Directors who stopped participating in Special Features

[chris_sc77]

Over the past few years it has become increasingly apparent that many of todays Best Filmmakers have stopped recording Audio Commentaries and participating in other extras Features.


Some filmmakers are still making sure the audience gets an extensive all access look at the making of a film (Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, Kevin SMith, Judd Apatow) but an increasing number of High Quality filmmakers just dont seem to participate like they used to .

Hopefully this doesnt became another debate of "I never waste my time with the extras" or "They called called special features so they should just be icing on the cake. It's the movie thats Important"
Blah-blah-blah. We Know that.

I like to learn new things about some of my favorite films and find much of this knowledge and insight fascinating and often entertaining.

With that said here is a list of some of the major losses of Directors who have stopped participating in Behind the scenes commentaries and insights:


Martin Scorsese (Thankfully he recorded excellent commentaries for most of his films in the early to mid 00's because now he doesnt do them anymore starting with the Departed. Would have loved his Commentaries on Departed, hugo, Shutter Island, and especially Wolf of Wall Street)

P.T. Anderson (this was a big loss. 2 commentaries a piece on his first two films and then nothing starting with my favorite film ever Magnolia. Extras get increasingly sparse with every new film )

David O Russell (dont know what happened here either. He used to do a commentary or two on everything and then stopped after the Fighter)

Steven Soderbergh (Used to do commentary on everything and stopped as well a few years ago)

Robert Rodriguez (Never thought he would be one to shy away from this. Would have loved commentaries on the Machete films)

Tim Burton

Sam Raimi

So who else do you miss hearing from on your Blu-rays and DVD's ???

[LegacyCosts]

Commentary on Wolf would have been fasincating from ol Marty. I'm with ya on that, what a loss.

[dr. wai]

I think that some (ie Sam Raimi and Tim Burton) have just stopped caring. Robert Rodriguez has been working on other things. Scorsese just starts working on his next movie.

[Hazel Motes]

I hope the same happens with Terrence Malick and Woody Allen. But in reverse.

[HD Goofnut]

Has Spielberg ever done a commentary?

[Dotpattern]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Has Spielberg ever done a commentary?

No, but he's still involved with the special features, often participating in the documentaries and giving extensive interviews.

[mikesncc1701]

He's not a "great" like Scorsese or Malick, but this is one of the reasons I love Zack Snyder so much. The man embraces home entertainment with great enthusiasm and even if the studio tries to cut short bonus content, he does as much as he possibly can to get the most out there. I agree about Rodriguez, after Sin City he pretty much just did whatever and let the studio take over which is a shame because he has some of the special features around.

[chris_sc77]

A few more:

Ben Stiller

George Clooney

Michael Bay

Ron Howard

[reason108]

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

I agree about Rodriguez, after Sin City he pretty much just did whatever and let the studio take over which is a shame because he has some of the special features around.

Yeah, what other director will try to teach you how to cook?

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Has Spielberg ever done a commentary?

When laserdiscs started to include commentaries back in the 90's, I believe Kubrick was approached about doing some for his films. He said the film should speak for itself or something along those lines. Spielberg has adopted the same philosophy.

[HorrorBlu]

I thought Woody Allen was the big one. He has always been adamantly against extra features, saying his movies speak for themselves.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

I thought Woody Allen was the big one. He has always been adamantly against extra features, saying his movies speak for themselves.

Allen was also adamant about sound mixing in mono but he has allowed some of his recent releases to be presented in stereo or 5.1 multichannel. He also has been okay with extras bringing included on recent home video releases.

[JimDiGriz]

David Lynch

[Rizor]

Interesting thread. I've noticed the trend as well, but perhaps it's more to do with trends in the industry?

It's rather disappointing that Scorsese and PT Anderson have shied away from extras in the past decade or so. Scorsese has such a deep knowledge of film that everything he says is quite fascinating. I think Anderson's philosophy of films have simply changed. He came on the scene rather enthusiastically and I seem to recall criticism for his Boogie Nights commentary tracks being rather vulgar. He's just sort of matured as a person and as his last two films have taken on a sort of mystique, he probably wants them to speak for themselves on home video. It seems he has quite a bit of control in the home video releases of his films from the extras down to the menus & packaging (reversible cover art!). How many filmmakers can say that?

Hopefully Michael Bay hasn't lightened up on his extras. His last two films didn't get commentaries and the extras on the Pain & Gain SCE are relatively light (but this is compared to the hours produced for the Transformers films).

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

I thought Woody Allen was the big one. He has always been adamantly against extra features, saying his movies speak for themselves.

Stopped implies they started, so Allen doesn't count.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Hopefully Michael Bay hasn't lightened up on his extras. His last two films didn't get commentaries and the extras on the Pain & Gain SCE are relatively light (but this is compared to the hours produced for the Transformers films).

I thought the Pain & Gain releases were extras light because Paramount wanted him to do Transformers 4...

[buck135]

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

He's not a "great" like Scorsese or Malick, but this is one of the reasons I love Zack Snyder so much. The man embraces home entertainment with great enthusiasm and even if the studio tries to cut short bonus content, he does as much as he possibly can to get the most out there. I agree about Rodriguez, after Sin City he pretty much just did whatever and let the studio take over which is a shame because he has some of the special features around.

I can't understand why there isn't a single Zack Snyder blu-ray that contains a trailer for the film. From Dawn of the Dead to Watchmen to Man of Steel. Nothing. The trailers for his films due to the editing set to great music are amazing. What a loss.

[joltman]

I was really disappointed when Drag Me to Hell didn't have a Raimi commentary.

[tylergfoster]

Originally Posted by joltman

I was really disappointed when Drag Me to Hell didn't have a Raimi commentary.

Yup.

I also lament the loss of Scorsese's commentaries. The one on The Aviator was a stitched-together job, if I remember correctly, with some other participants. It's a shame he doesn't even do that, just talk a little about each scene and then use the other cast and crew to fill the rest of the gaps.

That said, I'm almost more disappointed with the gaps from people who were big extras folk but never got the chance for certain films. Like no Raimi Darkman commentary, or no John Carpenter / Kurt Russell Escape From L.A. commentary.

[swaseem]

Interesting thread. Just for my understanding, are directors offered compensation to prepare a commentary for their films or is it usually just volunteered?

I concur it'd would be a real treat to hear their most fondest thoughts and feedback from them, but if a director objects to doing it free, then I can understand.