Do you Listen to Audio Commentaries

[L .B . Jeffries]

Simple question MoFo's do you listen to DVD Audio Commenatries and if so which do you like or dislike. :)

[Yoda]

Yes, I do. If I like the movie, I listen to the commentary...and I usually like the movies I have. :D I really, really dug the commentary for The Usual Suspects. That's the only one that comes right to mind. EXCELLENT thread idea, BTW, LBJ. :yup:

[mecurdius]

I listen to them all the time my favorites are:

Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls in Fight Club
Bruce Campell for The Evil Dead
The Kevin Smith ones are pretty good, too

[spudracer]

I've only listened to one all the way through and that was House on Haunted Hill.

I usually only listen to parts just to find out about certain scenes, like how they did it and whatnot.

[Holden Pike]

Of course, Hell yes.

My three favorite commentaors have been Marty Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, New York, New York), Terry Gilliam (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, The Adventures of Baron Mucnhausen, Jabberwocky, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Life of Brian) and Robert Altman (The Player, M*A*S*H, Thieves Like Us, Secret Honor, The Gingerbread Man).

[The Silver Bullet]

Oh, yeah.

I love the things.
I've only listened to a few but I really enjoy both of the Moulin Rouge commentaries, although my favorite would probably be Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie on the Snatch commentary.

Funny, funny men.

[mecurdius]

You liked the guy ritchie Snatch commentary?!? That was so boring i had to stop oit half way through. All he talked about was lighting the whole time.

[The Silver Bullet]

Man, I thought it was hilarious.
They were eating lunch and it was very good, I thought.
They gave me a heap of insight. Wanting to be a director and all.

[sadesdrk]

The audio commentary for the Matrix was cool. I love Carrie Ann Moss's voice.

The one for American Beauty was great.

I don't watch them very often. I don't know why...I think I'll start.:)

[L .B . Jeffries]

Originally posted by The Silver Bullet
Man, I thought it was hilarious.
They were eating lunch and it was very good, I thought.
They gave me a heap of insight. Wanting to be a director and all.

I haven't heard the whole thing of Snatch but I was diggin that for sure, I was just really tried that day.

Once you mentioned "they were eating Launch" I thoght of P.T. Anderson second commentary on Boogie Nights were he goes to the actors homes and eats with them talks about some things that arn't really related to what's going on in the screen. He's everywhere, Marky Mark keeps on say I have to go right from the begining and he gets the guy to say for almost the whole movie. He keeps on talk to Guzman about that fact that people have said that he was getting high for the whole movie. it's just an insane commentary.

[The Silver Bullet]

Cool,
I'll have to check that out.

I really enjoyed the Snatch commentary. There was just something that really did it for me. The fact that Vaughn wasn't really saying anything and Ritchie kept saying, "...and now Matt's going to talk." And there'd be thirty seconds of silence and stuff. And they kept breaking (of course you don't know they've breaked) and they're saying, "...we've just been told that we need to start trying or else the company won't release the audio commentary." And at the same time, technically speaking, it was a very insightful commentary.

The writer's commentary on Moulin Rouge. Oh, I love that.

[Guy]

I used to, but not anymore. I will listen to a few directors though. I don't know why I don't. I guess I'd rather watch the actual film than watch the film with someone talking through it. If I had 2 extra hours to watch a film, I'd rather actually view the film. I recently watched Seven with commentary, and it was just very dull (with Freeman Fincher and Pitt).

[L .B . Jeffries]

"I am a very wealthy man, and whatever there paying you I'll double it"

I just listen to a great LD Audio Commentary of THE GAME with David Fincher and Cast & Crew

[Monkeypunch]

I try to listen to the commentaries at least once. The Mallrats commentary by Kevin Smith is the most entertaining one I've heard, but weirdly, the best commentary I've ever heard is for an awful movie: Monkeybone, directed by Henry Sellick. He just ranted about how the studio and the producers gutted his movie. It was so angry and bitter, it's must hear stuff for anyone thinking of getting into filmmaking. It shows how test screenings and nervous executives can ruin your ideas.

[Marcellus]

Requiem for a Dream's with Aronofsky was pretty cool as well, since he went into the whole background of the movie, working with the actors, etc. rather than just the movie itself.

[filmfreak]

The commentary for Clerks Uncensored is really funny, a lot better than the actual cartoon really. KS and SM just lay into MTV and the studio and talk how they screwed the production over throughout the whole 3 hours. I think they were glad to get it off their chests! The commentary on Get Over It is along the same lines.

I try to listen to the commentaries, especially if its a movie ive seen many times before, but some are awful. Mena Suvari on AP2 for example. Saying that i think Seann William Scott's commentaries on AP and Dude Where's My Car are both really funny.

[spudracer]

Some movies I don't really want to listen to the commentary on. I listened to a little of The Goonies commentary, House on Haunted Hill, and a few others. I'm not big on the commentaries.

[Jenny*B]

If I like the movie, I usually listen to the commentary. Sometimes they're interesting, sometimes they're not. I've enjoyed most of the ones I've sat through, though. I've started wondering what they are going to put on the commentary for the Spidey DVD... :p Heh heh. Already thinking ahead of myself.

[Fez Wizardo]

Do you listen to audio commentaries?

no, not just only do I find it hard to watch a film with the sound muted while people chat away in pure self indulgence over how great their flick is, but normally I find it ruin's the film for me, they add elements I didn't want added and ruine any mistique.

imagine director's commentary for Mulholland Drive

"...oh yes, yes, here we see Naomi with Laura, yes they were very kind about doing this scene, both were very cool with it, notice where Naomi is placing her hands on Laura's breasts while breathing heavily into her ear whispering violently "i'm in love with you", yes, yes, that was all heat of the moment, I didn't ask her to do that, but she just went with it...that's why I chose Naomi for this part..."

ARGH! WTF! NO!

[Mary Loquacious]

If I like the movie, I usually listen to the commentary. Sometimes they're interesting, sometimes they're not. I've enjoyed most of the ones I've sat through, though.

This is pretty much my commentary experience in a nutshell. Watch as many as I can ('cause you know, when you rent a DVD, there's only so much time... which is why I end up buying so d*mn many) and enjoy. Aronofsky's PI and Requiem commentaries are brilliant, and Kevin Smith and Martin Scorcese are always a treat.

Two really strange ones I've heard:

The Cannibal! The Musical commentary--Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and all the usual suspects getting drunk while talking about the movie. Not even an hour into the flick they start talking about going to the tittie bar. :rotfl: And even with how funny it is, you still get some great tidbits about the struggles of making movies with no money, no professionals, and no time.

The Sleepaway Camp commentary--remember this movie? When they released it on DVD and it actually had a commentary, I freaked out. I hadn't seen it in about ten years, so my husband and I got together a couple of friends who'd never seen it and watched the movie, which was universally proclaimed to be fairly lame--you know how it is, movies lose their luster when they're dated and crappy--and then we got the urge to listen to the commentary, mostly to figure out where that last shocking image (you know the one I'm talking about) came from. The commentary itself was so strange, we wound up watching the whole thing. There's nothing like a nobody director, his nobody actress, and the creator of the official SC fan site (seriously) talking seriously about character motivation and actors you'll never see again who appear in the movie itself for about three minutes ("Yeah, he was such a professional. A great actor.") Unbelievable.

'Kay. Babbling now. :babbling:

Mary Lo

[The Prestige]

I almost always listen to a commentary if it's a film I like. I probably listen to more DVD commentaries than most people. Last one I listened to was for Kidulthood The Director's Cut, which was alright mostly because of Noel Clarke. The other guy didn't seem as engaging. The visual commentary (and by visual I don't mean that ******** drawing replica of the commentators displayed on the screen while the film is playing, a la Ghostbusters DVD) for Adulthood was great. The cast and crew together on the side of the screen. It's fun seeing one casts members reaction to her own sex scene :D It's a great commentary and the only visual commentary I have ever seen on a DVD.

Yeah Yoda, Usual Suspects commentary was really great! Singer's a funnier guy than I thought he was. That's a commentary I can listen to over and over again. BUT...you lot ain't seen nothing if you haven't listened to the Bound commentary. It starts off quite slow with the Walchowski Bros and some other woman not saying anything particularly interesting..but then Joe Pantoliano comes in and is..quiet..and then Jennifer Tilly comes in.. :D She owns the commentary booth. Spot the tension and jibes between her and Joey Pants...****ing halirious man. Best commentary I have ever listened to, seriously.

[Tacitus]

8 years between thread posts? That's gotta be a record! :D

I love commentaries. My favourite recent one was the Zodiac one with cast and James Elroy, closely followed by the director's own. Fincher gives great commentary generally, as does Danny Boyle, Ridley Scott, Jim Mangold and Shane Meadows, off the top of my head. Nolan's Insomnia commentary is excellent in that he rearranges the film into the shooting order. ;)

Informative though they are, I've never been a big fan of the Scorsese tracks I've heard because it's pretty clear that he's just answering an interviewer's questions and not sitting in a booth organically responding to what he sees on screen.

Then again, Wee Marty is at the stage where he doesn't need to do them.

The likes of Woody Allen, of course, don't bother on principle.

[The Prestige]

Well I was going to start a whole new thread, but I figured some people would complain about me not using the search function so decided to be a good guy and go use MoFo tools :)

Shane Meadows commentaries are class, you are right. You listened Dead Man's Shoes one? That was really good and him and Considine are a class act.

I tried to listen to Scorsese's track for Gangs Of New York..couldn't finish it, man. Didn't realise he was being interviewed though. Kind of takes away from the commentary really.

Yeah I really dug Nolan's commentary for Insomnia too! I'm so glad you mentioned it as I listened to it a few months ago and it was surprisingly informative and he seemed far more candid in that commentary than he did in the Memento and Following one. I learnt a lot about certain camera techniques just listening to that one. :yup: He usually dislikes doing commentaries, hence why he hasn't done one since. I doubt we'll ever see another Nolan commentary from now on.

Could care less about Woody Allen doing a commentaries to be honest. I don't like his films or his persona. *******. :mad:

[Tacitus]

Have you found the Easter Egg commentary in Dead Man's Shoes? From memory you need to highlight the telephone in the menu or something.

It's basically an abortive attempt by Shane and Paddy and is hilariously awful.

EDIT - Another King of Commentary: Our lord and master, Werner Herzog. ;)

[The Prestige]

I think I did hear something about this failed commentary. Thanks for the tip man, I will check it out at some point. I've never heard a Herzog commentary before but I imagine he'll have a lot to say. :D

[rufnek]

Yeah, I love the commentaries, especially when I learn something about the film. For one thing, I'd always wondered how in shooting the classic Western Shane, they got such wonderful "acting" from animals--from the deer showing up in the river and garden at the family ranch, to the rearing, snorting horse carrying Stonewall's body, to his dog tentatively touching his casket with one paw as Stonewall is buried, to the wild and frightened reaction of the horses and cattle trying to break free during the fistfight between Van Heflin and Alan Ladd. How did they get all those animals to react appropriately on que? Well, learned from the commentary that the deer showing up was pure luck. But they got the great graveside "performance" by the dog because he wouldn't pay attention and kept wandering off until his owner-trainer got down into the grave into which the casket was then lowered, and the dog reacted with concern. To frighten the horses into pulling loose from a hitching post and the cattle to break down their pen in the big fight scene, they simply had a man dressed in a bear costume standing out of camera range but within eyesight of the horses and cattle! I love details like that!

Other night, I watched the commentary on My Favorite Year and learned Peter O'Toole did most of his own stunts in that film, including one scene in which his character, the drunken Alan Swan, falls forward and smacks his forehead against a bathroom wall and remains leaning there. The director--who was directing his first film--said in the commetary that O'Toole told him, "I can do this stunt. I know how to take a fall and I can do it." Claimed he had learned to do such things early in his career on the British stage. So, the director said, O'Toole did it through take after take after take, with no apparent harmful effect. He also said the scene where Swan steals a mounted policeman's horse in Central Park "that was O'Toole in practically all those shots," including the one where he swings Benjy up behind him in the saddle as he gallops by.

One of the most interesting things from that commentary was the director's story of how he got O'Toole for that role. Said O'Toole was in the process of reading the script but wanted to read the last few pages before he decided. Later O'Toole asked the director if he or the scriptwriter knew when he (O'Toole) was born. The director denied any knowledge. But it seems the final scene in the original story had Benjy visiting Swan's grave on the anniversary of his death to fulfill his promise to pour a bottle of brandy on the headstone (the scene was later cut for a more upbeat ending). But what impressed O'Toole was Swan's date of birth on the tombstone matched exactly his own real date of birth and that the number of years between Swan's date of birth and date of death on the faux tombstone matched O'Toole's exact age at that moment. So O'Toole concluded he was meant to play that role, one of the best he's ever done.

[mark f]

That director was Richard Benjamin. :cool:

[rufnek]

That director was Richard Benjamin. :cool:

Yep. Couldn't remember offhand.

[planet news]

This is something I need to start doing. I can't think of a better way to rewatch a film.

[Matcat]

If I liked the movie I sometimes listen to the audio commentary.

[thatbleedingblueboy]

I listen to them all the time my favorites are:

Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls in Fight Club
Bruce Campell for The Evil Dead
The Kevin Smith ones are pretty good, too

I agree with the Bruce Campbell & Kevin Smith ones ! [as shameful as it sounds, I've never seen Fight Club -_-] but I find myself to enjoy the commentary in the SAW films aswell. they often talk about what they were thinking when they made the traps- which I find to be pretty intense.

[donniedarko]

I've only listened to two audio commentaries in my life

The first one was, Hancock, back in like 2010 I think. I never loved the movie but I did see it four times, so I have it a listen. I hardly remember anything outside of the first five minutes.

The other one was a selected scene one on Diabolique, probably like 40 minutes long. That one was pretty enlightening, and pointed out some neat stuff. That was just a few months back.

The only one I have high on my "listen list" is for Antichrist, which includes Von Trier himself. I've seen the movie twice this year, and I plan on watching it again. I still have many questions, and some might be answered by the commentary. As far as other DVDs I own with commentaries, I've never really been motivated to watch them

[Raven73]

This is one advantage DVDs have over Netflix.

Favourite commentaries:
George Lucas's Star Wars saga commentaries. The only thing I don't like about them is that there are 3-4 people and you can tell they recorded their commentaries separately.

Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr. does almost the entire commentary in-character!

Least-favourite commentaries:
Die Hard. The commentary is flat and there are long stretches of silence.

Generally I'll listen to the commentary at least once and I enjoy them. I like it when they have a variety of topics to talk about (photography, casting, location, directing, cast, pre-production, script development, story, reception, etc.), rather than just focusing on one aspect of the film. Usually commentaries with more than 1 person are better.

[Rhett Butler]

I enjoy the commentaries, very much, but I won't listen to them, at all, until I've had the movie for a while. Part of the reason is that the commentator(s) watching it with you, so they're being very specific about the film, which I sometimes find hard to dismiss, later. It affects my enjoyment, sometimes, if I listen to it, too early. I don't care for long pauses between comments, at all. Occasionally, there will be a director, or producer, who'll annoy the living hell out of me, though. Someone might be fond of saying, "... like ... you know" every other sentence, or some junk. But to my relief, most commentaries are well-spoken and audible. What I hate the very most in a commentary are those fake ones, where maybe it was Sci-Fi and an alien hisses, as part of his character. The alien hiss ends up being the entire and ONLY commentary! Yes, maybe it's cute the first full minute, minute-and-a-half, maybe ... but after that, they need to get over themselves with this "jokey" commentary crap. It makes me feel like I've been "cheated," actually ...

[SeeingisBelieving]

Simple question MoFo's do you listen to DVD Audio Commenatries and if so which do you like or dislike. :)

Yeah, I do. I think the last one I listened to was Zardoz, after several years. I prefer the ones where it's one or two people rather than a lot of sound clips edited in (Alien has one a bit like that).

The John Carpenter and Kurt Russell ones are very entertaining.

[The Rodent]

I love commentaries... Dog Soldiers is a funny one, the cast just sit and take the micky out of each other and giggle through it.

[foster]

I created a thread to track & rate the last commentary track you've heard
http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=32282

[DeadChannel]

It's like film school in a box, so yes.

[Citizen Rules]

I might listen to the commentary track if it's a classic film and the commentary is interesting. The best I've heard is Citizen Kane with Peter Bogdanovich doing the commentary.

[The Rodent]

Actually, if you guys can ever get to listen to Ridley Scott doing a commentary then do so. He's brilliantly insightful.

[SeeingisBelieving]

Actually, if you guys can ever get to listen to Ridley Scott doing a commentary then do so. He's brilliantly insightful.

He is good to listen to. His original Alien commentary is very good and I'd like to hear his Legend commentary.

I'd like him to do one for Someone to Watch Over Me. I saw a bit of it recently – the murder I think – and I was concerned that it looked too much like Blade Runner.

[SeeingisBelieving]

The last commentaries I listened to were the several created for Blackadder, and they're alright, with some funny moments. The disappointing aspect is that none were made for The Black Adder, probably because everyone disliked it so much, and it's a shame not to have one for Blackadder's Christmas Carol. I hadn't seen it for years and I've watched it twice over Christmas. Along with Blackadder the Third it's a real favourite of mine.

[Brb]

Only for good movies.
So my far my favorite and most valuable commentaries are from South Park