One of the things I love about DVD's is that you can listen to the commentarys of directors, actors, producers ,etc.I love hearing about how the movies were made.
What commentarys have you thought the best.
For me its: anything with John Carpentar and Kurt Russle, the directors commentarys in Snatch, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I liked Conan the Barbarian's commentary. I remember the director often saying "Oh that's such a great (fill in here)" or "Wow, that's a beautiful shot". It got kind of funny after a while.
By far the best commentary is good ole' Bruce on the Evil Dead DVD.
Hilarious and often insightful stuff.
Another great one is the commentary on the 'Bootleg' DVD of Army Of Darkness. Sam and Bruce are hilarious.
And, how could you not love the fantastic Kevin Smith commentaries that he puts on all of his discs. The clerks commentary is by far the best one.
Also, for something different, the commentary on the AMAZING Bowling For Columbine has the interns from the film talking about it. Really gives some insight. Did kinda miss Michael Moore being on the commentary though. Oh well.
I was just thinking of Carpenter and Russell. I just bought the DVD of Big Trouble in Little China, and they do seem to be having fun.
I don't watch enough movies with the commentary. With a rental, it's often hard enough to find the time to watch the movie, and then I'll probably check out the documentaries and deleted scenes before I'll watch the movie again with the commentary. I'll say one thing for DVDs - you do get a lot more. One DVD with lots of extras can fill a whole evening. A pity I don't have the movie time I used to.
I like the George Romero commentaries, though he usually doesn't talk much about what's going on scene-by-scene.
I also like any of the Something Weird commentaries with David Friedman or Herschel Gordon Lewis.
Ha! JC & KR's commentary on The Thing is a hoot - you can hear them lighting up cigars and pouring drinks whilst commenting. And a commentary illuminates all sorts of things that the casual viewer never thinks about ...
Dave Friedman's commentary on Marijuana: Weed with Roots in Hell is literally an oral history of the roadshow movie -- an experience that is now extinct -- a really entertaining and educational commentary.
One of the best is the "in character" commentary by Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean on THIS IS SPINAL TAP. Hilarious.
To get real mainstream for a minute, the writers' commentary on Pirates of the Caribbean is fantastic -- practically a seminar in Screenwriting 101.
Haven't heard any of the commentaries on Lord of the Rings yet -- the movies are so damn long as it is! But some of the extras on the sets are amazing.
The commentaries on the Simpsons sets are VERY hit & miss but when they hit, they're great.
The commentary on THE CHEERLEADERS was a surprising lot of fun -- a combination of dish on the actresses and info on making a no-budget exploitation film in the 70s.
Geez, it's hard enough to find times to watch movies, let alone rewatch'em with commentaries....
Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks has Dyanne Thorne doing a running commentary during the movie. Neat way to view the film, but I haven't sat all the way through the commentary though.
Forgot Chuck Phalanuik w/ Fight Club.
By far the best commentary I have ever heard. Amazing stuff.
My favorite would have to be Jeff Combs and Bruce Abbott doing Bride of Re-Animator. It's like watching MST3K, because they're firing off jokes and one-liners as often as they're talking about the movie. It's a blast listening to Jeff and Bruce make fun of Bruce's hair for 90 minutes.
Brother R
Why hasn't anyone mentioned Jim Wynorski? His commentarys kickass. Especially for films like Raptor, Deathstalker 2, and Rangers.
Hey, my Deathstalker 2 didn't come with commentaries! Damn.
There's a commentary track for Raptor!? Or as I like to call it, Carnosaur's Greatest Hits Live on Ice!
Brother R
Surprised no one mentioned Cannibal! the musical. Basically it's Trey Parker and Matt Stone getting drunk from beginning to end of the commentary. Good Stuff.
I second the mentions of Spinal Tap and any with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. John Waters does good ones, too.
By far, though, my favorite commentary of all time is the one on Blood Simple: the whole thing is an elaborate put-on, apparently scripted by the Coens themselves, with a mock film historian describing the supposed "lost scenes," which mainly center around the redneck private eye actually being the deposed prince of Czechoslovakia. The entire commentary is done with such a straight face that I can imagine someone actually falling for it, even as he talks about Dan Hedaya's character being written for Rosemary Clooney, or gets sidetracked talking about his personal feud with an executive at Merchant Ivory.
I dig all the commentaries...but I have to say Barry Sonnenfeld on MIBII was a bit annoying and the bit about M. Night Sham-whatever was agonizing on Signs; you'd have thought the guy invented water or something.
. . . . The commentary for Carnivore (2000) was great. 8-->{
. . . . I'm fond of Basket Case and Brain Damage commentary's (sorely missing a Frankenhooker CT), and I'll third the Evil Dead and bootleg Army of Darkness (Love the [approx.] "... but I, I've always wanted to see nake, naked women, being whipped by skelet, skeleton's..." part). The editors' track off Citizen Toxie, is really funny. Phantasm and Killer Klowns from Outer Space are also real gems to listen to. I would really like to check out Joe Bob's CT's.
. . . . The Cannibal! The Musical track was great, too, as mentioned. It was funny to hear Matt get really p.o-ed at the end.
Post Edited (03-12-04 01:31)
How'd I forget bout the Joe Bob commentaries for Elite? Those are great, the third one comes out in April!
I thought the commentary, along with all the other features on the Carnivore DVD, were inaccessible and just on the back cover to get people to buy it?
Brother R
Ooh-- What movie's he doing in April? Loved the Jesse James vs. Frankenstein's Daughter commentary.
Double D Avenger. I drool with anticipation. Joe Bob is one of my heroes.
Brother R
>The commentary on THE CHEERLEADERS was a surprising lot of fun -- a
>combination of dish on the actresses and info on making a no-budget
>exploitation film in the 70s.
Was that the film withe girl being tricked into showering in the boy's lockerroom just as the football team comes in? If so, did it have anything interesting to say about that scene?
"I thought the commentary, along with all the other features on the Carnivore DVD, were inaccessible and just on the back cover to get people to buy it?"
. . . . I was joking. 8-->}. Aren't the stars of The Double-D Avenger drooling as well?
Post Edited (03-12-04 12:21)
No doubt they are, although I've never been a big breast man. By that I don't mean I don't care for breasts in general. On the contrary, I'm quite taken with them. I just don't like really big ones.
Brother R
I think Jack Black's is great in School Of Rock. I like This Is Spinal Tap's too. I hope they come out with another edition of Strange Brew, with commentary. I think a Bob and Doug commentary would be awesome. The disc I have doesn't have that.
Yeah, quite a bit -- the young lady playing the "innocent" was actually the most wordly of the bunch and always ready to go -- the guys were all freshman football players from a local college and if you watch close, when it came down to it, they're reeeaaally nervous and hesitant about grabbing and groping her -- he said they all had to drink a lot of beer first!
Canbal: The Musical is a great commentary track! Pretty much any track by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. On the "Everyone Is Kung fu Fighting" DVD make sure you listen to the commentary track for Team Work 2. It's basically the cast making fun of themselves the whole time.
Verhoeven and Neumeier's Starship Troopers special edition is fun, and they discuss various aspects of the anti-fascism theme most people who watch the movie say doesn't exist. Any commentary by Guillermo del Toro is a good time, particularly Blade II. "Feeling thirsty? Have a fetus!"
the anti-fascism theme most people who watch the movie say doesn't exist
Oh, it's there all right, about as subtle and insightful as a Disney WWII propaganda film. I'm surprised Donald Duck wasn't one of the Troopers.
The problem is they went whizzing past satire and didin't even slow down for parody and smacked head long into absurdity
AndyC wrote:
A pity I don't
> have the movie time I used to.
Me too. Stupid Job!! Damn Family!!
C.H.U.D.
Funniest DVD commentary ever!
>Yeah, quite a bit -- the young lady playing the "innocent" was actually the most
>wordly of the bunch and always ready to go -- the guys were all freshman
>football players from a local college and if you watch close, when it came down
>to it, they're reeeaaally nervous and hesitant about grabbing and groping her --
>he said they all had to drink a lot of beer first!
Interesting, thanks!
Forgot to mention Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. All three commentaries are good, but the one with Hunter S. Thompson is amazing. Dude is INSANE. The best parts are when he calls up Depp's and Del Toro's answering machines and leaves abusive messages, and the several instances where he barks like a dog for no reason. I also like the final exchange at the end:
INTERVIEWER: So, Hunter, do you have any parting thoughts for the youth of today?
(Pause)
THOMPSON: You poor bastards. You poor, poor bastards.
Hold on a minute, since when was satire prohibited from being absurd? It's defined as "a [work] in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit." I can think of a few satirical films (Robocop, Starship Troopers, Dr. Strangelove, Dawn of the Dead) that are roughly as subtle as an Acme anvil to the head - but no less effective as a result.
I didn't read through all 32 previous posts to see if this was already mentioned, but "Cannibal the Musical" had the best DVD commentary I've ever heard. It made watching the movie a whole new experience, as Matt and Trey (the film makers) got drunk with some friends and let the alcohol do the commentating for them!
The cast commentaries on the extremely loaded Red Dwarf DVD's are great as well.
Brother R
Stephen Kay's commentary track on his "Get Carter" remake with Stallone are quite funny. He has a great time mimicking Michael Caine and Sly, and he is not afraid at all to point out goofs. The writer's commentary of "Black Hawk Down was quite funny as well. They tell a lot of anecdotes, abuse each others and do Ridley Scott' impersonations.