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Director's Commentary - Heard any good ones?

poptart

Member
Heard any good directors' commentaries?

Sometimes, directors drone off onto tangents, talking about everything but what's onscreen, or worse...they hardly say anything!

The ones I like the best usually feel like I've just attended a filmmaking seminar with the director. Here are some recent ones I've heard:

- The Limey with Steven Soderbergh and the screenwriter...he not only discusses a lot of the technical aspects/decisions, but decisions he made regarding the script. It's interesting because the screenwriter is still pissed about some of those decisions and they hash it out a bit on the commentary, with Steven providing his reasons for the cuts.

Limbo and The Secret of Roan Inish with John Sayles. He does his commentaries with an attitude of "Here's how you do it..." He's also a really witty and intelligent man who learns everything there is to know about the subjects of his films, so it's a pleasure to listen to him.

Good Will Hunting with Gus Van Sant, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck was excellent too.
 
Heard any good directors' commentaries?

Sometimes, directors drone off onto tangents, talking about everything but what's onscreen, or worse...they hardly say anything!

The ones I like the best usually feel like I've just attended a filmmaking seminar with the director. Here are some recent ones I've heard:

- The Limey with Steven Soderbergh and the screenwriter...he not only discusses a lot of the technical aspects/decisions, but decisions he made regarding the script. It's interesting because the screenwriter is still pissed about some of those decisions and they hash it out a bit on the commentary, with Steven providing his reasons for the cuts.

Limbo and The Secret of Roan Inish with John Sayles. He does his commentaries with an attitude of "Here's how you do it..." He's also a really witty and intelligent man who learns everything there is to know about the subjects of his films, so it's a pleasure to listen to him.

Good Will Hunting with Gus Van Sant, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck was excellent too.
 
Zardoz with John Boorman. Hilarious.

-------------------------------
To be is to do - Socrates
To do is to be - Jean-Paul Sartre
Do be do be do - Frank Sinatra
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Although this isn't a director's commentary, Roger Ebert's commentary on Citizen Kane is one of the most informative and interesting I've ever heard.


On the other end of the spectrum, the commentary for Starship Troopers is just hilariously bizarre. You have to hear it to believe it.

_________________________
http://www.jswfilms.com/
 
Even Dwarfs started small

commentary by director Werner Herzog and . . .

. . . none other than Crispin Glover!

Why is Crispin Glover on the commentary with Werner? Well, you can ask the same question about anything Crispin has ever done!
 
The only director's commentary I've listened to twice in my dvd collection: Dude, Where's My Car?. Funny commentary.

On the other end, the one director's commentary I absolutely could not get through in my collection: Danny DeVito's on Death to Smoochy. Talk about boring. "And this is a dolly out fading into the next day, and there are all the customers happy to hear the name of the bar on TV..."
I KNOW! I'M WATCHING IT TOO, DANNY!

--alan

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http://www.alandenton.com
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Listen to the Evil Dead commentary........there's 2....one with Sam Raimi and the producer (can't recall his name) and another with Bruce Cambell.

Bruce is funny and sarcastic but both commentaries have good tips on making films and how Evil Dead came to be. Really good stuff.

-TacoWagonProductions
 
how about desperado and el mariachi? incredibly insightfull. if i remember terry gilliams commentary on brazil is pretty good as well.

if youre looking for a witty signature, youre looking in the wrong place.
 
Some good ones alreadfy mentioned.

Get the "El Mariachi/Desperado" double DVD and listen to both tracks. Plus the "Spy Kids 2" Commentary can teach you a ton about HD and how to truly make cheaper movies in Hollywood.
R. Michael

"Luck, is when opportunity, meets preperation." "There are 3 sides to every story. Yours, mine, and the truth, and none of us are lying" -Robert Evans
Tizzy Entertainment "Redemption" Hi-Def trailer
 
Ghostbusters- Pretty enjoyable --- they talk about how they did some of the simple special effects in there like the spandex door, and the eggs frying.

Braveheart - enjoyed this one as well

Big Trouble in Little China - Another very enjoyable commentary.
 
Good Commentaries-
John Frankenheimer/Ronin
Very informative about his filmmaking techniques, especially the badass car chase scene.

Robert Rodriguez/El Mariachi, Desperado, Spy Kids 2, From Dusk till Dawn

Horrible Commentaries (IMO)-
Tim Burton/Planet of the Apes
William Friedkin/The Hunted
John McTiernan/Basic

What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.
 
Bound: It's not super informative, but it has the usually mysterious and quiet Wachowski's talking about how they think about movies.

Star Wars Episode 2: George Lucas doesn't say anything new or amazing, but if you're at all interested in special effects or (especially)sound, this is like a handbook on what to do. Plus, you get to hear how CG has in fact made Lucas insane (they'd spend days of special effects work just becasue Lucas thought an extra shouldn't have ears).

From Dusk Till Dawn: Just because Quentin is a f**king crazy spaz and goes nuts when that Asain kid explodes.

One Hour Photo: The director just has really great ideas and methods to how he does stuff.

Cannibal! The Musical: Matt Stone, Trey Parker and whoever else start the movie sober, then start drinking as the movie progresses. You won't learn anything, but, yah. Drunk Commentary.

Pulp Fiction: Ohhh yahh, that's right. They ripped us off on this...There's a commentary on LAZER DISC, but not on the new anniversary DvD.
 
Robert Rodriguez - El Mariachi, Desperado, Sin City, Planet Terror in Grindhouse. You'll see how he solves problems creatively & keeps the budget down. El Mariachi is especially interesting because that's the one with the lowest budget.
Werner Herzog - Aguirre The Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Fitzcarraldo. Shows his incredible commitment & drive bordering on insanity. You get the sense he'll do anything to make his film.
These 2 guys inspired me to just go out there & do it. The great thing about them is that they're very encouraging to anyone that wants to make films.
 

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