Audio Commentary Best and Worst

[beamish13]

Originally Posted by ArtVanderlay

*Ahem* Bey Logan's commentaries

Worst: when I accidentally selected the 'Joke' commentary on Dodgeball thinking it was the actual one.

Unfortunately nowadays I don't have enough time for audio commentaries or special features (Though I make an exception for Criterion special features).

Lucky for you that Criterion skimps on the commentaries nowadays (although I am really excited about PARASITE’s)

[celluloidboy]

Craven and Williamson on the first Scream.

[Walter Kafka]

Worst commentary I ever heard was DVD Waiting for Guffman.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Christopher Frayling’s Leone commentaries are gold. He sure knows his stuff. Wish he had some solo ones for OUATITW & OUATIA.

[lesco]

Best: commentaries with
Joe Dante
Leonard Maltin
Terry Gilliam
John Waters
and other commentators who partner up with someone else to give a lively track (Kim Newman, David Del Valle)
Tim Lucas and Tom Weaver are pretty good, depending on the film.

Worst:
Actor commentaries. Every track is guaranteed to have the comment "It was SO COLD / SO HOT out there" make an appearance somewhere along the way. And everything they say is a suck-up.

[Hedrox]

RateThatCommentary.com

[EvilAshLives]

One of the worst is Richard Stanley's Dust Devil commentary, not because of the content, but because it sounds like it was recorded in a wind tunnel; it's sadly unlistenable.

[Ben_UK]

Alien was my first ever DVD purchased in about 1999 and it’s still to this day one of the best commentary tracks I’ve ever listened to. I was frankly spoiled I think because the bar was set so high with that. I too have begun to listen to a few Bond commentaries and perhaps because the people involved are just so old now the input they have is pretty vague and not really up to the standard of the best tracks out there.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by EvilAshLives

One of the worst is Richard Stanley's Dust Devil commentary, not because of the content, but because it sounds like it was recorded in a wind tunnel; it's sadly unlistenable.

A lot of these post-Covid "Zoom chat" commentaries sound like the speakers are in the midst of drowning. The recent commentary track on the Kino release of Happy Birthday To Me sounds like shit. You'd think these people could afford a proper mike setup.

[RFK]

As mentioned by many already, Joe Dante's commentaries are always a fun listen.
My favorite would be the commentary for The Howling which included several of the film's stars and had the feeling of a casual talk among friends. It really feels like everyone involved enjoyed the experience.

Other good commentaries:

John Waters commentaries
Jack Hill on Spider Baby
Roger Ebert on Crumb and Beyond the Valley of he Dolls

Bad commentaries include:

Crimes of Passion - The film is only half finished and Ken announces he has to leave.
Burn Witch Burn - Poor Richard Matheson is stuck commenting on a movie he co wrote the script on and had little memory of without the help of a moderator, a very quiet commentary.

Probably the worst would be an aging Mickey Rooney on an interview for a Twilight Zone episode angry that he's being asked questions about a show he claimed he had no memory and refusing to even try to remember even though he took the check for doing a commentary?

[Lurtz6]

Ones I go back to time and time again (I definitely prefer more lighthearted anecdotal commentaries):

Richard Linklater: Dazed and Confused
Chiodo Brothers: Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Bruce Campbell Solo commentary: The Evil Dead (not on Bluray iirc, have to get the ultimate DVD)
Any of the commentaries on the Trailer Trauma trailer comp discs, but I'm especially fond of George Reise and Keith Crocker on Trailer Trauma 2.

[Jay H.]

Joe Dante and David Fincher. It doesn't matter which movie it is, or whether they are solo or with someone. I could listen to either director talk all day.

[dr. wai]

Here are some commentators that I love listening to:

Kevin Smith: He is great and offers tons of information about almost every film he has made.

John Carpenter: Take the commentary track on the original In the Mouth of Madness dvd/blu-ray out and he provides great tracks. He even did a track for the original The Thing from Another World which is exclusive to the UK DVD release.

John Waters: I could listen to Waters read the telephone book.

Francis Ford Coppola: Every one of his tracks is a masterclass in filmmaking

Greydon Clark: No one mentions Clark but he is among the best when it comes to commentary tracks. Every one is a gem.

Fred Olen Ray: His solo tracks are outstanding but it's the tracks he does with others (especially David Decoteau) that are truly great. Their track on the Snowbeast blu-ray is one of my all-time favorites. Also, check out the Jack-O track with the film's director and Fred Olen Ray. It is a must listen.

Oliver Stone: Say what you will about his films, the man provides some of the best commentary tracks of all time.

Roger Ebert: I wish that he had done more tracks before he got sick. Every one of his tracks is a must listen.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone: They don't do very many full length tracks (they used to do short tracks for episodes of South Park), but their tracks for Cannibal! The Musical and Orgazmo are so funny and lively.

Robert Rodriguez: He used to do great tracks but he has stopped doing them. Seek out the ones that he did do as they are wonderful.

Quentin Tarantino: He has never done one for a film he has directed but he did do ones for films he wrote (True Romance, From Dusk til Dawn) along with ones he produced (Hostel 1 and 2). He even did one for Switchblade Sisters (DVD) and King Boxer (he's a fan). I wish he would do more tracks, but his podcast (with Roger Avary) does a great job of getting his thoughts on all kinds of films.

Mike Leeder and Arne Venema: I can't find one bad thing to say about these guys. Every one of their tracks should be required listening.

Frank Djeng: Everything I said about Leeder and Venema applies here.

Brandon Bently: He is damn good as well. His track for The Big Boss is so good.

[sleepaway77]

Originally Posted by Lurtz6

Ones I go back to time and time again (I definitely prefer more lighthearted anecdotal commentaries):

Richard Linklater: Dazed and Confused
Chiodo Brothers: Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Bruce Campbell Solo commentary: The Evil Dead (not on Bluray iirc, have to get the ultimate DVD)
Any of the commentaries on the Trailer Trauma trailer comp discs, but I'm especially fond of George Reise and Keith Crocker on Trailer Trauma 2.

Not having the solo Bruce Cam0bell commentary on any of the subsequent Evil Dead blu releases is a crime. Probably the commentary track I've revisited the most. Even made a girlfriend watch the movie with it on.

[stvn1974]

Best: Bruce Campbell and Kevin Smith


The worst one that I have heard was for Seven. Morgan Freeman was so boring that I thought I slipped into a coma a few times.

[Moviefan2k4]

I really enjoyed Bob Gale and Neil Canton's commentaries for the Back to the Future trilogy. They shared a wealth of information, much of which I hadn't heard before when I first listened to the commentaries on the original DVD release. Even now, I'd recommend those tracks for any fan of the series.

[CinemaScope]

The very best - Mike Nichols & Steven Soderbergh on Catch-22 (1970) DVD, I'm sure it'll be ported over if it ever gets a Blu-ray release.

Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather 1 & 2 is very good, & not a movie, but the commentaries on Mad Men are brilliant (except season 6, where they didn't have any).

Worse - Well Mel Gibson wasn't very good on Braveheart.

[Chie Satonaka]

Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr do some excellent commentaries for horror films. Really like the ones they did for Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, Prince of Darkness.

[Alexcap]

the guys from the hysteria continues commentary's are always great i have never heard a bad one yet from them i am always looking forward to hearing their next one.

[mikesncc1701]

I know people are mixed on Rob Zombie, but his commentary for his first Halloween film is super good, as is that massive making of documentary.