# Recommend me some DVDs, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188 "2003-12-27T00:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/1 "2003-12-27T00:46:58Z")
This Christmas I received a kick-ass Sony DVD player, and I am totally hooked. I’ve already watched and loved “Fight Club,” “Shanghai Noon,” and “They Live” (no extras on that one :mad: ) and I’m loving it. So recommend me some DVDs to rent that have super-cool extras on them? For a general idea of my tastes, movies I’ve seen and loved in the past year or so included (off the top of my head) [City of God](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/), [Lost in Translation](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0335266/), [Winged Migration](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0301727/), [Adaptation](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0268126/), [28 Days Later](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/), [Punch-Drunk Love](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0272338/), and [The Royal Tenenbaums](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0265666/). Oh yeah, and [Shanghai Knights](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0300471/); love Jackie Chan. I’m interested in “classics” that may have cool commentary tracks or some such as well; I recall seeing a digitally restored version of “The Third Man” that was absolutely breathtaking, but don’t know whether it had any bonus material on the disc. And by the way, I’ve got several really good local rental outfits, so feel free to pile on the obscure recommendations. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/2 "2003-12-27T01:12:53Z")
The Abyss (Special Edition) has the most insanely engrossing DVD extras I’ve ever seen. Watch an undersea environment being constructed in a defunct nuclear reactor! Learn how some guys from the graphics team invented Photoshop! Swap between storyboard, pre-production film and post-production film! So maybe it’s not the greatest movie ever made, but it was very pioneering, and they give you the down low on how it was done. At least 10-20 hours worth. The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVDs are also completely sweet. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/3 "2003-12-27T01:29:15Z")
Gosford Park has a superb audio-commentary by the screenwriter Julian Fellowes as well as other extras. If you liked LOTR the extended editions are a must. As for classics, two movies with excellent commentaries: the recent Criterion release of Tokyo Story, and the special edition of Citizen Kane. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/4 "2003-12-27T01:48:18Z")
Jackelope, that’s uncanny…you just reeled off my boyfriend’s favorite movies from last year. If your tastes are that much aligned, you might also like: Way of the Gun Battle Royale Frailty Once Upon a Time in Mexico Rushmore Y tu mamá también Love Liza American Splendor A Mighty Wind (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show) Owning Mahowny The Shape of Things Dirty Pretty Things Elephant (might not be out on DVD yet) 13 (might not be out on DVD yet) Capturing the Friedmans Spellbound Stevie ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/5 "2003-12-27T01:50:06Z")
If you like Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd. then ‘The holy Grail’ double disc release has a lot of interesting extras, including a documentary where Michael Palin and Terry Jones travel around the English and Scottish country sides, visiting the locations and generally bullshitting about the whole experience in a very entertaining way. - it’s got the Knights song in Lego animation. That alone was worth paying for it. Another good DVD is for ‘The Usual Suspects’. While I don’t think Jerry Bruckheimer does artful cinema, his productions always come loaded with interesting extras on DVD. I liked the Indiana Jones box, but I wish they had been as generous with extras as Bruckheimer is. ‘Pearl Harbour’ is a crappy movie, but the DVD is fantastic. A lot of people hated ‘Moulin Rouge’. I loved it. And for fans, such as I, the extras are terrific. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/6 "2003-12-27T04:17:53Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks; I’ll print these out next time I’m heading to the store. Tonight’s bill of fare: _Waking Life_, and then if I’m not too tired, _Brother_ (the Beat Takeshi flick). **Glory** , your boyfriend has excellent taste in movies. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/7 "2003-12-27T04:49:28Z")
No DVD collection is complete without the Special Edition of _This is Spinal Tap_. Fantastic commentary track and nearly another movie worth of additional footage. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/8 "2003-12-27T06:07:48Z")
I also found the _Gosford Park_ commentary to be riveting. I couldn’t believe the trouble that Altman went to to get things just right. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/9 "2003-12-27T09:09:13Z")
Just wanted to mention this: I went poking through the bonus material on the [Waking Life](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/) disc, and it contains one of the greatest jokes I’ve ever seen. You’re going through all the extra material for this totally experimental, wildly original, utterly non-Hollywood film, and the last item in the “bonus materials” list says, “The Banger Sisters Theatrical Trailer.” You click on it, and sure enough: It’s the actual theatrical trailer for [The Banger Sisters](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0280460/). It puts into perspective just what kind of movie _Waking Life_ is NOT. I laughed my head off. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/10 "2003-12-27T12:16:23Z")
If you liked _28 Days Later_ I think you’ll like _Dog Soldiers_ a kind of British modern low key werewolf flick. Very good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/11 "2003-12-27T13:06:44Z")
I saw **‘Amores Perros’** and it was really good. The extras describe how they filmed the dog fights(there are a few) without harming the dogs at all. **The Exorcist**. I watched it. Then when I was done, I saw it again with the director talking over it and learned a lot. That is one scary movie. took me about 3 days to get thru it the first time. I kept turning it off and leaving. Watch it at night, alone in the dark, in the middle of the room with plenty of room behind your chair to add to the effect. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/12 "2003-12-27T15:46:29Z")
The Criterion editions of both **The Third Man** and **Brazil** are wonderfully put together packages. If you like the classics, buy the 2 disc version of **Citizen Kane** and listen to the commentary by Roger Ebert. It is incredibly informative. The 2 hour documentary on the 2nd disc is also very, very good. Also, the 4-disc versions of the **LOTR** movies are awesome, as is the new **Alien Quadrilogy** 9-disc set. For a bit of action, **Terminator 2** is an exceptional DVD. It is quite old now but the quality and volume of extras is quite bewildering at first. On the kids/animation stuff, all of the Pixar movie special editions ( **Toy Story 1/2, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo** ) are superb, as is **Shrek** ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/13 "2003-12-27T16:04:05Z")
For “interesting” Directors Commentaries, it’s hard to beat the Futurama and Family Guy box sets (FG commentaries are more sporadic, but also more profane 😉 ) however, for the most _unusual_ commentary, rent Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s (the minds behind South Park) college film; “Cannibal! the Musical”, the true (and low budget) story of Alfred Packer, the first person in America convicted of cannibalism the director’s commentary is simply Matt and Trey (and a couple other cast members) watching the movie while getting drunk 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/14 "2003-12-27T16:08:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Big Cheese \* > \*\*I saw **‘Amores Perros’** and it was really good. The extras describe how they filmed the dog fights(there are a few) without harming the dogs at all. > > **The Exorcist**. I watched it. Then when I was done, I saw it again with the director talking over it and learned a lot. That is one scary movie. took me about 3 days to get thru it the first time. I kept turning it off and leaving. Watch it at night, alone in the dark, in the middle of the room with plenty of room behind your chair to add to the effect. \*\* I don’t know if it’s a side effect of overdosing on MST3K or what, but i can’t help watching the Exorcist without MST’ing it in places, specifically the scene where Regan’s bed is rocking up and down… Regan; “Mommy, Help Me!!!” me; (in Regan’s voice) there are special effects people under my bed! or when the demon starts talking in the low, guttural voice… “she’s in here, with us” me; what a lovely singing voice you must have… ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/15 "2003-12-27T16:08:39Z")
I think that all of Kevin Smith’s movies have some of the most consistently entertaining commentary tracks and extras I’ve seen. ‘Dogma’ did an especially good job of providing me with hours and hours of extra fun in its extras. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/16 "2003-12-27T16:39:26Z")
It’s not packed with extras, but if we’re talking Kevin Smith, if you’re a fan, you need to see An Evening With Kevin Smith. It’s a great DVD. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/17 "2003-12-27T16:52:34Z")
the wooden boxed 2-disc set of THE WICKER MAN ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/18 "2003-12-27T17:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*+ it’s got the Knights song in Lego animation. That alone was worth paying for it. > > \*\* Or just see it [here.](http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2405283) ---
**Author:** ![yawndave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/43a26b/32.png) [@yawndave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawndave)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/19 "2003-12-27T19:20:59Z")
One of my favorite movies is CONTACT. The DVD has commentaries by Jodie Foster, Robert Zemeckis and producer Steve Starkey, and visual effects supervisors Ken Ralston and Steven Rosenbaum. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188/20 "2003-12-27T19:42:10Z")
I was just watching the recent special edition, 2-disc release of the 1938 Errol Flynn version of the _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and was impressed both by the transfer ( it really is a beautiful film ) and the boatload of extras, including a short documentary on technicolor and two cartoons :). Similarly with the 2-disc special edition of _Casablanca_. I recommend both. - Tamerlane [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-dvds-please/221188.md?page=2)