]

I liked AVP's disc because it had very little.

Mind you, I only found one of the deleted scenes interesting (Predator Humour.)

But I liked the commentary with Tom and Alec. Tom is hilarious, and talented. Did anyone see him on tech tv? Pickin on poor Ian... tsk tsk

But it did't have that huge mess like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Plus, IMO, most deleted scenes were deleted for a reason, they are dumb. Therefore, why waste disk space?

[eyeresist]

Yeah, the director and cast AvP commentary was sorta average, but the tech commentary was cool. Actually, I've noticed this before: special effects guys tend to be a lot smarter and funnier than the cast or even the director. They were certainly the highlight of the Alien 3 commentary.

(Or maybe I'm just a nerd?)

[szmike]

The "Cannibal The Musical" commentary is pretty entertaining. Booze changes a somewhat informative rant from the filmmakers and cast to an all out drunken farting match. Funny shit.

e

Especially when Trey Parker starts ragging on his ex-fiance (Liane) who cheated on him in college.

"I'm now worth seven million dollars and she's a manager at Foley's. Whoops!"

[szmike]

One of my favorites is the Willy Wonka audio commentary done by the five kids. It was the first time those five had been together since making the movie. It's like attending an interesting class reunion. Lot's of good anecdotes and trivia. Although you do feel sorry for poor Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop) who speaks little English and is barely included in the conversation.

[bronsonseven]

But the Alien vs Predator commentary was good, and I could have stood even more deleted scenes.

Man, I think I just typed a post that was deleted.

So, like I said in an invisible post earlier, this whole movie should have been a deleted scene.

[mylifeisdukka]

Plus, IMO, most deleted scenes were deleted for a reason, they are dumb. Therefore, why waste disk space?

as opposed to having absolutely nothing and having unused space?

i think if theres space, why not put stuff in there? as long as effort is put in to put a load of quality extras (LOTR extended editions have mastered this) instead of half-assing unworthy crap.

my favorite commentaries are from darren aronofsky, christopher nolan, and robert rodriguez (especially in El Mariachi). also, the funniest track ive ever heard was Y Tu Mama Tambien. Its only truly hilarious if you are fluent in spanish and if you have a good grasp of mexican slang. Its the three actors who played the "charolastras", and all they do is get drunk and have a roaring good time and talk trash. one of them actually comes in like fifteen minnutes late. They're sitting there making fun of each others genetalia appearances in the film and how hot the actresses they did the sex scenes with were. completely uninsightful, but absolutely hilarious. i really wanted to hear cuaron give commentary tho...

[Malkaris]

Eyesresist,
I don't think that's nerdy, it's very true.

Plus Thomas and Alec rock!


I would rather have blank space then crap on my DVD.
Did you guys catch some other deleted scenes from X-Men 1 & 2-- a couple were good, most were garbage and a waste of space.

Pirates of the Caribbean is just packed with...stuff.

I'd rather they keep it all on one DVD-- the movie, maybe an extended version, the languages and scene selection, and a bit of intelligent commentary, and some good scenes that maybe weren't ready, or something...


:cool:

[The Next Critic]

Star Wars DVD's always have some great documentaries. I learn about how the movies are made and here some interesting tibid's from Lucas to other workers for the film. But since were on the subject of DVD commentaries I also like the Family Guy commentaries too. They're funny as hell and I wish they'd but more then just two on each disc.

[bronsonseven]

Star Wars DVD's always have some great documentaries.


Too bad they don't have great films on them too.

[The Next Critic]

Too bad they don't have great films on them too.
Hasn't that been the truth lately? I swear I had a better time listening to the commentary on Episodes I and II more then the actually movie. Thank god Episode III did suck so much like the other's did.

[Baron_Blood]

The best dvd commentary ever is the John Landis/Rick Baker commentary for "Schlock". Second place goes to critic Geoff Pevere's half reverent, half jokey commentary for "Goin' Down The Road". I think the best commentaries are usually multiple person commentaries where the film is years old, and the cast and crew are looking back fondly. The worst commentaries I've heard are for newer films where the people doing the commentaries are young and seem to be speaking only to hear themselves talk ("Wrong Turn"; "May"; and the absolute worst commentary ever: "Bowling For Columbine").
Here is my complete list of best commentaries:
1. "Schlock"
2. "Goin' Down The Road" (Geoff Pevere track)
3. "Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except"
4. "Phantasm"
5. "Big Trouble In Little China"
6. "The Thing"
7. "Vamp"
8. "C.H.U.D."
9. "The Evil Dead" (Both tracks)
10. "Running Time"