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Best Commentarry Giver

post #1 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 
This has probably been done before, but listening to the Coppola track on the new Apocalypse Now edition really made me think of all the other great tracks he's done. He's the most consistant director who really knows how to do a good, meaty track....even seems to enjoy them, too.

So, I propose that everybody lists directors that have given good tracks and list the tracks they admire. Sort of like a director commentary track draft? I don't know. I just want to see what you guys think...

My pick is Coppola for the Godfather series, The Conversation, Apoclypse Now, One from the Heart and Rumble Fish (I haven't heard the Ousiders yet, but I heard it's pretty good)...
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post #2 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:11pm
Any Carpenter track with Rusell. Doesn't matter what movie.

Cannibal the Musical has one of the best commentaries ever- Parker, Stone and crew get drunk and rip on their movie. Not a director commentary persay, but it's probably the only track that makes the movie better.
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post #3 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:31pm
Val Kilmer. Spartan and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang are funny as hell. His name dropping bit was great.

And Joss Whendon is the master at the commentary. Always entertaing and informative.
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post #4 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:31pm
Probably been done before? Yes.

Sam Raimi with Bruce Campbell, Greg Nicotero and Scott Spiegel on Evil Dead II.
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post #5 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello
Any Carpenter track with Rusell. Doesn't matter what movie.

Cannibal the Musical has one of the best commentaries ever- Parker, Stone and crew get drunk and rip on their movie. Not a director commentary persay, but it's probably the only track that makes the movie better.
Good choices. I love the Rusell/Carpenter combo...they just really seem to enjoy hanging out. I hope Rodriguez and Tarantino make more commentaries together like From Dusk till Dawn because that track reminds me of the same kind of thing...buddies getting together to talk about the fun they had making a movie.

The great thing about the Cannibal commentary track is that I still can't decide if it's a joke or not. What do you think, Alex?
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post #6 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:35pm
I've always found Soderbergh's commentaries good for a good mental beat down.

The commentaries on the Se7en DVD are good. And the crew commentary on Below is funny as hell.
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post #7 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel
Val Kilmer. Spartan and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang are funny as hell. His name dropping bit was great.

And Joss Whendon is the master at the commentary. Always entertaing and informative.
Kiss Kiss is one of the best tracks ever, without a doubt.

I haven't heard the Spartan track (was it good? Anything interesting Kilmer came up with)?

And I didn't know about Wheedon. I've only heard some of his track for Alien 4, but I didn't make it through the whole movie. Does he do tracks on Firefly episodes? I've been meaning to check out the series...
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post #8 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason P. Thompson
I've always found Soderbergh's commentaries good for a good mental beat down.
Nice choice...Soderbergh is one of the best track givers. Do you have a favorite of his? I really love the Out of Sigh track...
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post #9 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
Nice choice...Soderbergh is one of the best track givers. Do you have a favorite of his? I really love the Out of Sigh track...
The Solaris commentary gives a better understanding of what he was trying to do with the remake. I think James Cameron was on that one, wasn't he?
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post #10 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
Good choices. I love the Rusell/Carpenter combo...they just really seem to enjoy hanging out. I hope Rodriguez and Tarantino make more commentaries together like From Dusk till Dawn because that track reminds me of the same kind of thing...buddies getting together to talk about the fun they had making a movie.

The great thing about the Cannibal commentary track is that I still can't decide if it's a joke or not. What do you think, Alex?
If it's a joke- do you mean if they got drunk or not? I'm pretty sure they did. They even did the same thing for Orgazmo... but I haven't seen that one.

Dusk Till Dawn- also an excellent choice. Tarrantino's nutty rambling is perfect for commentaries- I just wish he'd do more of them.
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post #11 of 43
8/16/06 at 1:41pm
Spinal Tap, in character, commentary on This is Spinal Tap.

It's great how they go after Marty DiBergi for, according to the Tap, editing the footage to make them appear idiotic. I'm paraphrasing but, "how many times did we not get lost getting to the stage." Classic.
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post #12 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
And I didn't know about Wheedon. I've only heard some of his track for Alien 4, but I didn't make it through the whole movie. Does he do tracks on Firefly episodes? I've been meaning to check out the series...
I don't know about these guys Whendon or Wheedon, but Joss Whedon is defnitely in the running for best director/commentator. He's very good at balancing the usual on-set anecdotes with technical details, and often goes into the writing process as well.

P.S. Firefly is fun stuff, and Whedon's commentary on the final episode, "Objects in Space", is astounding.
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post #13 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:16pm
I thought the Tim Burton and Paul Reubens tagteam commentary in Pee wee's Big Adventure was awesome.
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post #14 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:17pm
Kevin Smith just because it hasn't been said yet.

I'll also say Harold Ramis. Ghostbusters is an obvious one to cite, but his Vacation track gives you so much more respect for what they tried to do in that movie. And his comments on the kinda racist St. Louis scene are interesting. He makes you respect his movies a lot more than you should, even the bad ones.

Oh, and Ben Burtt is good too.

Just kidding.
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post #15 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:17pm
My favorite is Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing commentary. It's the only one I've listened to more than once, and is actually better with the video turned off!

I also love the Milius/Arnold commentary from Conan the Barbarian. I love how you can tell that Schwarzenegger's boneheaded comments are driving Milius nuts - there's a veil of contempt throughout the whole thing. Milius will make some thoughtful comment about ancient civilizations, and Schwarzenegger will inevitably interrupt with something like: "Oh! That's Thulsa Doom!" or "Look! He's hypnotizing her with his eyes! You can totally see it!".
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post #16 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:24pm
As for Carpenter/Russell: It depends what you define as a 'good' commentary. There's a point on the Big Trouble In Little China track where they get to talking about their kids and Junior Hockey leagues and flat-out ignore the movie for about five straight minutes. It's nice to know these are just regular guys and all, but a little relevance couldn't hurt.

Russell is much more focused on the Used Cars track, and for an actor he displays an unusual degree of interest in the technical side of filmmaking.

Brad Pitt is a surprisingly insightful commentator, not only on Fight Club but on True Romance as well. Actors who talk about stuff that doesn't directly involve them are very rare.

My favorite commentary moment: At the very end of Schlock, John Landis talks about how he put his own money into reacquiring the rights to the film, and thanks us for buying the disc. Then:

Rick Baker: What if they rented it?

Landis: FUCKERS!
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post #17 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason P. Thompson
The Solaris commentary gives a better understanding of what he was trying to do with the remake. I think James Cameron was on that one, wasn't he?
I'm pretty sure he was. I agree with you...that WAS a really good commentary track.

I'm also a fan of the Cannibal track, and Guillermo del Toro's commentary track on Blade II is informative and fun. I think it's just him and the producer of the film picking the movie apart.
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post #18 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello
If it's a joke- do you mean if they got drunk or not? I'm pretty sure they did. They even did the same thing for Orgazmo... but I haven't seen that one.
You should see it. It's funny as hell, but I haven't got around the commentary track.

On the other hand, I think I should rent Cannibal:The Musical.
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post #19 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:38pm
I'm gonna go with the combination of Brad Pitt and David Fincher on Fight Club and Se7en also. Brad is very in tuned to the film making process, and it shows in these cxommentaries. Plus, he gets Fincher to tell more interesting stories, cause I get the impression that Fincher is a little shy.
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post #20 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:40pm
Ridley Scott.
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post #21 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Christopher Read
I thought the Tim Burton and Paul Reubens tagteam commentary in Pee wee's Big Adventure was awesome.
While I agree with you on that audio collaboration, Burton's, uh, track record is so incredibly bad with regard to ANY of his other commentaries (which, to be fair, I believe are all otherwise solo acts) that he should not be considered for this thread.

Other than some great folks mentioned so far*, off the top of my head I can say that both Ridley and Tony Scott have never failed to provide insight.


*edit - Brigden beat me to the punch with Ridley, it seems.
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post #22 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thejumbo
I'm gonna go with the combination of Brad Pitt and David Fincher on Fight Club and Se7en also. Brad is very in tuned to the film making process, and it shows in these cxommentaries. Plus, he gets Fincher to tell more interesting stories, cause I get the impression that Fincher is a little shy.
The commentary with the author is really good too. Gives you a good insight on how he wrote the script for the film.
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post #23 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Brigden
Ridley Scott.
I think he's a little hit and miss. It seems that when you leave him to his own devices he's really informative and honest about his decisions, but the commentary track between him and Russel Crowe on the Gladiator dvd turns into too much of a back slapping affair, with him just commenting on "how beautiful this shot is". I'm still looking forward to his Blade Runner commentary.
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post #24 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:48pm
Yeah, but that can happen when you have additional people. His commentary on ALIEN is the best one I've ever heard, period.

Of course, Peter Jackson as well.
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post #25 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winterfell
You should see it. It's funny as hell, but I haven't got around the commentary track.

On the other hand, I think I should rent Cannibal:The Musical.
Oh I've seen Orgazmo- just not on that amazing special edition dvd they had been planning for years.

You should definitely see Cannibal. It's very rough (it was their student film) but you can see a few moments of greatness in it. And, like everyone's said- the commentary is friggin' hysterical. Just all of them drinking scotch and laughing at how bad the movie is.

A funny note about directors talking about their movies-

I've noticed in a bunch of subtitled horror movies that I've watched that asian directors are much more critical of their films. A lot of recent Tartan releases that I've watched have had commentaries where the director just harped on how he wished this scene could've gone this way and why this one is messed up.

Pretty interesting, as you don't really hear that stuff from the American directors.
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post #26 of 43
8/16/06 at 2:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex B
I think he's a little hit and miss. It seems that when you leave him to his own devices he's really informative and honest about his decisions, but the commentary track between him and Russel Crowe on the Gladiator dvd turns into too much of a back slapping affair, with him just commenting on "how beautiful this shot is". I'm still looking forward to his Blade Runner commentary.
I agree. He's usually at his best when he's by himself. Same goes for James Cameron. Otherwise, it's like they're trying to impress or one-up their commentary companions. It's too much of a schmooze-fest when they have guests.

My favorites tend to be:

Terry Gilliam
Steven Soderbergh
David Fincher
The John Carpenter/Kurt Russell Show
and the aforementioned Ridley Scott and James Cameron

Then, occasionally, I love some great or weird one-offs, like the in-character SPINAL TAP track, the Task Force Ranger vets on BLACK HAWK DOWN or the faux film historian track on BLOOD SIMPLE.
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post #27 of 43
8/16/06 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minsky
I also love the Milius/Arnold commentary from Conan the Barbarian. I love how you can tell that Schwarzenegger's boneheaded comments are driving Milius nuts - there's a veil of contempt throughout the whole thing. Milius will make some thoughtful comment about ancient civilizations, and Schwarzenegger will inevitably interrupt with something like: "Oh! That's Thulsa Doom!" or "Look! He's hypnotizing her with his eyes! You can totally see it!".
That's fucking hysterical. I've been meaning to listen to that one for a long time and you just totally sold me...gonna have to check it out soon.
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post #28 of 43
8/16/06 at 3:06pm
Arnie's pretty train-wreck hilarious in short bursts on the T3 track as well, but I've quoted the highlights on another thread and he is hardly the "Best Comentarry Giver" so I'm gonna clam up now.
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post #29 of 43
8/16/06 at 3:24pm
Seconded on the 'Evil Dead 2', 'From Dusk Till Dawn' and Carpenter/Russell commentaries. As fascinating as hearing someone talk about a movie can be, it's just fun to hear a group play off each other (esp. Rodriguez and Tarantino. Why these two don't do more commentaries together is beyond me).
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post #30 of 43
8/16/06 at 4:01pm
Paul Verhoeven provides interesting commentaries. For you Arnie lovers out there, I highly suggest the Total Recall commentary with him and Verhoeven. During the subway shoot-out scene where Arnold uses that poor schmoe as a human shield on the escalator, then Ironside & Co. step on his body while chasing Arnie, both are laughing hysterically. Pure commentary comedy gold.
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post #31 of 43
8/16/06 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason P. Thompson
The commentary with the author is really good too. Gives you a good insight on how he wrote the script for the film.
I assume you're referring to the Se7en commentary...but the writers' track on the Fight Club disc is great, too -- it's got Palahniuk and the screenwriter (Jim Uhls, I think) discussing the adaptation.

Which reminds me of my favorite Soderburgh track: The Limey. He does the track with the original screenwriter, who, as it turns out, is not very fond of the finished film.
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post #32 of 43
8/16/06 at 4:52pm
The Carrot-Top track on Rules of Attraction is the only way I can watch that movie anymore. This probably has more to do with the crappy transfer and 2.0 audio track of that DVD. Anyway, that dude is actually VERY funny in it.
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post #33 of 43
8/16/06 at 5:06pm
Best Commentary Giver is kind of an awkward phrase, isn't it? I'd say Best Commentarian or something. But my choice would be Gilliam, because he's always funny, informative and pissed off at the same time.
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post #34 of 43
8/16/06 at 5:22pm
Hi, this is my first post (I'll do a formal one in a sec). But the cast of Shawn of The Dead, gives a good one, and Mann stuff is great as well.
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post #35 of 43
8/16/06 at 5:52pm
Wow, deja vu...AGAIN!!!

...sorry...

http://chud.com/forums/showthread.ph...ght=commentary
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post #36 of 43
8/16/06 at 6:47pm
Both of the tracks on the Boogie Nights disc are top notch. One is P.T. Anderson in serious director mode giving a straight up insightful commentary, the other one is clips of him getting drunk with the cast and bullshitting about the film.
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post #37 of 43
8/16/06 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
Yes, I knew there had to be an older, better thread out there somewhere. Sorry for not looking harder.

But this one has momentum. Lets keep adding to the list.

I really like Paul Thomas Anderson and I really wished he recorded one for Punch Drunk Love and Magnolia. The Hard Eight track is nice and informative while the Boogie Nights track with him and his actors is about as coked out as most of the characters.

Funny thing about Anderson: I had a good friend once who told me he really enjoyed his movies...and then one day didn't. He didn't give me much of an explanation, just stopped liking him all of a sudden. It was really abrupt and strange. I couldn't figure it out and when I asked my friend why he brushed it off or changed the subject.

Do you guys ever go through anything like that? Just do a complete turn-around on a movie or director? I mean, I can understand watching something again and having it slowly (or even not-so-slowly) change your mind about it over time...but...come on!

Just curious. Thanks.
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post #38 of 43
8/16/06 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
Funny thing about Anderson: I had a good friend once who told me he really enjoyed his movies...and then one day didn't. He didn't give me much of an explanation, just stopped liking him all of a sudden. It was really abrupt and strange. I couldn't figure it out and when I asked my friend why he brushed it off or changed the subject.
Anderson promised to call him and never did?

And less off-topic: My favorites Soderbergh, Gilliam and Del Toro have already been mentioned. All of the commentaries I've heard from them have been very, very good and informative. Gotta love the Thomas Haden Church & Paul Giamatti track from SIDEWAYS, very fun and laid-back. Ridley Scott is great as well, although the constant eating on his solo track on Alien bugged me.
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post #39 of 43
8/16/06 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lukas
Hi, this is my first post (I'll do a formal one in a sec). But the cast of Shawn of The Dead, gives a good one, and Mann stuff is great as well.
Shaun of the Dead is an excellent one. That whole disc is amazing.
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post #40 of 43
8/16/06 at 8:20pm
Gilliam's 12 Monkeys is great.
Ridley Scott's Hannibal is even better.
Tim Burton's oft mentioned inarticulate nature is confirmed on the Sleepy Hollow DVD. I think he spends more time talking about Jeffery Jones's wig than anything else.
The Ghostbusters track is fantastic.
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post #41 of 43
8/17/06 at 8:36am
The best part about the Boogie Nights commentary is his discussion with Mark Wahlberg. Marky Mark keeps acting nervous and telling Anderson he needs to catch a plane, but Anderson just keeps talking.
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post #42 of 43
8/17/06 at 10:39am
Mann's tracks for Thief and Collateral are excellent. I love how the Thief soundtrack finishes with Caan saying to Mann, "Michael, don't ever call me again." It sounds like Caan thought Mann was hooking him up with a job - a feature film job, that is, not a DVD commentary. They do a great job, though. I thought Heat was a little disappointing cosidering the width and depth of the film.

Zemeckis, Russell, and Bob Gale do a terrific job on the Used Cars commentary. Zemeckis, Russell, Milius, and Spielberg all in on that - what a blast it must've been.
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post #43 of 43
8/17/06 at 10:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by D. B. Cooper
The best part about the Boogie Nights commentary is his discussion with Mark Wahlberg. Marky Mark keeps acting nervous and telling Anderson he needs to catch a plane, but Anderson just keeps talking.
That is great. At one point I think Wahlberg starts teasing Anderson about his relationship with Burt Reynolds...and even asks him if he got a fistful of Sharky's Machine during shooting in a knowing kind of voice.

Anderson, of course, changes the subject...
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