DVD AUDIO COMMENTARY’S...GOOD vs. SUCKY LIST

[burningman]

Big Trouble in Little China and The thing are great ones..my favs actually. Russell and Carpenter have a true chemistry. Warning though they are light on the actual movie info LOL

I also love all the LotR commentaries.

 

[Wes R]

Big Trouble in Little China and The thing are great ones..my favs actually. Russell and Carpenter have a true chemistry. Warning though they are light on the actual movie info LOL

I also love all the LotR commentaries.

Sometimes it's more fun to hear normal conversations mixed in with some movie info, if they give just info it feels way too forced. I also like the commentaries on the Tron 2 disc set i have. I know any commentary with Zucker, Abrams, Zucker is going to be pretty light on the movie info but usually pretty entertaining anyhow.

 

[Jeyl]

Not so. Tarantino did a commentary track for True Romance which was actually pretty good.

But as I stated in my post, True Romance was not his movie.

 

[Solo4114]

Sometimes it's more fun to hear normal conversations mixed in with some movie info, if they give just info it feels way too forced. I also like the commentaries on the Tron 2 disc set i have. I know any commentary with Zucker, Abrams, Zucker is going to be pretty light on the movie info but usually pretty entertaining anyhow.

There's a balancing point on that, to a degree. It shouldn't feel forced, but at the same time, I don't really care what Kurt's kid thought of the moccasins and whether he ever got a set for himself and how his guitar playing is coming along and whatnot. My recollection of the BTILC commentary was that it was a lot more of THAT then I actually gave a damn about. Although, admittedly, it's been a while.

But as I stated in my post, True Romance was not his movie.

Sort of yes, sort of no. He wrote it, but didn't direct it and didn't have final say on what stayed and what went. To wit, the happy ending. Personally, I prefer Scott's ending to the Tarantino ending, but he did write it and record a commentary track for the film. A good and informative one at that.

 

[Treadwell]

Unfortunately he gets interrupted and never brings it up again. This stuff drives me crazy!

Yeah, that's a big downside to group commentaries. The best ones are moderated by someone who's skilled at keeping people on track. There are some group commentaries on late 60s Doctor Whos that are excellent, because they are moderated by Peter Purves, who, after a stint as a companion on the show, went on to be a TV presenter for years and years. So, not only did he have inside knowledge of the subject matter, but was skilled at steering conversations and asking intelligent questions.

On the other hand, The Pirates of the Carribbean track with Keira Knightly and Jack Davenport is awful--they sure are having fun with each other, but their carrying on is of no value to the listener.

Or you get people who like deadpan humor, which does not translate well on a voice-only track. Timothy Olyphant has his tongue so far in cheek in the Deadwood commentaries that it's hard to say if ANYTHING he said was true.

 

[Apollo]

I thought they were lighting up spliffs and Cigs all the time in that one. :lol

Loved the Big Trouble in Little China track to!

The Thing - Kurt Russell and John Carpenter get drunk and reminisce.

 

[jackkillian]

I really liked the Rambo: First Blood commentary with the writer. It was interesting because he talks about the differences between his book which is really bloody and the movie which the media was saying was so violent and he does do a body count with you during the movie. I actually have watched it more with friends and they loved getting all the backstory of book and the differences.

 

[PantheraGem]

"The Evil Dead II" blood red laserdisc edition commentary is amazing. Bruce Campbell acting out the scene as if Ronald Reagan had been the star is awesome.

Another vote for "Resident Evil". Milla and Michelle sit there and talk like most guys wish girls would talk about video games and plenty of gross stuff. Michelle brings up getting people in headlocks so they can smell her musky armpits more than once.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Good = George Lucas and editor/ sound design guru Walter Murch on the THX Special Edition. One of the most interesting and informative commentaries I've heard, and I'm not even a huge THX fan.

Bad = Billy Friedkin's lazy-ass coverage of his effed-up SE of The Exorcist.

 

[Wes R]

"The Evil Dead II" blood red laserdisc edition commentary is amazing. Bruce Campbell acting out the scene as if Ronald Reagan had been the star is awesome.

Another vote for "Resident Evil". Milla and Michelle sit there and talk like most guys wish girls would talk about video games and plenty of gross stuff. Michelle brings up getting people in headlocks so they can smell her musky armpits more than once.

The RE one is entertaining, I also like the director and producer's commentary on the other Resident Evil ones. They're not the best films but these guys really do love movies and go into pretty good detail. It helps that they're gamers.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

I was shocked when I heard the commentary track for the Blu-Ray version of Wall-E.

 

[Wes R]

I was shocked when I heard the commentary track for the Blu-Ray version of Wall-E.

It's that bad?

 

[Solo4114]

I bet everyone was crying during it.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

I have never experienced a commentary track that was so negative that it left a sour taste in my mouth after having listened to it. They even joked about having to redo it because it was that bad... but... I guess they didn't, seeing as that's the commentary track that's on the disc.

I may remember it wrong, but it felt like they were about to start a fight, right then and there.

 

[joker-scar]

finally watched the Platoon commentary with Stone, it's a pretty good blend of film stuff with real life Vietnam info but there are sections where he states the obvious.
Gotta watch the LOTR commentarys, I've watched the making of docs...many times and they are GREAT but never, heard the audio tracks.

 

[SSgt Burton]

finally watched the Platoon commentary with Stone, it's a pretty good blend of film stuff with real life Vietnam info but there are sections where he states the obvious.

Make sure you listen to Dale A Dye's commentary next- it is well worth it! Some cool insights to what is going though the character's heads (from a Vietnam Veteran's perspective). And of course Dale Dye is always worth listening to with his no BS, tell it like it is style.

I forgot about this one!


Kevin

 

[Solo4114]

Can't believe I forgot both Platoon commentaries! They really are terrific.

 

[Wes R]

I have never experienced a commentary track that was so negative that it left a sour taste in my mouth after having listened to it. They even joked about having to redo it because it was that bad... but... I guess they didn't, seeing as that's the commentary track that's on the disc.

I may remember it wrong, but it felt like they were about to start a fight, right then and there.

I've never heard a track that bad. It makes me want to get Wall-E used just to hear this. I mean sometimes the commentaries get negative when they talk about stuff they had to cut and such but never anything like this. What's worse is it's a kid's movie for crying out loud.

 

[Treadwell]

Wow, I'll have to listen to it again. I listened to it when it first came out, and I do not recall getting this impression at all.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Wow, I'll have to listen to it again. I listened to it when it first came out, and I do not recall getting this impression at all.

Was that the DVD or the Blu-Ray version commentary?