DVD Commentary Tracks

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

I searched for subjects containing the word commentary and found none...Anyway...

I was just thinking about how much I enjoy several movies with great commentary tracks, for example Seven Samurai, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Rules of the Game. Any other great commentary tracks (whether it be really insightful ones or really funny ones, whatever)?

Also, am I enjoying it more because of great commentary or do I listen to the commentary because I already like the movie?

Sorry if this thread sucks (Self-conscious much?)

[swede123]

I enjoyed the commentary for The Matrix. The Usual Suspects is another good one.

I think a good commentary track enhances an already good movie. I never watch commentaries for movies I only like, it has to be a movie that I love and have watched (without commentary) several times already.

Swede

[Soul Daddy]

I have never watched a commentary track.

[samjjones]

The Conan the Barbarian commentary track with John Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger is classic.

[lucas9000]

american beauty comes to mind...i especially like the discussion of the lighting/cinematography. also the commentary for requiem for a dream is good...a great story about ellen burstyn's scene with her son where she talks about why she wants to be on tv.

the best commentary tracks are on the mr show dvds, however. do not miss them.

[diebitter]

Once I've seen the film, I often rip the commentary track to mp3, listen to it when working, and delete it. Quite good!

[johnnycakes]

Roger Ebert's commentary is awesome on the Citizen Kane DVD (if you're not already a Citizen Kane historian).

[RunDownHouse]

The Braveheart commentary is really good. Its just Mel Gibson, and he's relatively sparse with the comments. Commentary tracks are normally 3 knuckleheads trying to fill dead air the whole time, which sucks. Braveheart's commentary is pretty much my idea of how it should be done.

[Hamish McBagpipe]

The original Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery has a pretty funny commentary with Mike Myers and director Jay Roach. For instance, when Austin wakes up and pees for a long time after dethawing, Roach says something like, "If you show a dumb gag long enough it is no longer funny, but if you KEEP showing it, at some point it becomes funny again."

[LAGmaniac]

The commentary on the Spinal Tap DVD is possibly funnier than the movie itself.

[Blarg]

I love commentaries. They're some of the best parts of the movie experience for me, of which the commentary is now a prime part. That's one reason why I hate when they come out with newer editions of DVD's I already have, and the new versions have commentary. Then I can't hear it unless I buy the same title twice! Two posts on this thread so far are movies I have and don't have the commentaries for.

I really loved the commentaries on the following, as examples.

Futurama
The Simpsons
Heat
Drunken Monkey in a Tiger's Eye
Aguirre, Wrath of God
Incident at Loch Ness
any Werner Herzog movie
Seven Samurai
The Magnificent Seven
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Goodfellas
Casino
Re-Animator
Frankenstein -- The multi-DVD collection with 4 or 5 Frankenstein films and commentary on all of them
The Wolfman -- same deal
Nosferatu
The Evil Dead 1, 2, and 3

I'm looking forward to hearing the commentaries on my Hitchcock DVD's and for The Chappelle Show, as well as for the 6th season of The Simpsons, which I just bought.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
The original Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery has a pretty funny commentary with Mike Myers and director Jay Roach. For instance, when Austin wakes up and pees for a long time after dethawing, Roach says something like, "If you show a dumb gag long enough it is no longer funny, but if you KEEP showing it, at some point it becomes funny again."

[/ QUOTE ]

Which insight, not to mention which scene of a prolonged act of public urination, he swiped from one of those Police Squad movies with Leslie Nielsen.

[SmileyEH]

The Gosford Park commentary is excellent.

-SmileyEH

[shakingspear]

I liked the Ghostbusters commentary.

The Donnie Darko commentary was weird because the director's voice sounds just like mine.

[chuddo]

winner. the spinal tap one is great. for those that haven't listened to it, it is basically the characters commenting on how they were portrayed in a bad light by the director.

[shakingspear]

Yeah, that was pretty good. But if I remember right I was a little annoyed because one of the guys didn't seem to be miced properly. Anyone else notice this?

[Army Eye]

[ QUOTE ]

Which insight, not to mention which scene of a prolonged act of public urination, he swiped from one of those Police Squad movies with Leslie Nielsen.

[/ QUOTE ]

From the first Naked Gun! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095705/) movie. Unbelievably funny scene.

[miajag81]

The commentary on the Family Guy DVDs is great.

[CrazyEyez]

Old School is funny.

[chuddo]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that was pretty good. But if I remember right I was a little annoyed because one of the guys didn't seem to be miced properly. Anyone else notice this?

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't think i noticed this. i have the criterion edition with the silver lining around the top of the case.

also, a lot of the deleted footage is pretty great, and is a solid hour long if i remember right.

[felson]

Some parts of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator 3 commentary were unintentionally hilarious. Mostly his comments about women.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Which insight, not to mention which scene of a prolonged act of public urination, he swiped from one of those Police Squad movies with Leslie Nielsen.

[/ QUOTE ]

From the first Naked Gun! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095705/) movie. Unbelievably funny scene.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, great scene. My guts hurt from laughing at that one.

[BiffMan]

Holy Grail has to be my favorite... Ranks right up there with Spinal Tap for me.

[TimTimSalabim]

I'm only a moderate Star Wars fan, but the commentary on the episode 4/5/6 series of DVDs is awesome.

Also, I never liked Rounders that much, but the commentary made it much more interesting (to say much more would be a violation of OOT rules /images/graemlins/laugh.gif).

[youtalkfunny]

[ QUOTE ]
Roger Ebert's commentary is awesome on the Citizen Kane DVD (if you're not already a Citizen Kane historian).

[/ QUOTE ]

If you only watch one DVD commentary in your whole life, make it this one.

I watched the movie, and thought, "Well, that wasn't a bad movie. I don't see why everyone calls it the greatest film ever made."

Then I watched the Ebert commentary, and he enthusiastically explains all the SFX and photographic techiniques which were pioneered in this film, and also points out symbolisms that the casual viewer might miss.

[Dr. StrangeloveX]

Fight club has a couple commentary tracks that are funny as hell.

[diebitter]

John Carpenter and Kurt Russell's commentary on 'The Thing' is pretty funny and well worth a listen or two.

[Blarg]

Yeah that was pretty decent.

[Zurvan]

Fight Club has 2 good ones - the actors & director, and the one with the author & screenwriter. The second is a bit dry, but very interesting. Especially if you like the books.

Another good one is from the Almost Famous: Untitled extended edition DVD, with Cameron Crowe, his mom, and maybe a few others. Since this is based on a true story, it's interesting to hear the real versions of what happened. His mom is annoying as hell though.

[Blarg]

Hmm, I loved that movie, but I saw a version that had no commentary. Thanks for the heads up, now I'll re-rent it just for that commentary.

[Zurvan]

Make sure you get the one in the black box "Untitled". It was like a Special Edition release with 2 discs & an extended version of the movie. The commentary isn't on the original in the blue(?) case.

[Blarg]

Thanks. I'll check out if Netflix has that version.

[Pocket Trips]

the DVD commentary on Memento was really good... We listened to it as part of a media design class .. I got brownie points for lending my proff the DVD /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[B Dids]

Kevin Smith's commentary tracks are always amusing. Especially Clerks, because of the drunken Jason Mewes on the floor of the hotel room where they record the thing.

I'm a sucker for the tracks from the tech guys on the LOTR movies.

[handsome]

[ QUOTE ]
Fight club has a couple commentary tracks that are funny as hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought this commentary was HORRID. Half of it was Edward Norton trying to sound educated with his "deep" raspy voice.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
Kevin Smith's commentary tracks are always amusing. Especially Clerks, because of the drunken Jason Mewes on the floor of the hotel room where they record the thing.



[/ QUOTE ]

this is what I was gunna say, the clerks one is funny, as are the mallrats and chasing amy ones. Those commentaries are actually what made me really like Ben Affleck, that guy is funny as hell IRL

I like the fight club tracks cuz I love the movie and the book and found it very interesting.

[Dr. StrangeloveX]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fight club has a couple commentary tracks that are funny as hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought this commentary was HORRID. Half of it was Edward Norton trying to sound educated with his "deep" raspy voice.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a large part of the funny. Like where norton is talking about how faithful the movie is to the book, "for example, this scene..." which happens to be the airplane scene where Jack and Tyler Durden meet, which is not in the book at all. Or brad pitt totally changing his opinion of the new vw bug.

[chunk]

American Movie.

the commentary is a perfect substitute for a sequel.