Rick Rob

Opinion: The Best and Worst DVD Commentary You've Listened To?

On the day Hellboy comes out, I can't help but recall listening to the commentary by Guillermo Del Toro on the Blade II DVD and laughing my head off (the Michael Bolton comments) as well as learning a thing or two about film making.

I then recall trying to listen to the commentary on the Resident Evil DVD and giving up after ten minutes. It was the most annoying thing to listen to. Michel Rodriguez kept yelling "okay this is when I shoot my gun...". Thanks.

So, I'm asking everyone what they thought was the best DVD commentary they've listened to and also the worst.

My picks:

Best - Blade 2, LOTR Series (Extended)
Worst - Resident Evil, The Matrix

NicolasC

The absolute worse I've ever heard is the one for "The Exorcist: The version You've Never Seen". Director William Friedkin just tells us what is happening on screen while we're watching. It could almost pass as an audio commentary for the blind! Practically no information on filming, no information on why scenes were cut from the theatrical release, on the special effects. A complete bore. I've never been able to sit through it.

Nicolas

NateX

I'm not a big fan of the commentary found on most DVDs, but I actually enjoyed the commentary of Dawn of the Dead.

Ben_@

top five commentaries (in my collection):
Evil Dead II (Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi= great fun and insight into this low budget classic)
Spinal Tap (most original use of commentary I've ever heard)
Fight Club (Helena Bonham Carter's added in commentary kind of kills the energy of Pitt, Norton and Fincher on the track)
Finding Nemo (one of my favorite that does not include cast members [nevermind that the director voiced Crush])
Mallrats (also very good, especially since they can all laugh at what a commercial flop the film was)

Bottom five:
Mystery Men (Kinka Usher comes off as really dry and unoriginal, even though he directed this rather original and funny movie)
Gladiator (a little too much of Ridley Scott narrating what happens on screen)
American Beauty (the voices are just too soothing despite the in depth subject matter, i end up almost falling asleep)
Heavy Metal (they basically put a book-on-tape as the commentary track, rarely follows onscreen action)
Wag the Dog, The Crow (tied, just too boring)

I guess what makes a good commentary, to me, is having insight with a lot of energy behind it. Obviously the best way to get some enthusiasm out of the participants is to get them to record a commentary track as a group. It also seems that the best commentaries only come out years after the release of the film, when everyone has had a chance to distance themselves from the material. I also think that injecting some humor (or lots of humor in Spinal Tap's case) really helps.

Brian Thibodeau

Go to this thread over in software for some choice comments about bad DVD commentaries. Some good stuff in there, except when it devolves into the usual point-counterpoint nitpicking:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=180948

If you search futher back in that forum, you find another thread someone started on Great Audio Commentaries or some such, but it didn't get nearly as much mileage as this one did, and soon became just another series of lists.

Scott Bender

My favorite is definitely Mallrats. It was one of my first 20 dvd's or so but even now, years latter its my favorite. I swear its as funny as the movie itself.

I'm trying to remember which of the several boring commentaries qualifies as worst, but I seem to have managed to erase them from my brain. Hopefully Kirsten Dunst was dancing in undies over me while it was being erased...

Scott

James T

I loved Conan the Barbarian. Arnold was such an idiot. I think he introducted himself as Richard Simmons and he didn't even remember the movie at all, which made it more amusing. Millus, on the other hand, actually remembered everything and went into detail on how certain shots were made and what gave them problems.

I also really liked Ghostbusters. It was the first commentary I listened to, but it was good. I also liked how you got to see the shadows of the people talking.

The worst I listened to was The Matrix. Carrie-Ann Moss was annoying. When the roof sequence, Moss was the main person talking and kept mentioning that her scene was coming up, the famous "Dodge this". At least they had a special featuretee that went into detail about bullettime.

Mike Williams

I think the best commentary I've listened to is Francis Ford Coppola with "The Godfather." He really indepth, describing the troubles he had with the studio and all kinds of stuff. These are what commentaries are supposed to be. Also, his commentary for "The Godfather, part 3" really helped me to appreciate that movie more on its own merits.

My worst commentary has to be a tie. First, "Star Trek: Nemesis." The director spends most of his time -- on the rare occassions that he does speak -- simply describing what we're already seeing, to the point that when the Enterprise goes to warp, his commentary is: "The infamous warp speed." Really insightful stuff. And to top it off, he whispers the entire commentary as though he doesn't want to distract from the movie itself, as though we're sitting next to him in a crowded theater and he's whispering so he doesn't disturb the other moviegoers. Bloody dreadful stuff.

Second, William Shatner and his daughter with "Star Trek V." Thank God his daughter was at least there, since the director himself doesn't seem to really remember shooting this movie at all. He doesn't remember people, names, events or too much of anything else. And through about the entire second half of the movie, Shatner just pretty much seems bored with the whole thing. Not good, not good.

Jason_Els

I usually don't listen to commentaries unless I have a particular love for the technique of a film. Of the ones I have listened to, I particularly enjoyed Roger Ebert's discussion of Citizen Kane. It's really illuminating on the shots, editing, acting, and the historical importance of the film. I also like both of the Lord of the Rings commentaries with Jackson. I haven't listened to the cast commentaries at all but I want to listen to Shore's too as I love the score.

Part of the problem with these is that not all directors are articulate or even interesting talkers. Think of all the teachers you've had in school. All might be experts in a particular area but some were fantastic at conveying the information with enthusiasm and others just sucked. A great director does not a great teacher make. I've heard many directors state they want their work to stand on its own so I imagine that at least some of them are coerced into doing commentaries. It doesn't surprise me that so many of them would rather not spend the time babbling.

For beauty is only a step removed from a burning terror we barely sustain, and we worship it for the graceful sublimity with which it disdains to consume us. - Rainer Maria Rilke

My DVD Collection

Brian W.

I agree. I think he wanted to do something different to the commentary he did on the 25th Anniversary disc, but he ended up saying nothing at all... it's awful. Jodie Foster's commentary for "Contact" is a close second.

Jon B NY

Best:
Cannibal! the Musical.
Dawn of the Dead.
Fight Club actors and director track (by the way, Ben, the track sounds as if Carter was recorded seperately and then recorded in maybe when there was dead air between the three guys. If you notice she always kills what was being spoken of by saying something different, and she never interupts any of them throughout the track).
Some of the Family Guy and Futurama episodes are GREAT as long as there are no dead air.

Worst:
Fawlty Towers. The director is very old sounding and barely speaks AT ALL. Most of the time you can hear him breathing into his mic. ughhhh.
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill. Who wants to hear him TALK about his act instead of just listening to his act? Pretty lameo. A documentary would have been a better special feature.