# Share your favorite DVD commentary tracks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327 "2010-08-15T14:22:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/1 "2010-08-15T14:22:44Z")
For the most part, I’ve never seen much of a point in DVD commentary tracks. I doubt I’ve even investigated more than 10% of the tracks of the various discs that have passed through my hands. I can only think of a couple of tracks that I considered listening to more than once. (The _Eurotrip_ commentary is funnier than the actual movie.) So, what am I missing? Please share you favorite commentary tracks. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/2 "2010-08-15T14:31:25Z")
The commentary for the Futurama DVDs is fantastic. There is always at least one, if not two, of the voice actors in there (usually Billy West and.or John DiMaggio), and they are really, really funny. Plus Matt Groeining and David X. Cohen are in every one giving nice background info, plus random other directors, writers, etc… I have also heard that Dr.Horrible’s Sing Along Blog has on it “Commentary: The Musical!” Yes, the commentary track is also a musical. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/3 "2010-08-15T14:46:31Z")
**Contact** has three different commentary tracks; Jodie Foster, Robert Zemeckis & Steve Starkey(producer), and special effects supervisors Ken Ralston and Stephen Rosenbaum. Each of the commentaries is a nice mix between personal stories and technical and logistical explanations of how the movie was made. It may not be PC to like anything by Mel Gibson right now, but his commentary track on \*\*Apocalypto \*\*with (co-writer Farhad Safinia) is quite interesting. What really comes through is the affection and respect both men had for the local people that they worked with in Mexico. I love the commentary for **This Is Spinal Tap** that has Guest, McKean and Shearer discussing the film–in character. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/4 "2010-08-15T14:48:28Z")
I love the commentaries for The Simpsons and Futurama. they are informative and seem like a fun group of people to hang with. Kevin Smith’s commentaries are usually as entertaining as the movie. As another person posted, Dr. Horrible’s Sing A Long Blog does indeed have a commentary made up of original songs (there is also a more traditional commentary as well). In the commentary for the original V miniseries, Kenneth Johnson gave out his e-mail address and invited people to write him. I wrote him and he actually wrote me back. Plus the commentary itself is well done if you liked that mini series. Just a few off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/5 "2010-08-15T14:56:23Z")
Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog and Arrested Development’s. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/6 "2010-08-15T15:48:34Z")
Roger Ebert’s commentary tracks are outstanding. The one he did for _Citizen Kane_ is a must for anyone who questions that movie’s status as one of the greats (as I once did), and he has one on _Dark City_ that is very good as well. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/7 "2010-08-15T16:02:01Z")
I loved the DVD commentary of “Mary Poppins.” It was Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews and had Karen Dotrice, who played Jane, and some others. If you get good people like that, AND the actors are able to comment off the top of their head a DVD commentary rocks. Otherwise they can be dull. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/8 "2010-08-15T16:09:36Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > If you get good people like that, AND the actors are able to comment off the top of their head a DVD commentary rocks. > > Otherwise they can be dull. I think that’s a big part of my ambivalence about commentary tracks. I really don’t care much about the technical aspects of filming a shot and I couldn’t care less about hearing a room full of over developed egos gassing on about how great they all all are. There needs to be at least some attempt at keeping the commentary light, funny, conversational and maybe a little self-mocking. Lectures and ME!-fests can be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/9 "2010-08-15T16:10:59Z")
I second the Ebert commentary on Citizen Kane. Julian Fellowes , the screenwriter, did an excellent commentary on Gosford Park The commentaries on Criterion discs are usually good but I especially like the ones by Stephen Prince for various Kurosawa films. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/10 "2010-08-15T16:29:10Z")
Season One of _Rescue Me_ has a commentary on a couple of episodes by Denis Leary himself with one of the directors, and yes, it is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/11 "2010-08-15T16:33:21Z")
Easy. \*\*Joss Whedon’s commentary for Objects in Space \*\*on the Firefly DVD. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/12 "2010-08-15T17:25:22Z")
_The Goonies_ commentary is interesting to listen to, as it sounds essentially like a reunion party. Not sure how much of it is serious, but it seems to mostly be. When I listened to the _I Heart Huckabees_ commentary I was surprised to find how serious the director took everything in the movie. After a while he seems almost annoyed that the people he’s with don’t get it. At one point he makes a comment like “It’s like Plato’s cave” to Jason Schwartzmann, who responds blankly. You get the sense he’d rather record the track by himself … turns out there is another track, which is just himself. The commentary for _Spartan_ is a classic case of ‘nobody is likely to listen to this’. It’s just Val Kilmer making stuff up for a while. Funny in a way. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/13 "2010-08-15T17:30:06Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Easy. > > \*\*Joss Whedon’s commentary for Objects in Space \*\*on the Firefly DVD. Yeah, this is what I came in to post. It was one of the first commentaries I ever listened to, and it set the bar so high that no other commentary has come close. Even for shows or movies I really enjoy, the commentary adds almost nothing to it for me. For those who haven’t listened to this, it’s like Joss Whedon has sat down with a class of bourbon in a dark room and watches the episode while discussing each shot’s allusions and particulars, explaining how the show references Sartre, pointing out when the actress’s balletic training is put to good effect, and so on. Far from being, “Dude, you were so pissed at me in that scene, haw haw haw!” stupidity, it adds a whole new philosophical dimension to what superficially comes across as just a creepy thriller episode. It’s pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/14 "2010-08-15T18:14:45Z")
Bruce Cambell has a great commentary as _The King_ in **Bubba Ho Tep** David F. Friedman has several very enjoyable commentaries on several movies he was involved with like _She Freak_. The commentaries for _Freaks_ and _Racket Girls_ are also very enjoyable and informative. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/15 "2010-08-15T18:18:08Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Roger Ebert’s commentary tracks are outstanding. The one he did for _Citizen Kane_ is a must for anyone who questions that movie’s status as one of the greats (as I once did), and he has one on _Dark City_ that is very good as well. He has another really good one on the Casablanca DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/16 "2010-08-15T18:42:46Z")
Oops nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/17 "2010-08-15T18:45:34Z")
In my opinion nothing beats Das Boot with Wolfgang Petersen and Jurgen Prochnow, Ridley Scott on the Alien DVD is great as well. ---
**Author:** ![jrbor76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9e8a1a/32.png) [@jrbor76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrbor76)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/18 "2010-08-15T18:55:41Z")
Anything associated with Judd Apatow is pretty enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the 40-Year-Old Virgin + Forgetting Sarah Marshall. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/19 "2010-08-15T19:02:55Z")
At least one of the LOTR DVDs has no less than four commentary tracks (extended edition, I think). While fun, I think this is overkill. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327/20 "2010-08-15T21:54:41Z")
The **Blade** commentary is a minor gem, IMO. Wesley Snipes and a writer (mostly Snipes) crack a lot of jokes about the movie about why actresses weren’t showing cleavage that year and how the Blade needs a sex partner (their proposed title for the sequel was “Blade II: Blade Gets Laid”). **Tropic Thunder** has Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black, so you know it’ll be amusing. What’s awesome is that Downey does it in character-- just as his character said in the film. As Black pointed out, it must’ve made the six months between the end of filming and laying down the commentary a little difficult. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-dvd-commentary-tracks/550327.md?page=2)