Director Commentary Survey

[hendra]

Do you usually watch movies with director commentary from start to finish? I usually don't. The only movie I can recall in which I watch the movie with director commentary is T2. I don't feel like listening to the commentary for 1.5 to 2 hours. While there may be interesting trivia, I would rather find it quickly rather than having to listen to the commentary for the whole 2 hours.

[CheapChildren]

Yes, I usually sit through the entire commentary.

In fact a lot of movies I enjoy the commentary tracks as much as the movies themselves. Kevin Smith and John Waters' commentaries come to mind.

[andyman1970]

No, I watch movies for entertainment. I couldn't care less about the commentaries and really wish they would do away with them in favor of other special features.

[Grubert]

I like commentaries but I rarely have time for them. Too many movies to watch!

[CheapChildren]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

No, I watch movies for entertainment. I couldn't care less about the commentaries and really wish they would do away with them in favor of other special features.

And what would those be? The enlightening gag reels?

Commentaries are the most expansive insight into the making of a film, unless you have a massive 'making of' which is expensive to produce and can't realistically be produced for every film. Commentaries are cost effective and frankly should have no influence on other special features inclusion or exclusion as you've suggested. So not really sure what you have against them.

[assydingo]

I remember in A Walk To Remember's commentary the director jokes about how rich he'd be if he made Mandy Moore porn.

Also in Hellboy 2's it mentions that the wall where the fairies come out of is supposed to represent the womb. A hint about the pregnancy. That was interesting.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Well, this has become habit for me. As a reviewer I am required to write my opinion about ALL extra features. And, since I have had to do it so many times, I tend to do it for all DVDs/Blu-rays.

Mind you, for my non-review content that I purchase for personal use, I will turn it off at some point if I'm not enjoying it.

[assydingo]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Well, this has become habit for me. As a reviewer I am required to write my opinion about ALL extra features. And, since I have had to do it so many times, I tend to do it for all DVDs/Blu-rays.

Mind you, for my non-review content that I purchase for personal use, I will turn it off at some point if I'm not enjoying it.

What commentaries have been especially worth hearing?

Just out of curiosity.

[Hugh K. David]

Commentaries are arguably one of the greatest things to come out of laserdisc and DVD, along with deleted scenes and in-depth documentaries. As a lover of cinema and how it is made, I spent my teens in the 80s watching every behind-the-scenes doc to make it to TV or the cinema, watching trailers for missing footage (e.g The Fugitive's glimpse of Julianne Moore's larger role with Ford, or later Payback's glimpse of the earlier cut in the first trailer), reading magazines like Cinefex, Premiere, Starlog and Fangoria, all of which was expensive for us Europeans, trying to get further into the moviemaking process.

The best commentaries are like having the creative team sitting next to you at home watching the film. The worst have taught me how utterly shallow and frequently boring some elements of this industry are, particularly actors.

My personal faves would have to be:

Roger Ebert on Dark City
Multiple participant track on the Criterion edition of Silence Of The Lambs
Writers' track on SWAT - four writers who worked on the film through different drafts, meeting for the first time (except the last two) - a real insight as to how a long-developing project works. Gotta love the guy who was on it first, explaining how there is only one line of dialogue from his draft left, and points it out when it is uttered!
John Carpenter & Kurt Russell on Escape From New York, The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China - part interesting production stuff, part buddies reminiscing - great fun.
Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino on From Dusk Til Dawn
The Wachowskis, Zach Staenberg, Meg Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano and Susie Bright on Bound
John Gaeta, Carrie-Ann Moss and Zach Staenberg on The Matrix - that one DVD showed the full potential of the new format, and remains a high watermark for comprehensive Behind-The-Scenes packages.

Certain people deliver consistently interesting commentaries time and again, and it becomes harder over time to single one out. I would say that if you see a commentary from one of these people listed on the disc, then they're 90% of the time worth listening to:

Ridley Scott
Tony Scott
William Friedkin
John Frankenheimer
John Carpenter
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Florent Emilo Siri
Robert Rodriguez
Quentin Tarantino
Sir Christopher Frayling
Tony Rayns
Bey Logan
Jonathan Clements

I confess to a professional interest in the last name there, as I hired and produced his commentary on the UK Special Edition DVD of Spriggan. Biased? A bit, but not much - all his other commentary tracks are great too.

[sgtpeppers]

I used to watch them all the time but not as much anymore. If its a movie I really love or a director/cast I love I'll watch it with commentary at least for a while.

[AikonEnt]

Nope, never have and probably never will. At most I've made it through about 10 minutes of a commentary, then turn it off. If I'm watching a film I don't like people talking, and that includes the director

[derelicte]

In the days of DVD, I used to rip the commentary track and listen to it as a podcast (I do a lot of driving). If I enjoy the movie enough to want to hear more about it then I'll know it well enough to enjoy the commentary without the image there.
My favorite thus far? Probably Joss Whedon on Serenity.

[swordfishblue]

I gotta say it depends on the movie. I don't really watch action movies with the commentary on. But with Dramas like the History of Violence i watch the movie one day then watch it again with commentary on the next day.

My favorites based on what i got:

Cameron Crowe- Vanilla Sky ( i've listen to it and replayed it so many times)

David Cronenberg- Eastern Promises & History Of Violence

Micheal Mann- Miami Vice & Collateral

3:10 to yuma has a great commentary track too

Micheal Clayton

[Pirate King]

I find the commentary tracks entertaining, and will sometimes watch a movie with the commentary. But not the first viewing.

[bumpylemon]

judd apatow commentaries with all the guys is pretty comical

[HKMOVIESAREBEST]

There should be an option for sometimes. Depending how much I'm getting into it I will listen to the whole thing.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

No, I watch movies for entertainment. I couldn't care less about the commentaries and really wish they would do away with them in favor of other special features.

The commentaries are entertainment to some. That said, I find most director commentaries to be absolutely boring. Actor commentaries, on the other hand, tend to be insightful and funny.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by HKMOVIESAREBEST

There should be an option for sometimes. Depending how much I'm getting into it I will listen to the whole thing.

...and depending on who the director is.

[BrianAgenda]

I hardly ever listen to commentaries. Although there are certain movies from certain directors that I would listen to if they did them. If Nolan did one for The Dark Knight I'd listen to the entire thing. I also like hearing Spielberg talk about his films.

I've listened to most of Ebert's Dark City commentary. I listened to Bryan Singer's commentary on The Usual Suspects.

Comedies, I was told by a friend to listen to the commentary on Anchorman. It was pretty funny as how they barely discussed the movie at all.

Also, Tropic Thunder, the commentary with Stiller Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr (As he does almost the entire commentary as the Lincoln Osiris character that his character Kirk Lazarus plays in the movie). Priceless.

[FindYourWay]

Depends on the film, for sure.
Some commentaries are really fascinating.